Turkish Crescent
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A Turkish crescent, also called ''Turkish jingle'' or a ''Jingling Johnny'', (a smaller version is called a ''Çevgen''; ; ; or ), is a
percussion 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 ...
instrument traditionally used by
military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...
s internationally. In some contexts it also serves as a battle trophy or object of veneration.


Description

The instrument, usually long, consists of an upright wooden pole topped with a conical brass ornament and having crescent shaped crosspieces, also of brass. Numerous bells are attached to the crosspieces and elsewhere on the instrument. Often two horsetail plumes of different colors are suspended from one of the crescents; occasionally they are red-tipped, symbolic of the battlefield. There is no standard configuration for the instrument, and of the many preserved in museums, hardly two are alike. The instrument is held vertically and when played is either shaken up and down or twisted. Sometimes there is a geared crank mechanism for rotating it. Today the instrument is prominent in the marching bands of the German
Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...
, the
French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
, the
Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...
, the Armed Forces of Chile, the
Armed Forces of Bolivia The Bolivian Armed Forces (Spanish: ''Fuerzas Armadas de Bolivia'') are the military of Bolivia. The Armed Forces of Bolivia are responsible for the defence, both of external and internal, of Bolivia and they are constituted by Bolivian Army, th ...
, the
Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces (, literally ''Defence Force'') are the Military, armed forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. It consists of four separate military branches, the Swedish Army, the Swedish Navy, the Swedish Air Force and the Home Guard (Swed ...
and in Ottoman military bands. Some
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
features similar instruments based on a wooden staff with jingling attachments. A notable folk example is the Australian " lagerphone", made by nailing crown-seal bottle-caps, from beer bottles, onto a wooden broomstick handle, and used to provide a percussive beat for a folk song or bush dance. During its existence, the Soviet Union produced variant forms of the instrument for military bands, with red artificial plumes and the red star finial.


Non-musical aspects

Turkish crescents had symbolic value for the military units that used them. The 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) famously captured one at the
Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of the Arapiles) took place on 22July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Earl of Wellington (future ...
in 1812. It became an object of pride and veneration at the regiment's ceremonial parades. In the early 20th century, Turkish crescents were used in processions honoring important dignitaries. They were skillfully twirled by dignified performers, much as a mace or baton might be today, by drum majors. This aspect survives today in the use of Turkish crescents as mostly symbolic objects in military marching bands. This can be clearly seen in the videos in the
External links An internal link is a type of hyperlink on a web page to another page or resource, such as an image or document, on the same website or domain. It is the opposite of an external link, a link that directs a user to content that is outside its d ...
section at the end of this article.


History

The instrument possibly has antecedents in
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
n
tengrist Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is a belief-system originating in the Eurasian Steppe, Eurasian steppes, based on shamanism and animism. It generally involves the titular sky god Tengri. According to some scholars, ...
staffs. Similar instruments occur in ancient Chinese music, perhaps diffused from the same Central Asian (Turkic) sources. Europeans knew of it in the 16th century. In the 18th century, it was part of the Turkish
Janissary A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted dur ...
bands that were the source of much interest in Europe, and in the 19th century, it was widely used in European military bands. It was abandoned by the British in the mid-19th century but survives today, in an altered form, in Germany and in the Netherlands, plus in two military bands in France (the
French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
and the 1st
Spahi Spahis () were light cavalry, light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the Arab and Berber populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, w ...
Regiment). It is also found in the military bands of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil (examples are in the Brazilian Marine Pipes, Drum and Bugle Corps and the Band of the 1st Guard Cavalry Regiment "Independence Dragoons"). Its presence in the bands of Chile, Brazil and Bolivia is due to the Prussian military influences which arrived in these countries during the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Its heyday in Europe was from the mid-18th to mid-19th century, when it was commonly played by elaborately dressed black Africans, who made all manner of contortions while playing. Some of these gestures survive today, in the stick twirling by bass and tenor drummers. An aspect of the elaborate costumes survives in the leopard skin apron worn by bass drummers in British military bands; however the use of the "Jingling Johnny" was discontinued in the British Army in 1837. In 1881, the German Emperor
William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...
presented a Turkish crescent to King David
Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...
on the occasion of the King's visit to Berlin during his trip around the world bearing the inscription "no ka hoomanao ana ia Berlin" (to commemorate Berlin), which was then used by the Royal Hawaiian Band. In the mid-19th century this instrument was replaced in most bands by the
glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the v ...
, which was carried similarly but could be played musically.


Argentina

Known as the "Chinesco", the instrument was used by Afro-Argentinians in the 19th century. Descriptions of the instrument describe the masacalla, an ethnic instrument. A painting by Martin Boneo and a news clipping from 1899 show an instrument held on a long pole, with horsetails, and either a pointed top like a Chinese hat, or a crescent.


