Salut!
C'est moi, "humlekuk", qui joue le "violon d'amore / harding fiddle" dans le video YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRXCjkst0iQ
> Deux exemples ici, un norvégien et une ‘ricaine

>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRXCjkst0iQ
>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd4XM8cvG5s
drôle, parce que je suis Canadien (l'example norvégien, enregistré chez moi au norvége), et elle qui joue dans l'autre video (l'example americaine), est norvégienne, mais jouer a USA dans le video
Je m'excuse, il faut que j'ecrire en anglais - il y a trops langtemps depuis j'ai parlé/ecrivé en francais....
I thought I'd answer a few of the questions I saw in this thread. Being a 'foreigner' in norway and relative newcomer to harding fiddle, I know what it's like to be fascinated and confused by this wonderful instrument!
I'll begin by saying that the instrument I play in my video isn't a true harding fiddle, rather a violin that has been re-built as a harding fiddle (it was actually made that way by the luthier from the start, but the tradition here where I live was to re-build violins with sympathetic strings as it was a cheaper way to get the harding fiddle sound). The neck is about 2cm shorter than standard violin, to make double stops easier. It has 4 sympathetic strings underneath, and "harding fiddle" strings on top. The rest is the same as a violin (same wood, same laquer). The harding fiddle strings are special, as they are real gut strings - sound very nice

I also have a harding fiddle, and will soon be making some videos with it.
As for the tuning of the instrument: Standard violin tuning is GDAE, and the harding fiddle is sometimes also tuned this way, but since most traditional norwegian tunes are in D, we tune the bass string up to A - So "standard" harding fiddle tuning is ADAE. (we call the GDAE tuning "low bass" tuning). Standard tuning for the sympathetic strings is then DEF#A - which ring along with the open A, D, and E strings, and the F# rings along with the 1st finger on the E string, and 2nd finger on the D string - makes for a nice effect for tunes that go in D major. (If there are 5 understrings, then the lowest one is tuned to Bb, matching 1st finger on the A strings). The understrings are always tuned according to the tuning of the top strings: for GDAE tuning, understrings are tuned (Bb)DEGA. Another tuning I play in has the top strings tuned to an A major chord: AEAC#, and has understrings tuned to (Bb)C#EF#A. Tuning the harding fiddle is an art in itself, and must be done precisely to bring out the full sound of the instrument. The gut strings present a challenge as well - quick changes in temperature throw the tuning out very quickly. Oh, just to confuse things more, we don't actually tune the fiddles to A 440Hz, usually higher: Bb, B, or sometimes even up to C or C#. Since the harding fiddle is a solo instrument, we are free to tune it wherever we want, and choose to tune it where it sounds best for the individual instrument. (the fiddle I play in the video, for example, is horrible to play when tuned in B, but is fantastic around A - Bb or C-C# !!). So even though we write and say ADAE, the fiddle might actually be tuned BEBF#.
As for this thing:
http://luthiers-huriel.com/julie.maronc ... amour.html all I can say is "oh my god!" I'd hate to have to tune it! Then again, with steel strings it's probably not so bad as my fiddle. Since it has 12 sympathetec strings, I guess you'd just tune them in semitones all the way up the octave. The problem with so many sympathetic strings, though, is that you would be forced to play "tempered" on the top strings to get the understrings to ring properly. This could be a disadvantage, unless you're playing along with a piano...
As for where you can get a harding fiddle, there are several fiddle makers in Norway. The guy who made my "violon d'amore" and my harding fiddle is:
http://www.fiolinmaker.no/ He's really good. One of his harding fiddles costs about 50.000 norwegian kroner (about €5600,00). There is also a *very* good baroque violin maker in Belgium, who has made some copies of very old (~1750) harding fiddles for a very talented norwegian fiddler named Benedicte Maurseth. Looking at the link posted by Mowgla,
http://luthiers-huriel.com/julie.maronc ... julie.html it could be the same person as made her fiddle. I say this because the simple decoration on the body and the white fingerboard are not common on modern harding fiddles, but are common on the old ones. I've heard that his copies of these old fiddles are as good as or better than many of the best modern norwegian fiddle makers!
Ok, that's enough for now. I've been up late playing and it's time for bed now. Hope this posting has been of interest to you all, and again, sorry for the english!
