Kenneth swears by Ukrainian Jew’s harps

Kennet Lien with some of his Jew’s harps made by Oleksandr Dernovyi. Photo: LENA KNUTLI.

‘I need powerful Jew’s harps that can take a beating,’ says Kenneth Lien.

By Veronika Søum
Translated by Lucy Moffatt

‘He makes Jew’s harps with a capital J,’ Kenneth Lien tells us.

Whenever you see the Jew’s harp player from Lillehammer on stage – whether with Ævestaden, Jørgen Skjulstad in Center of the Universe or playing solo – he’ll always be playing instruments made by Ukrainian Jew’s harp maker, Oleksandr Dernovyi.

Why? Because these Jew’s harps are sturdy enough to cope with the pummelling they get from Kenneth onstage.

‘I need Jew’s harps that can be played into the mic at full throttle during a concert, Jew’s harps that can take a bit of abuse. Oleksandr makes harps that are very distinctive in shape and size, with a great timbre, precise notes and a good range. They’re sturdy and can take a beating. Jew’s harps are consumer goods – none of them last forever,’ he explains.

A lift to Lillehammer

Kenneth and Oleksandr met during a Jew’s-harp-making course in Gjøvik many years ago. The Ukrainian didn’t speak English, so the communication wasn’t great, but Kenneth gave him a lift to Lillehammer, where Oleksandr was planning to walk the old Pilgrim’s Route.

By way of thanks for the lift, he gave Kenneth a Jew’s harp.

‘That was back when he was still cold-forging brass Jew’s harps. It was good, but it lost its oomph pretty quickly.’

Later, Kenneth heard that Oleksandr had started forging Jew’s harps in iron that were pretty good to play.

‘I ordered loads of them over a short period. I gave away the worst ones and some of them have been destroyed,’ he says.

Even more powerful than before

During the time they’ve known each other, Oleksandr’s Jew’s harps have evolved, naturally enough.

‘I recently bought two new instruments. He’s using a new technique now. The Jew’s harps are even bigger and more powerful than before – and they were chunky and sturdy to start off with,’ Kenneth tells us.

He keeps in touch with Oleksandr via Instagram. With the help of ChatGPT, Kenneth has started sending messages in Ukrainian, and that’s given him a chance to get to know the Jew’s harp maker better.

‘I found out that he moved away quickly when the war broke out, and now he’s living somewhere in western Ukraine.’