Crotales (, ), sometimes called antique cymbals, are

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

s consisting of small, tuned bronze or brass disks. Each is about in diameter with a flat top surface and a nipple on the base. They are commonly played by being struck with hard

mallets A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. General overview The term is descriptive of the ...

. However, they may also be played by striking two disks together in the same manner as

finger cymbals Zills, zils, or sagat, also known as finger cymbals, are small metallic cymbals used in belly dance, belly dancing and similar performances. They are similar to Tibetan tingsha bells. In Western music, several pairs can be set in a frame to make ...

, or by bowing. Their sound is rather like a small tuned

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

, only with a much brighter sound and a much longer resonance. Similar to tuned finger cymbals, crotales are thicker and larger; they also have slight grooves in them. The name comes from the Greek '' crotalon'', for a

castanet Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument ( idiophonic), used in Spanish, Calé, Moorish, Ottoman, Greek, Italian, Mexican, Sephardic, Portuguese, Filipino, Brazilian, and Swiss music. In ancient ...

or rattle. Modern crotales are arranged chromatically and have a range of up to two

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

s. They are typically available in sets (commonly one octave) but may also be purchased individually. Crotales are treated as

transposing instrument A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which music notation is not written at concert pitch (concert pitch is the pitch on a non-transposing instrument such as the piano). For example, playing a written middle C on a transposing ...

s; music for crotales is written two octaves lower than the sounding pitch to minimize

ledger line A ledger line or leger line is used in Western musical notation to notate pitches above or below the lines and spaces of the regular musical staff. A line slightly longer than the note head is drawn parallel to the staff, above or below, spaced ...

Crotal bell Crotal bells (Greek 'crotalon' – castanet or rattle) are various types of small bells or rattles. They were produced in various pre-Columbian cultures. In Europe they were probably made from before the early Middle Ages; though many founders ca ...

s are a type of small bell, mostly medieval. A different form of crotal is found in

Prehistoric Ireland The prehistory of Ireland has been pieced together from Archaeology, archaeological evidence, which has grown at an increasing rate over recent decades. It begins with the first evidence of permanent human residence in Ireland around 10,500 BC ...

. The

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland () is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin, the arch ...

and

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

have several examples on display dating from the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

() which were found in the Dowris Hoard, alongside various brass wind instruments. These are bronze cylinders in the rough shape of a bull's testicle, with a piece of baked clay or a pebble inside. It is presumed they functioned as a type of rattle. The hoard had 48 of them in total, in two sizes. Only two other examples are known, both Irish.

Uses

One of the earliest uses of crotales in the orchestral repertoire is

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

's ''

Roméo et Juliette ''Roméo et Juliette'' (, ''Romeo and Juliet'') is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on ''Romeo and Juliet'' by William Shakespeare. It was first performed at the Théâtre Ly ...

'' (1839). Other classical pieces featuring crotales include

Claude 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 influe ...

's ''

Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune ''Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un faune'' ( L. 86), known in English as ''Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun'', is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was composed in 1894 and first performed ...

'',

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

's orchestration of his ''

Alborada del gracioso ''Alborada del gracioso (The Jester's Aubade)'' is the fourth of the five movements of Maurice Ravel, Maurice Ravel's piano suite ''Miroirs'', written in 1905. It is about seven minutes long and, as part of the suite, has always been regularly ...

'' and

Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer of late 20th-century classical music. Among the leading French composers of his time, his work was rooted in the Impressionistic style of Debussy and R ...

Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...

. The contemporary American composer

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

uses them in many of his more colorful orchestral pieces such as ''

Short Ride in a Fast Machine ''Short Ride in a Fast Machine'' is a 1986 orchestral work by John Adams (composer), John Adams. Adams applies the description "fanfare for orchestra" to this work and to the earlier ''Tromba Lontana'' (1986). The former is also known as ''Fanfar ...

''. Composer

Julia Wolfe Julia Wolfe (born December 18, 1958) is an American composer and professor of music at New York University. According to ''The Wall Street Journal'', Wolfe's music has "long inhabited a terrain of its own, a place where classical forms are rech ...

uses crotales in her oratorio ''

Fire in my mouth ''Fire in my mouth'' is an oratorio for girls' choir, women's choir, and orchestra by the American composer Julia Wolfe. The work was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Jaap van Zweden and was completed in August 201 ...

''. Crotales are also found in popular music, particularly in rock music.

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart ( ; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian and American musician, known as the drummer, percussionist, and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush (band), Rush. He was known to fans by the nickname "the Profe ...

of Rush used them as part of his basic

drum kit A drum kit or drum set (also known as a trap set, or simply drums in popular music and jazz contexts) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and sometimes other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one p ...

for several years, featuring them in the introduction to the instrumental " YYZ", and Alan White of

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

used them in the middle instrumental section of "Awaken" from ''

Going for the One ''Going for the One'' is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Yes, released on 15 July 1977 by Atlantic Records. After taking a break in activity in 1975 for each member to release a solo album, and their 1976 tour of the Uni ...

''. The Bengsons use them in the instrumentation of their Off-Broadway show "Hundred Days."

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

drummer

Glenn Kotche Glenn Kotche (born December 31, 1970 in Roselle, Illinois, United States) is an American drummer and composer, best known for his involvement in the band Wilco. He was named the 40th greatest drummer of all time by Gigwise in 2008. Prior to ...

uses them live on the ''

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot ''Yankee Hotel Foxtrot'' is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Wilco, originally self-released on September 18, 2001, on their website, and in retail stores on April 23, 2002, through Nonesuch Records. Recording sessions for the a ...

'' song "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart".

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cymbals Keyboard percussion instruments Orchestral percussion instruments Early musical instruments Plaque percussion idiophones Metal percussion instruments