The larchemi ( ka, ლარჭემი), or soinari ( ka, სოინარი), is an ancient
Georgian musical instrument of the
panpipe
A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...
family. It is known as "larchemi" in
Samegrelo and "soinari" in
Guria
Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia (country), Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 104,338 (2023), with Ozurgeti as the regional cap ...
, but there is no difference in the instrument;
those in Guria may be smaller. The larchemi was in the past found also in
Abkhazia
Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...
,
Imereti
Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი, ) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 mun ...
and
Lazeti (where it was called ''ostvinoni''). By 1958, when it was studied by
Kakhi Rosebashvili, it had largely disappeared.
[
The larchemi consists of a row of six reed pipes. Two bass pipes in the middle are tuned a ]second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
apart; the other pipes are tuned in thirds from them. The instrument can be played by two performers, who take three pipes each.[
]
References
{{Flutes
Musical instruments of Georgia (country)
Early musical instruments