Cimbalom
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The cimbalom (; ) or concert cimbalom is a type of
chordophone String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the s ...
composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by V. Josef Schunda in 1874 in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
, based on his modifications to the existing
Hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion- stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more tr ...
instruments which were already present in Central and Eastern Europe. Today the instrument is mainly played in
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,
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,
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The ...
,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...
, and
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
. The cimbalom is typically played by striking two sticks, often with cotton-wound tips, against the strings which are on the top of the instrument. The steel treble strings are arranged in groups of 4 and are tuned in unison. The bass strings which are over-spun with copper, are arranged in groups of 3 and are also tuned in unison. The
Hornbostel–Sachs Hornbostel–Sachs or Sachs–Hornbostel is a system of musical instrument classification devised by Erich Moritz von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs, and first published in the in 1914. An English translation was published in the '' Galpin Society ...
musical instrument classification In organology, the study of musical instruments, many methods of classifying instruments exist. Most methods are specific to a particular cultural group and were developed to serve that culture's musical needs. Culture-based classification meth ...
system registers the cimbalom with the number 314.122-4,5. The name “cimbalom” is also sometimes used to describe other types of dulcimers, which may have different tuning systems and which may lack the dampers and heavy construction of the concert instrument. In other languages, the words for those other instruments and the concert cimbalom may be similar as well (such as in
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
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).


History

The modern Hungarian concert cimbalom was designed and created by V. Josef Schunda in 1874 in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
based on his modifications to existing folk dulcimers. He demonstrated an early prototype with some improvements at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair, gaining praise from audiences and drawing the attention of highly-placed Hungarian politicians such as József Zichy, Gyula Andrássy, and Franz Joseph I of Austria, King Franz Joseph. He then continued to work to modify and improve his design. He extended the length of the strings and redesigned the position of the bridges to improve the tone and musical range. He added heavy dampers which would allow a greater degree of control over the ringing of the strings, and a metal brace inside the instrument which would increase its stability. Four detachable legs were added to support this much larger instrument; its folkloric predecessors had usually been played on a barrel or table. Schunda began serial production of his concert cimbalom in 1874, manufacturing them in a piano shop located on Hajós utca, across the street from the Budapest Opera House in Pest. He also started to develop a playing method and school to popularize his new instrument, eventually recruiting Géza Allaga, a prominent musician and pedagogue, to publish method books. Prominent Hungarian musicians such as
Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
became increasingly interested in the instrument and its possibilities. The instrument quickly became popular among the
Bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. Th ...
as well as
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musicians, and by 1906 Schunda had produced over ten thousand instruments.


Characteristics

Concert instruments from Schunda onward are fully chromatic. The Schunda tuning system established a standard pitch range of four
octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
s plus a major 3rd; extending from C to e′′′ (
Helmholtz pitch notation Helmholtz pitch notation is a system for naming musical notes of the Western chromatic scale. Fully described and normalized by the German scientist Hermann von Helmholtz, it uses a combination of upper and lower case letters (A to G), and th ...
). The cimbalom has continued its development and modern concert instruments are often further expanded and have numerous refinements beyond Schunda's design. These instruments can now have a pitch range that extends five fully chromatic octaves from AA to a′′′. Contemporary cimbalom makers also create smaller instruments. These run the gamut from less weighty versions of Schunda's original concert layout to truly portable fully chromatic cimbaloms (which use Schunda's signature tuning pattern and note layout but with reduced range in the bass). Modern makers also continue to craft new and traditional folk style instruments. A smaller more portable version of the concert cimbalom was produced in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
from the 1950s to the 1980s that came with detachable legs and dampers, but could be carried more easily than the larger 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 music

Many composers have written for the cimbalom. Zoltán Kodály made extensive use of the instrument in his orchestral suite '' Háry János'' which helped make the cimbalom known outside
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...
.
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
was also an enthusiast. He owned a cimbalom which he purchased after hearing Aladár Rácz perform on the instrument. He included the cimbalom in his ballet '' Renard'' (1915–16), his ''Ragtime'' for eleven instruments, his original (1917) scoring for '' Les Noces'', and his ''Four Russian Songs''.
Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
used the cimbalom in his ''Ungarischer Sturmmarsch'' (1876) and in the orchestral version of his ''
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 in D-flat major is the sixth work of the 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies composed by Franz Liszt. This work was dedicated to Count Antoine of Appony and uses the form of lassan and friska like many other of his rhapsodies. This p ...
''.
Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hu ...
used it in his '' Rhapsody No. 1 for violin and orchestra'' (1928). More recently, other composers including
Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mo ...
, Peter Maxwell Davies, Peter Eötvös, György Kurtág, Miklós Kocsár, Richard Grimes,
Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Althoug ...
, and Peter Machajdík have made a great use of cimbalom in their works. Henri Dutilleux used it extensively in ''Mystère de l'Instant'' for chamber orchestra, and ''L'arbre des songes'' for violin & orchestra.
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...
's orchestral ballet score '' Il Sogno'' includes several extended cimbalom passages. Harrison Birtwistle's operas '' ''Gawain'''' (1991) and '' ''The Minotaur'''' (2008) each utilize the cimbalom.
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
uses the instrument prominently in his large 2012 symphonic oratorio '' The Gospel According to the Other Mary'' as well as in his 2014 dramatic symphony '' Scheherazade.2''. Cimbalom is used in a popular arrangement of
Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...
's '' La plus que lente'' which the composer approved but did not actually score. (''La plus que lente'' with cimbalom saw renewed popularity with its inclusion in world tours of the Hundred Gypsy Violins starting in 1985.)


