Romanian musical instrument - the tulnic

I came across a Romanian stamp today which has brought back memories.  It's a stamp issued in 1961 and I feel sure it was probably in my collection as a child, which sadly I don't have any more. Many of the stamps went the way of so many childhood collections, probably sold for pocket money to buy other things more interesting to teenagers .. but things have a habit of coming round again! Other Romanian instruments are also featured in this set - will repost if I find the others too!

The other more recent memory  is of the Haute Nendaz Alp horn festival we went to last Summer in Switzerland. It was a gathering of alp horn players not just from Switzerland but also from other parts of Europe, including Romania.  These beautifully dressed ladies came from a remote village with their unique instruments, which are apparently best played near water - in this case the Lac de Tracouet! The wood from which they are made comes from a particular Romanian forest.  To hear this wonderful instrument, there are several Youtube videos available, and many more of the traditional Swiss alp horns we saw at the Nendaz summer Alp horn event.

Art History through stamps .. via Postcrossing.

Postcrossing card received from Audra in  Lithuania

A card from a Postcrossing friend in Lithuania arrived today and the great thing about it is that she included information about the stamps.
On the left are "national whistles made of clay" - I  would not  have worked this out for myself!  On the right is the sacred icon  from Siluva, the place where Mary  is said to have appeared in 1608, and where a church was subsequently built, and has become a place of  annual pilgrimage. Stamp issued in 2008.
The image itself was painted at the beginning of the 17th Century in the iconic style of the "old Byzantine Hodegetria" . The figures of Mary and Jesus are covered by a casing made from a collection of votive offerings by the goldsmith Lawrence Hoffman of Koenigsberg. It was restored in 2002-3.

The 40ct stamp in the centre has lead me to the discovery of yet another great artist I'd never heard of until now -. Mikalojus Konstantinas  Ciurlionis (1875-1911), the most  famous artist  in Lithuania.There is a museum in Kaunas dedicated to his work. Educated in both music and the visual arts,  he was prolific in both fields and in his short lifetime he wrote  almost 400 musical compositions. From 1904-6 he attended the Warsaw School of Fine Arts.  He felt he was a synesthete: perceiving colours and music simultaneously. Many of his paintings have the names of musical pieces. as shown here in a set of stamps from 2005 depicting  Sonata of the sea 1908 : Allegro, Andante, Finale.

As my friend said, "Stamps talk a lot, don't they?"  She is so right!!  Thanks Audra - I've really enjoyed finding out more about the work of this wonderful artist!!

Sonata of the Sea by Mikalojus  Konstantinas Ciurlionis