Cymbalum

Image File history File links BuikCymbaal. ... Image File history File links BuikCymbaal. ...

Overview

The cymbalum, cymbalom, cimbalom (most common spelling), ţambal, tsymbaly, tsimbl or santouri is a musical instrument found mainly in the music of Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Greece and Ukraine. In Czechoslovakia it was also known as a Cimbal. It is related to the hammered dulcimer of Western Europe. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... A diatonic hammered dulcimer made by Masterworks The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. ...

History

The small cymbalum developed from the Persian santur, which entered Europe during the Middle Ages. The instrument became popular with Romanian Roma musicians (lăutari) around the 19th century; by the end of the century was quite widespread, taking over from the kobza. [1] In Wallachia and Muntenia it is used almost as a percussion instrument. In Transylvania and Banat, the style of play is more tonal, heavy with arpeggios. The Persians of Iran (officially named Persia by West until 1935 while still referred to as Persia by some) are an Iranian people who speak Persian (locally named Fârsi by native speakers) and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... The santur (سَنتور) is a hammered dulcimer of Persia. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Kobza (кобза) is a traditional Ukrainian stringed musical instrument, similar to a lute. ... This article is about the region in what is now Southern Romania. ... Map of Romania with Muntenia highlighted Muntenia or Greater Wallachia is a historical province of Romania, usually considered Wallachia-proper (Muntenia, Å¢ara Românească, and the seldomly used Valahia are synonyms in Romanian). ... Various arpeggi as seen on a staff In music, an arpeggio (plural, arpeggi) is a spread chord played top-to-bottom or vice versa in sheet music, or rather the sounding of the tones of a chord in rapid succession rather than simultaneously. ...

The santur (also called santoor in India) spread throughout the world. It was not only modified by nomadic Roma people and brought to Eastern Europe and The Balkans, but it also appeared in many other cultures: The santur (سَنتور) is a hammered dulcimer of Persia. ... The santoor is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer often made of walnut, with seventy strings. ... The Roma people (pronounced rahma, singular Rom, sometimes Rroma, and Rrom) along with the closely related Sinti people are commonly known as Gypsies in English, and as Tsigany in most of Europe. ... Current division of Europe into five (or more) regions: one definition of Eastern Europe is marked in orange Eastern Europe is an eastern region of Europe variably defined. ... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe southeastern Europe (see the Definitions and boundaries section below). ...

• America: the Hammered Dulcimer
• China: The Yangqin
• Thai: The Kim
• Germany:The Hackbrett

A diatonic hammered dulcimer made by Masterworks The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. ... The trapezoidal yangqin (揚琴; pinyin yángqín) is a Chinese hammered dulcimer originally from Persia (modern-day Iran). ... Look up Kim in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Hammered dulcimers have two or sometimes three bridges, and are played by striking the strings with small hammers. The hammers are sometimes covered with leather to create a softer sound. ...

Types

The small cymbalum is usually carried by the musician, using a strap around the player's neck and leaning one edge of the instrument against the player's waist. The cymbalum is played by striking two beaters against the strings. A drum stick or drumstick is an item used to hit percussion instruments, including but not only drums, to produce sound. ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ...

In Hungary, the larger concert cimbalom, comparable in pitch range (and weight) to a small piano—but still played in the normal way with beaters—was first developed by József Schunda in the 1870s. It stands on four legs, has many more strings, and the later models had a damping pedal. (Prior to this, the player damped the strings by using his coat sleeves). This instrument eventually found its way to districts of Romania because these were all part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. In Romania, this large cymbalum is known as the ţambal mare (literally "great cymbalum"). These instruments are fully chromatic and have a range of four full octaves. A baby grand piano, with the lid up. ... József Schunda (1818–1894) and Vencel József Schunda (1845–1923) were brothers and Hungarian musical instrument makers. ...

A small cymbalum was also later produced in Ukraine during the 1950's that came with attachable legs and dampers but could be carried more easily than a concert instrument. These instruments were produced by the Chernihiv factory which produced many types of folk instruments.

