Kurai (flute)
Encyclopedia
The quray is a long open endblown flute with five fingerholes, and is the national instrument
of the Bashkirs
.
The quray is the best known and most popular musical instrument of the Bashkir people. The Bashkir folk tune "The singing cranes", performed only with the quray, has more than one thousand years of history.
The most widespread kind of quray is a quray made from the stem of the umbelliferous plant, called urals edgepistil or Kamchatka pleurospermum (Pleurospermum uralense). The stem of a quray is 2–3 meters long. It flowers in July, then dries out in August–September. It is cut in September and kept it in a dry and dark place. The length is found by measuring 8-10 times the width of a palm encompassing the stem of a plant. The first hole must be done at four fingers distance from the top of the plant, the next three holes at two fingers distance from each other, the fifth at the back at three fingers distance from the fourth hole.
The length of a quray is about 510-810 millimeters. The diapason of a quray consists of three octaves. The quray is used as a solo as well as an ensemble instrument. Now, a quray can be made from veneer. It is more stable and its sound is similar to the natural quray's sound.
In addition to a grass quray some other types of quray are known:
The names of outstanding quray-players-improvisers include Kubagush-sasan, Baik-sasan, I. Murzakaev, G. Arginbaev, Y. Icyanbaev, I. Dilmukhametov, G. Suleymanov, K. Diyarov, R. Rakhimov, Y. Gaynetdinov and A. Aitkulov.
There are many quray performers: laureates and diploma-winners of International Musical Folk Festivals, International Students' and Youth Festivals and all-Russian contests of performers of rare musical instruments.
There is a picture of a quray flower on the national flag and Bashkortostan
state emblem.
National instrument
The term national instrument can refer to:*National Instruments, an American corporation*The national instrument of a nation, referring to a musical instrument of particular cultural and social importance...
of the Bashkirs
Bashkirs
The Bashkirs are a Turkic people indigenous to Bashkortostan extending on both parts of the Ural mountains, on the place where Europe meets Asia. Groups of Bashkirs also live in the republic of Tatarstan, Perm Krai, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, Kurgan, Samara and Saratov Oblasts of...
.
The quray is the best known and most popular musical instrument of the Bashkir people. The Bashkir folk tune "The singing cranes", performed only with the quray, has more than one thousand years of history.
The most widespread kind of quray is a quray made from the stem of the umbelliferous plant, called urals edgepistil or Kamchatka pleurospermum (Pleurospermum uralense). The stem of a quray is 2–3 meters long. It flowers in July, then dries out in August–September. It is cut in September and kept it in a dry and dark place. The length is found by measuring 8-10 times the width of a palm encompassing the stem of a plant. The first hole must be done at four fingers distance from the top of the plant, the next three holes at two fingers distance from each other, the fifth at the back at three fingers distance from the fourth hole.
The length of a quray is about 510-810 millimeters. The diapason of a quray consists of three octaves. The quray is used as a solo as well as an ensemble instrument. Now, a quray can be made from veneer. It is more stable and its sound is similar to the natural quray's sound.
In addition to a grass quray some other types of quray are known:
- sor-quray - a sort of quray made by the Bashkirs who lived in the steppe where the natural quray does not grow. It is made of steppe grass and its length is not more than one meter, but it is wider in its diameter. The specialists say it was used for calling signals.
- copper quraq - a quray made from copper. However, specialists disapprove of using this kind of quray, because it is harmful for the health.
The names of outstanding quray-players-improvisers include Kubagush-sasan, Baik-sasan, I. Murzakaev, G. Arginbaev, Y. Icyanbaev, I. Dilmukhametov, G. Suleymanov, K. Diyarov, R. Rakhimov, Y. Gaynetdinov and A. Aitkulov.
There are many quray performers: laureates and diploma-winners of International Musical Folk Festivals, International Students' and Youth Festivals and all-Russian contests of performers of rare musical instruments.
There is a picture of a quray flower on the national flag and Bashkortostan
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan , also known as Bashkiria is a federal subject of Russia . It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is the city of Ufa...
state emblem.
See also
- KavalKavalThe kaval is a chromatic end-blown flute traditionally played throughout Azerbaijan, Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, southern Serbia , northern Greece , Romania , and Armenia...
- NeyNeyThe ney is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Middle Eastern music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. It is a very ancient instrument, with depictions of ney players appearing in wall paintings in the Egyptian pyramids and actual neys being found...
- DudukDudukThe duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
- FluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
- JedinkaJedinkaThe jedinka is a small Croatian whistle flute, usually highly carved and decorated. Often carved from maple or chestnut wood, the jedinka is a single tube with a whistle-like mouthpiece and six equally spaced finger holes...
- Dilli KavalFlageoletThe flageolet is a woodwind musical instrument and a member of the fipple flute family. Its invention is ascribed to the 16th century Sieur Juvigny in 1581. There are two basic forms of the instrument: the French, having four finger holes on the front and two thumb holes on the back; and the...
- ShviShviThe shvi which means "whistle" in Armenian, is a fipple flute with a labium mouth piece. Commonly made of wood or bamboo) and up to 12 inches in length, it typically has a range of an octave and a-half...
- FrulaFrulaA frula is the Serbian name for a musical instrument which resembles a small recorder or flute. It is an end-blown aerophone. Similar instruments are played throughout Eastern Europe and the Balkans...
- Murgu