Cymbalum

The cymbalum , czimbalum (Slovakia), cimbalom (Hungary), ţambal (Romania), or tsymbaly (Bielorussia, Moldavie and Ukraine), is a String instrument struck belonging to the family of the Cithare S table. It is called also the Piano Tzigane .

This instrument whose origin, attested about the 11th century, goes back to the Santour Perse, appears in Europe, in the Germanic countries, as of the 14th century, under the name of Hackbrett. It was certainly brought by the projection of the Ottoman Empire accompanied by its erudite music, and also on the one hand by the Cymbaliste S Tziganes, people migrating since the India, and on the other hand by the Jewish Diaspora.

Formed of a case of resonance out of wood in the shape of trapezoid, on which series of rests rest (generally welded), it is crimped of a hundred metal cords, struck using small hammers or mailloches held between the fingers. The agreement is generally, chromatic. It meets in two varieties: portable and in concert.

Cimbalom Hungarian

It appeared at the 15th century and is spread very quickly with all the social layers under the influences Tzigane.

Stringed-instrument trade

In Hungary, a broad and heavy cymbalum, comparable with the Piano, was manufactured by József Schunda in the Années 1870. It rests on four feet, provided with chokes actuated by a pedal, it weighs more than 100 kg and measurement 130 cm broad and 80 cm length. It has much more cords (123) in choruses of three or four: 47 spiral low cords (out of copper) and 76 acute cords (out of steel) covering 4 octaves (ré1 then mi1 until mi5 chromatic). The cords are separate into two or three parts by 5 lines of rests.

The wood mailloches can be covered with cotton, felt or buckskin.

Play

Allaga Géza composed the first method in 1874. The Hungarian type-setters like Franz Liszt, Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály wrote parts for cymbalum.

Among the interpreters, one retains: Aladar Racz (1886-1958) which presented the instrument to Igor Stravinsky (which composed there of the parts), Marta Fabian (1946 -), Ágnes Szakály, Kálmán Balogh (1953 -) and Oszkár Ökrös.

Czechoslovakian Czimbalum

The instrument is widespread as much in the two countries, in particular in Moravie.

Stringed-instrument trade

The csimbalum is very similar to the cimbalom Hungarian .

Play

The music there is too very influenced by the Tzigane S.

Among the interpreters, one retains: Petr Pavlinec (1974 -), Ludovit Kovac (1968 -).

Rumanian Tambal

The tambal appears with the XVIIIe century, in the whole of " music of chambre" court of the Wallachian prince Alexandru Ipsilanti.

It is an instrument of harmonic accompaniment popular in Moldavie, Valachie and Olténie, in particular at the Tzigane S (called lăutari) since the 19th century.

Stringed-instrument trade

There are two kinds:

small the tambal ( tambalul mic ), to 51 cords (covering a ambitus of two octaves with one second minor) is granted " with the roumaine" , to 83 cords (whose ambitus is of two octaves and seventh minor) " is granted; with the hongroise".
large the tambal ( tambalul pond ) or " of concert" , with 96 cords, broad 95 cm, 57 cm length.

Play

Small the tambal is playable upright and while going thanks to a strap holding it with horizontal against the size. In the tarafs , whole of traditional music, there are the two kinds of cymbalums: the transportable, and the large one.

In Valachie, it is rather used like a percussion, while in Transylvania the style is more musical, with many arpeggios. One plays there of the called mélodico-rhythmic formulas tiiturã ( of horã, sârbã, of will geampara, nemteascã ).

The instrument or the cords is often covered with leather or silk in order to attenuate the sound of it.

Among the interpreters one retains: Toni Iordache (1942-1987), Paul Stinga (1948 -), Gheorghe Radulesco (born in 1941-), Nicolae Feraru (1950 -)

Belorusse Tsymbaly

Stringed-instrument trade

The Belorusse cymbalum rests on three feet, one with before and two with the back of the instrument and are composed of 72 cords representing 4 octaves and offer a pallet of tonalities to the very great possibilities of execution.

Play

The principal characteristic of this Cymbalum lies in the fact that one plays about it indifferently while striking or by gripping the cords or while turning over the hammers and that in this country it is indistinctly used in classical music, jazz, contemporary and traditional.

Among the intermrètes one retains: Olga Mischula

Ukrainian Tsymbaly

The tsymbaly appears with the XVIIe century in Ukraine

Stringed-instrument trade

Thanks to the advent of the cords and ankles of Piano, it became rather easy to build small cymbalums. The Hutsul S and the populations of Bucovine and the Carpathes use about it of a small portable version with 12 rests, of which they play upright, using a thin strap supporting the instrument.

The Chernihiv Musical Instruments factory produced of 1950 to 1986 of the tsymbalys in semi-concert in three sizes: PRIMA, viola and low .

There exists also a version local (with two pedals and smaller) of large the cimbalom Hungarian of József Schunda manufactured by the Melnytse-Podilsk workshop . Thanks to their chromatism, them four octaves and their accuracy, they replaced old small the tsymbalys.

Play

The folk units Troyista muzyka use up to three tsymbalys at the same time, in addition to the other instruments.

Classical music was written by the following type-setters: V. Shumeiko, Volodymyr Zubytsky, Anatoliy Haidenko, Bohdan Kotiuk, Izydor Vymer, Dezyderiy Zador, Myroslav Skoryk, Yevhen Stankovych.

The tsymbaly is largely used by the Ukrainian Diaspora with the Canada.

Among the interpreters one will retain: Tared Baran (Professor with the Academy of Lviv), Heorhy Ahratina (Professor with the Academy of Kiev) and Oleksander Nezovybatko.

Others cymbalums

Tsimbl of the Jewish musicians… Joseph Moskowitz (1879-1958).

Stringed-instrument trade

Play

See too

Presence of the cymbalum in the original soundtracks of films of Emir Kusturica and the Lord of the Rings: The Two Turns (Howard Shore).
Of many popular units uses it, the majority coming from Romania (Taraf de Haïdouks, the USSR Karpatz…), of ex-Yugoslavia (No Smoking Orchestrated, Goran Bregovic, Lajkó Felix…) or of Hungary (Balogh $kalman and the Gipsy Cimbalom Band…). Some French groups use it to make gypsy music (Black Eyes…).
It is connected with the Santour (Greece, Iran, Iraq, India), with the Yangqin (揚琴 or 洋琴, China), with the Hammered dulcimer (Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States), with the Hackbrett (Suisse, Austria, Germany) and with the Tympanon (France).

External bonds

Site of Cyril Dupuy, complete on the cymbalum and the cymbalists
Site of Lana Goussarenko and on the Belorusse cymbalum
History of the cymbalum
Site on the cymbalum
Site of Luigi Gaggero, professor with the Academy of Strasbourg
http://www.cimbalom.profitux.cz/

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