Film and television

The cimbalom has occasionally been used in film scores, especially to introduce a "foreign" feel. The cimbalom appears in ''
Christmas in Connecticut ''Christmas in Connecticut'' is a 1945 American Christmas romantic comedy film about an unmarried city magazine writer who pretends to be a farm wife and mother and then falls in love with a returning war hero. The film was directed by English ...
'' (1945) in a scene in Felix's (
S. Z. Sakall Szőke Szakáll (born Jakab Grünwald, akas: Gärtner Sándor and Gerő Jenő; February 2, 1883 February 12, 1955), known in the English-speaking world as S. Z. Sakall, was a Hungarian-American stage and film character actor. He appeared in m ...
) Hungarian restaurant in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. It was also featured in the films '' Captain Blood'' (1935), '' The Divorce of Lady X'' (1938), and '' Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon'' (1943). The cimbalom was used in the film score for the movie '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1967). Composer
Carmine Coppola Carmine Valentino Coppola (; June 11, 1910 – April 26, 1991) was an American composer, flautist, pianist, and songwriter who contributed original music to ''The Godfather'', ''The Godfather Part II'', ''Apocalypse Now'', '' The Outsiders'', a ...
made heavy use of the cimbalom in his soundtrack for ''
The Black Stallion The Black Stallion, known as the Black or Shêtân, is the title character from author Walter Farley's bestselling series about the Arab stallion and his young owner, Alec Ramsay. The series chronicles the story of a Sheikh's prized stallion a ...
'' (1979) to accentuate the Arabian heritage of the majestic horse. Miklós Rózsa used the cimbalom in the main theme and throughout the score for the science-fiction thriller '' The Power'' (1968). John Barry used it in the title theme for the film '' The Ipcress File'' (1965), as well as in the main theme of the ITC TV series '' The Persuaders!'' (1971); in both examples the performer was John Leach. James Horner made use of the instrument in his "Stealing the Enterprise" cue from '' Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'' (1984). In addition,
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
has made less prominent use of the instrument in scores such as '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981).
Howard Shore Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer and conductor noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and '' The Hobbit'' film trilogies. ...
used the cimbalom as well to express Gollum's sneaky nature in
Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
's film '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (2002). The cimbalom is also featured prominently in Hans Zimmer's scoring of ''
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
'' (2009). Alexandre Desplat uses cimbalom in works such as '' The Golden Compass'' (2007), '' The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'' (2008), and '' The Grand Budapest Hotel'' (2014). In television, composer
Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical eleme ...
made use of the cimbalom in several scores he wrote for the original '' Mission: Impossible'' television series, from which several cues were regularly recycled throughout the series' run. Composer Debbie Wiseman used the cimbalom, played by Greg Knowles, in her score for the BBC television series 'Dickensian' (2015–16). The cimbalom, played by John Leach, features prominently in the score of the BBC television drama serial from 1988, 'Babylon Bypassed' by
Gareth Glyn Gareth Glyn, born Gareth Glynne Davies (born 1951), is a Welsh composer and radio broadcaster. Life and education Born in Machynlleth, Wales, Glyn is the eldest son of the late Welsh poet T. Glynne Davies. He received his secondary education ...
.


Rock

The cimbalom was used by
Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...
on his "I Robot" and ''Tales of Mystery and Imagination'' albums and is included in the guest musician acknowledgments. The experimental rock group
Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout their career, the band is best known for music created during their most experimental era. During this time, ...
made use of the cimbalom on the ''Disco Volante'' and ''California'' albums. It is included in the guest musician acknowledgments. The experimental performance organization
Blue Man Group Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, bot ...
has used a cimbalom in its productions. American progressive chamber group,
cordis The Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS) is the European Commission's primary public repository and portal to disseminate information on all European Union (EU) funded research projects and their results in the broadest ...
, uses electric and acoustic cimbalom as a centerpiece in their music. Romanian rock group
Spitalul de Urgență Spitalul de Urgenţă, literally "Emergency Hospital", is a Romanian rock band, integrating elements of traditional Romanian music into a sometimes hard-edged rock sound,
has frequently used cimbalom, including a full-time player in some line-ups of the band. New York multi-instrumentalist Rob Burger used a cimbalom on the album ''L'Entredeux'' (2008) by Tucson chanteuse Marianne Dissard. Alternative rock band
Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produ ...
incorporated cimbalom into their track " The Trick Is to Keep Breathing" from their 1998 album ''
Version 2.0 ''Version 2.0'' is the second studio album by American rock band Garbage. It was released on May 11, 1998, by Mushroom Records worldwide, with the North American release on Almo Sounds the following day. With this album, the band aimed to improv ...
''. Portishead have long been successful pioneers of the cimbalom or hammered dulcimer in their groundbreaking work since formation in 1991.