Players and places

One composer to make use of the cymbalum was Zoltán Kodály. His orchestral suite, Háry János, made extensive use of the instrument and helped make the cymbalum well known outside Eastern Europe. Igor Stravinsky was also an enthusiast, and he owned one, and made use of it in his ballet, Renard. Other composers like Pierre Boulez, Peter Eötvös, György Kurtag have made a great use of cymbalum in their works. Henri Dutilleux used it in "Mystère de l'Instant" (for chamber orchestra). Film composer Howard Shore used the cymbalum as well to express Gollum's sneaky nature in Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). A composer is a person who writes music. ... Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (IPA: /ˈzoltaːn ˈkodaːj/) (December 16, 1882 – March 6, 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, educator, linguist and philosopher. ... Háry János is an opera in four acts by Zoltán Kodály to a Hungarian libretto by Béla Paulini and Zsolt Harsányi, based on the comic epic The Veteran by János Garay. ... Current division of Europe into five (or more) regions: one definition of Eastern Europe is marked in orange Eastern Europe is an eastern region of Europe variably defined. ... Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: И́горь Фёдорович Страви́нский Igor Fjodorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian-born composer of modern classical music. ... Pierre Boulez Pierre Boulez (IPA: /pjɛʁ.buˈlÉ›z/) (born March 26, 1925) is a conductor and composer of classical music. ... Peter Eötvös (born 1944) is a composer and conductor. ... Henri Dutilleux (born January 22, 1916 in Angers, France) is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in a style distinctly his own. ... Howard Shore Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian film composer, best known for composing the score to The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. ... Peter Jackson Peter Jackson CNZM (born October 31, 1961, Pukerua Bay) is a New Zealand-born filmmaker best-known as the director of the epic film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, which he, along with his long time partner, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens adapted from the novel by... This title can refer to either: The Two Towers (book), the second part of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. ...

The instrument is known by different names in different countries and when played in different styles, roughly:

• Hungary: cimbalom
• Slovakia: cimbal
• Poland: cymbały
• Romania: ţambal (the large cimbalom is called ţambal mare)
• Belarus: tsymbaly (цымбалы)
• Ukraine: tsymbaly (цимбали)
• Russia: tsymbaly (цимбалы)
• Greece: sandouri
• Slovenia: čembale
• Klezmer & Jewish music: tsimbl
• Turkey: santur

Some well known cymbalum players: Klezmer (from Yiddish כלזמיר, etymologically from Hebrew kli zemer כלי זמר, vessel of song) is a musical tradition which parallels Hasidic and Ashkenazic Judaism. ...

• Joseph Moskowitz: The father of klezmer "tsimbl". One of the first to be recorded doing so.
• Toni Iordache: An admired Romanian ţambal player.
• Sandu Sura: An admired Moldavian ţambal player.
• Kálmán Balogh: A modern Hungarian cimbalom virtuoso.
• Stuart Brotman of the klezmer band Brave Old World
• Michael Masley: A modern American, who plays the instrument with ten self-designed "bowhammers."
• Blue Man Group: An American performance art group that plays the cymbalum with drumsticks to give the instrument an edgier sound.

Joseph Moskowitz (1879 – June 27, 1954) was a Romanian-born Jewish musician who invented the klezmer approach to the cymbalum. ... Klezmer (from Yiddish כלזמיר, etymologically from Hebrew kli zemer כלי זמר, vessel of song) is a musical tradition which parallels Hasidic and Ashkenazic Judaism. ... Toni Iordache (1942-1987) was one of the most famous cimbalom players. ... Brave Old World is an international klezmer band formed in 1989. ... Blue Man Group at the New London Theatre Blue Man Group is a creative organization centered on a trio of mute performers, called Blue Men, that present themselves in blue paint, latex bald caps, and black clothing. ...

Trivia

• Cimbalom was used in the film score for the movie In the Heat of the Night (1967).