Variants of the bock, a type of
bagpipe, were played in Central Europe in what are the modern states of
Austria,
Germany,
Poland and the
Czech Republic. The tradition of playing the instrument endured into the 20th century, primarily in the Blata,
Chodsko, and
Egerland regions of
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, and among the
Sorbs of
Saxony. The name "Bock" (German for ''buck'', i.e. male
goat) refers to the use of goatskins in constructing the bag, similar to the common use of other goat-terms for bagpipes in other nations, such as the French
cabrette
The cabrette ( French: literally "little goat", alternately ''musette'') is a type of bagpipe which appeared in Auvergne, France in the 19th century, and rapidly spread to Haute-Auvergne and Aubrac.
Details
The cabrette comprises a chanter for ...
.
History
The earliest description of the mouth-blown Bock is illustrated on plate XI and described by
Michael Praetorius in his treatise, ''Syntagma Musicum 2, De Organographia'' (Wolfenbüttel, 1619), plates issued separately as ''Theatrum Instrumentorum'' (1620).
Design
The
drone of the Bock is usually pitched two octaves below the tonic of the
chanter
The chanter is the part of the bagpipe upon which the player creates the melody. It consists of a number of finger-holes, and in its simpler forms looks similar to a recorder. On more elaborate bagpipes, such as the Northumbrian bagpipes or the ...
. The single drone and single chanter have cylindrical bores and employ single
reeds. The current variant of the Bock is generally
bellows-blown, which has the advantage of allowing the piper to sing along with their playing. These bellows-blown bagpipes are believed to have made their way into southern and western Bohemia in the first half of the 19th century.
The chanter and drone terminate in amplifying bells of horn or brass, angled upwards. The top end of the chanter is often shaped in the form of a goat-head. In Egerland-style instruments, the drone hangs downward from the bag, whereas in the Bohemian variant, the drone extends backwards over the player's shoulder.
Makers and players
The instrument is now mainly played in the
Czech Republic, particularly
South Bohemia in
Strakonice
Strakonice (; german: Strakonitz) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Strakonice is made up of town parts of Strakonice I and Strakonice II, and villages of Dražejov, ...
and in
Western Bohemia around the town of
Domažlice in the region known as Chodsk. As the instrument's revival continues, it is also gaining ground in
Austria and
Bavaria.
In Chodsko, one of the most famous makers of the Bock (or ''pukl'' in the local Chod dialect) was Bolfík Šteffek (1842–1923), who lived and worked in Újezd. His son, Vuk Šteffek, (1879–1966) carried on the tradition of making and repairing the pukl. Jakub Jahn (1902–1978), who lived in the village of Ždanov, made about 50 Bock bagpipes. Perhaps the most sought after are those made by Jakub Konrady (1905–1987) of
Domažlice; Konrady made more than 200 examples, and his sons, Jaromír (born 1944) and Stanislav (born 1946), continue in the tradition. Other makers in western Bohemia include Lubomír Junbauer (born 1950) of Stod, and Jan Hloubek (born 1958) of Klenčí.
[Bláha, Zdeněk. Sto Kusů Pro Sólo a Duo Dudy. Domažlice: OKS, 1990. page 2] The most prolific maker in the recent past is Miroslav Janovec of Malonice.
Notable players of the instrument include the American musician
Wayne Hankin, who has used it in the recordings of
Meredith Monk.
See also
*
Duda
References
{{reflist
Bagpipes
German musical instruments
Austrian musical instruments
Czech musical instruments