Schools of performance


Belarus

In
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
a cymbaly school was established in 1948 by J. Zynovych. The Belarusian cymbaly differs from the concert cimbalom in timbre and size—it is smaller and produces a sweeter, more mellow tone. Also, pedal dampers are not typically used. Instead, hands and fingers are used to damp the strings.


Croatia

The cimbal today is a rare instrument found in folk groups ( Međimurje and Podravina regions - parts of northern Croatia near Hungarian border).


Moravia

The instrument is used foremost in the
historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing soc ...
of Moravia as a basis for Moravian traditional music ensembles. Foremost in regions of Moravian Slovakia and
Moravian Wallachia Moravian Wallachia ( cs, Moravské Valašsko, or simply ''Valašsko''; ro, Valahia Moravă) is a mountainous ethnoregion located in the easternmost part of Moravia in the Czech Republic, near the Slovak border, roughly centered on the cities ...
.


France

Luigi Gaggero Luigi Gaggero (born 1976) is an Italian percussionist, conductor and academic teacher who has worked internationally. He is the chief conductor of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, and cimbalon teacher at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, the only prof ...
teaches since 2004 at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg and at the Académie Supérieure de Musique de Strasbourg. His teaching focuses on classical and on contemporary repertoire for cimbalom.Examen d’entrée 2021 / Cymbalum
(in French) hear.fr 2021


Greece

In Athens, a cimbalom school was established in 2004 by M. Papadeas. The Greek musicians play on small portable folk style instruments.


Hungary

Besides the main cimbalom centre in Budapest, there is a very strong school of performance in Debrecen in Hungary.


Moldova

In 1952, cimbalom classes were opened at the Chişinău conservatory in
Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...
.


Romania

A strong performance school was established in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...
.
Toni Iordache Toni Iordache (17 December 1942 – February 1988) was a Romani-Romanian '' lăutar'' and one of the most famous ''cimbalom'' (Romanian: ''ţambal'') players in the world. He was nicknamed ''the God of the Cimbalom'' and ''Paganini of the cimbalom' ...
, a
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
-Romanian '' lăutar'', was the most famous Romanian cimbalom player.


Slovakia

The cimbal is a very popular instrument found in all Slovak regions, as well as in the ethnically Slovak/Hungarian mixed southern regions and among Romani folk ensembles.


Ukraine

In Ukraine, the concert Cimbalom was first formally used in the Orchestra of Ukrainian Folk Instruments organized and directed by Leonid Haydamaka from 1922 by Oleksandr Nezovybatko. In time it was replaced by 2 smaller-sized instruments in order to facilitate transportation. Music for the cimbalom has been published in Ukraine from 1930 on. With the serial manufacture of '' tsymbaly'' by the
Chernihiv Musical Instrument Factory The Chernihiv musical instruments factory was a factory founded to make stringed instruments in Ukraine. It is named after Soviet politician Pavel Postyshev. History The Chernihiv musical instruments factory opened in 1933. Initially it made b ...
cimbalom playing became popular in Eastern Ukraine in the post war years. Textbooks for the ''tsymbaly'' were published in 1966 by O. Nezovybatko, and initially players played on semi-concert instruments manufactured by the Chernihiv Musical Instrument Factory. In recent times most professional performers have switched over to the Schunda system of playing on concert-size instruments. Classes for the instrument exist in the
Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
,
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...
and
Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.
conservatories. Currently most Ukraine folk instrument ensembles and orchestras such as the Orchestra of Ukrainian Folk instruments and the State Bandurist Capella usually have 2 concert cimbaloms.
Roman Kumlyk Roman Kumlyk - (b. 4th Dec 1948 in Jasienow Gorny, desc. 22nd Jan 2014 in Verkhovyna, Ukraine) - the Ukrainian folk and filharmonic musician, a folk instruments constructor, a founder of the folk band called "Cheremosh" Ukrainian_language">ukr ...
was a famous player from Hutsul area. After his death, a museum was named for him and is now run by his family.


References


External links

{{Authority control Hammered box zithers Hungarian musical instruments Slovak musical instruments Romanian musical instruments Moldovan musical instruments Ukrainian musical instruments