Java and Bali

The instrument has also been known in
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
under the names ''genta'' (Hindu-Javanese), ''klinting'', ''byong'' or ''Kembang delima'' (pomegranate blossom), and in
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
as ''gentorag''. The Javanese instruments lack the crescent or hat, but have "a central wooden spindle" with the bells suspended at different levels on crosses of wood or metal. Bells can also be suspended on wheels stacked above each other, largest on the bottom to tallest on the top. The wheel is mounted to that its rim is not up and down like a car rim, but horizontal to the ground. File:Mehter cevgen.jpg, Cevgen player in an Ottoman military band File:Foreign Legion Chinese hat Bastille Day 2008.jpg, ''Chapeau chinois'' of the
French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
. File:Schellenbaum Bundeswehr.JPG, ''Schellenbaum'' of the German ''
Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...
'' File:RC HUSARES DE JUNIN Nro 1.jpg, An officer of the Peruvian 1st Cavalry Regiment "Glorious Hussars of Junín" carrying a Turkish crescent File:Candombe federal, época de Rosas.jpg, Argentina, depiction of early 19th century. A masacalla, used by Afro-Argentines, has two ponytails and a pointed tip (like a Chinese hat). File:Masacalla (diario).jpg, Argentina, 1899. A masacalla used by Afro-Argentines has two horsetails and a crescent, both also used by the Turkish crescent. File:Fotografía del espectáculo Cabalgata del candombe (evocaciones negras del Río de la Plata), realizado en la peña “El Pial (Foto Bruno, Buenos Aires, ca. 1965).jpg, Argentina, ca. 1965. A chinesco is seen in the upper right corner, at the bottom of this photo. File:Cristian Damián Fernández, integrante de de la Comparsa Negros Argentinos de la Asociación Misibamba. Comunidad Afroargentina de Buenos Aires, durante el rodaje de la película Felicitas tocando el chinesc.JPG, Argentina, 2008. Cristian Damián Fernández, member of the Comparsa Negros Argentinos of the Misibamba Association hold a movie prop. File:Árvore de campainhas PMPR 1860.PNG, Brazil. Bell tree or Árvore de Campainhas, 1868. The instrument came to Brazil through Portugal. File:Banda de guerra de los colorados de bolivia.jpg, Bolivia, 2013. File:Главный военно-морской парад 10.jpg, Russia, 2018. File:Janitscharspel AM.010882.jpg, Sweden. File:Mehter 1917.jpg, Istanbul, 1917. File:Pavillons chinois.JPG, Italy. File:Royal Guards of Hawaii with Schellenbaum (6358882511).jpg, Hawaii, Royal Guards.


Use in specific musical works

* The Turkish crescent figures prominently in the ''Marche pour la Cérémonie des Turcs'', part of
Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...
's music for
Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...
's ''
comédie-ballet ''Comédie-ballet'' is a genre of French drama which mixes a spoken play with interludes containing music and dance. History The first example of the genre is considered to be ''Les fâcheux'', with words by Molière, performed in honour of Loui ...
'' '' Le Bourgeois gentilhomme'' (1670). * The composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
used it in his German singspiel
Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () (Köchel catalogue, K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's . The plot concer ...
(1782). * It was used by the
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...
Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
in his Symphony No. 100 (1794). *Beethoven is said to have made use of the Jingling Johnny or Turkish crescent in the finale to his Ninth Symphony, though it is not specified in the score. *
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'' ...
used it in his massive piece for military wind band with optional choir and organ '' Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale'' (1840). His "dream ensemble" of 467 instrumentalists included four ' among its 53 percussion instruments. He said about the instrument: "The , with its numerous little bells, serves to give brilliancy to lively pieces, and pompous marches in military music. It can only shake its sonorous locks, at somewhat lengthened intervals; that is to say, about twice in a bar, in a movement of moderate time". *
John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( , ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era known primarily for American military March (music), marches. He is known as "The March King" or th ...
's ''Nobles of the Mystic Shrine'' (1923) also called for the use of the Turkish crescent. * Gareth Gilkeson of the Rend Collective folk rock band can be seen playing a Turkish crescent in the video for the band's song " Build Your Kingdom Here" (2013).


See also

*
Aquila (Roman) An ''aquila'' (; ) was a prominent symbol used in ancient Rome, especially as the standard of a Roman legion. A legionary known as an '' aquilifer'', the "eagle-bearer", carried this standard. Each legion carried one eagle. It represents t ...
* Khakkhara *
Monkey stick A monkey stick (also called a mendoza, mendozer, Murrumbidgee river rattler, lagerphone or zob stick)'' The Bushwackers (band), The Bushwackers Australian Song Book'', new edition 1981, published by Anne O'Donovan Pty Ltd, : ''Lagerphone or Mu ...
* Masacalla * Pogo cello *
Signifer A ''signifer'' () was a standard bearer of the Roman legions. He carried a ''signum'' ( standard) for a cohort or century. Each century had a ''signifer'' so there were 60 in a legion. Within each cohort, the first century's ''signifer'' woul ...
* Sistrum * Tug/Tugh (Bunchuk) * Ugly stick


Sources

* Chappell, Mike. ''Wellington's Peninsula Regiments.'' Osprey Publishing, 2003.


External links


Short video clip (0:25) of French Foreign Legion music with a clear shot of ''chapeau chinois'' at 0:12

WWII (1940) video (5:13) of Legion troops departing for combat. See ''chapeau chinois'' at 0:55, 1:45, and 3:45.

Long video (12:00) of French Foreign Legion music. ''Chapeau chinois'' is featured as an honored object from 1:06-1:30 and especially from 7:30-10:25.

Video (2:18) of a German marching band, showing ''Schellenbaum'' as an honored object and glockenspiel as a musical instrument from 0:10-1:35.

Video (2:31) of another German band, showing a ceremonial ''Schellenbaum'' and musical glockenspiel at 0:40 and a smaller whirling musical ''Schellenbaum'' from 0:55-1:05.

Video (14:34) of a Chilean military parade, showing a glimpse of a ceremonial ''Schellenbaum'' from 0:50-1:00.


* ttp://userpages.umbc.edu/~signell/Princeton2010/index.html Alla turca: Ottoman Band Influences on European Music.br>Video (3:16) of the Bundeswehr Staff Music Corps, showing Schellenbaum being assembled, used in a parade, and disassembled thereafter.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkish Crescent Bells (percussion) Idiophones Military music Turkish inventions Janissaries