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The cimbalom (most common spelling),[citation needed] cymbalom, cymbalum (see Trivia), ţambal, tsymbaly, tsimbl, santouri, or sandouri is a type of hammered dulcimer found mainly in Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Poland and Greece. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia it is also known as a cimbal. Under the Hornbostel-Sachs system of classification of musical instruments, it has the catalog number 314.122-4,5.[1] The numbers used in the Hornbostel-Sachs break down to give us a description of the instrument as: (3) chordophone, (1) simple zither, (4) made of boards (1) with a string plate, parallel to the sound source, (2) with a resonator, (2) case like, (4) sound produced by hammers, (5) sound produced by plucking.
History(see hammer dulcimer) The first representation of a simple struck chordophone which we catagorise as a hammer dulcimer can be found in the Assyrian bas-relief in Kyindjuk dated back to 3500 BC. The peoples of the Mediterranean all had this instrument as did many people in Asia, however it existed under different names. The folk hammer dulcimer was taken by V. Josef Schunda, a master piano maker living and working in Pest, Hungary, as the basis for a concert cimbalom for which he arranged serial production in 1874. The first textbook for the concert cimbalom was published by Geza Allaga, a member of the Hungarian Royal Opera orchestra in 1889. The instrument became popular within the Austria-Hungary Empire and was used by alll the ethnic groups within the country including Jewish klezmorim,[2] as well as Slavic and Magyar (Hungarian) musicians,[citation needed] and Roma (Gypsy) lautari musicians (lăutari). Use of the instrumemt spread by the end of the 19th century and took the place of the cobza in Romanian and Moldovan folk ensembles.[3] In Wallachia it is used almost as a percussion instrument.[citation needed] In Transylvania and Banat, the style of playing is more tonal, heavy with arpeggios.[citation needed] Types
Folk hammer dulcimersSmall regional folk hammer dulcimers are usually referred to by their regional name but occasionally referred to as cimbalom. These instruments differ somewhat from concert cimbalom in that they are much smaller and can be carried by a single musician, using a strap around the player's neck and leaning one edge of the instrument against the player's waist. Like in the cimbalom, the folk hammer dulcimer is played by striking two beaters against the strings, however these hammers tend to be much shorter (usually half the length) and often without soft coverings for the beaters. There are also no damper mechanisms. Much more use of he hand and fingers takes place. Tunings are often diatonic, rather than the chromatic tuning of the cimbalom and are regional. Construction of these instruments is related to the style of music it plays. The concert cimbalom
The larger, concert cimbalom, first developed by József Schunda in 1874 in Budapest, Hungary, and was closer in pitch, dynamic projection, range (and weight) to a small piano than it's forerunners had been. It continues to be played typically with beaters though other playing techniques are easily available. Schunda equipped it with a heavier frame (for more stability and dynamic power), many more string courses (for extended range), four legs and a damping pedal (Before these changes, the player had damped the strings using his coat sleeves). This larger instrument eventually found its way to other areas of the Austro-Hungarian empire such as Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. In Romania, this large cimbalom is known as the ţambal mare (literally "great cimbalom"). Concert instruments from Schunda onward are fully chromatic and have a range of four octaves plus a major 3rd; extending from C to e3. The cimbalom has continued in it's development and modern instruments are often further expanded and refined and now may extend from AA to a3. A small versions of the concert cimbalom was also later produced in Ukraine during the 1950s 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 and the Melnytso-Podilsk folk instruments workshop which also produced many types of other folk instruments. Compositions for cimbalom
Classical and Contemporary MusicMany composer's have written for the cimbalom. Zoltán Kodály made extensive use of the instrument in his orchestral suite Háry János which helped make the cimbalom well known outside Eastern Europe. Igor Stravinsky was also an enthusiast. He owned a cimbalom and included one in his ballet Renard (1915-16) and also in his original (1917) scoring for Les Noces. Franz Liszt used the cimbalom in his Ungarischer Sturmmarsch (1876) and in the orchestral version of his 6th Hungarian Rhapsody. Bela Bartok used it in his Rhapsody #1 for violin and orchestra (1928). Other composers like Pierre Boulez, Peter Eötvös, György Kurtág, Frank Zappa and Louis Andriessen have made a great use of cimbalom in their works. Henri Dutilleux used it in Mystère de l'Instant for chamber orchestra. Elvis Costello's orchestral ballet score Il Sogno includes several extended cimbalom passages. Harrison Birtwistle's opera The Minotaur (2008) requires a cimbalom as well. FilmCimbalom has occasionally been used in film scores, especially to introduce a "foreign" feel. The cimbalom appears in Christmas in Connecticut in a scene in Felix's (S.Z. Sakall) Hungarian restaurant in Manhattan. Cimbalom was used in the film score for the movie In the Heat of the Night. Composer Carmine Coppola made heavy use of the cimbalom in his soundtrack for The Black Stallion to accentuate the Arabian heritage of the majestic horse. John Barry used it in the title theme for the film The Ipcress File, as well as in the main theme of the 1971 TV series The Persuaders!. In addition, John Williams has made less prominent use of the instrument in scores such as Raiders of the Lost Ark. More recently, Howard Shore used the cimbalom as well to express Gollum's sneaky nature in Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Occurrence and namesThe instrument is known by different names in different countries and when played in different styles. A partial list follows:
Schools of Cimbalom performanceHungaryBesides the main Cimbalom centre in Budapest, there is a very strong school of performance in Debrecen in Hungary. United StatesThe American Cimbalom Festival, (also known as CimbFest), founded by American cimbalomist Richard Grimes, is a primary proponent of this school of performance. RomaniaA strong performance school was established in Bucharest. The contemporary Romanian style of playing however, has no direct connection with traditional folk performance. The tradition has been developed through recordings and concert performances. Czech republicIn the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Moravia the instrument is used as a basis for folk music ensembles. BelarusIn Belarus a cimbalom school was established in 1948 by J. Zynovych. The Belarusian musicians however play on small portable folk style instruments. UkraineIn Ukraine textbooks for the tsymbaly were published in 1966 by O. Nezovybat'ko, and initially players played on semi concert instruments manufactured by the Chernihiv musical instruments factory. In recent times most professional performers have switched over to the Schuda system of playing on concert size instruments. Classes exist in the Lviv, Kiev and Kharkiv conservatories. MoldovaIn 1952 cimbalom classes were opened at the Chisinau conservatory in Moldova in 1952. Cimbalom players
Some notable cimbalom players are:
Trivia
References
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