The kolisna lira (relia) is a string instrument in which the sound is produced not by a bow but by a rosined wheel that, turned by a crank, “bows” the strings. The melody is played on keys, while lower drone strings hum a continuous background, lending the sound an archaic fullness.
In Ukraine the lira was the instrument of the lirnyks — blind wandering singers who, alongside the kobzars, carried spiritual psalms, historical dumy, and moralising and humorous songs through the villages. The art of the lirnyks and kobzars was brutally destroyed by the Soviet regime in the 1930s. Today the kolisna lira is undergoing a revival: young performers are restoring the authentic repertoire, and its unmistakable droning voice again sounds at festivals of traditional music.
