Sambuca (musical instrument)
Encyclopedia
The sambuca was an ancient stringed instrument
of Asiatic origin.
of shrill tone., probably identical with the Phoenician and the Aramaic
, the Greek
form being or .
The sambuca has been compared to the siege engine
of the same name by some classical writers; Polybius
likens it to a rope ladder
; others describe it as boat-shaped. Among the musical instruments known, the Egyptian nanga best answers to these descriptions, which are doubtless responsible for the medieval
drawings representing the sambuca as a kind of tambourine
, for Isidore of Seville
elsewhere defines the symphonia
as a tambourine.
".
During the Middle Ages
the word "sambuca" was applied to
In an old glossary
article on (flute), the sambuca is said to be a kind of flute:
Isidore of Seville
describes it in his Etymologiae
as:
In a glossary by Papias of Lombardy (c. 1053), first printed at Milan
in 1476, the sambuca is described as a cithara, which in that century was generally glossed "harp
":
In Tristan und Isolde
(bars 7563-72) when the knight is enumerating to King Marke all the instruments upon which he can play, the sambiut is the last mentioned:
A Latin–French
glossary
has the equivalence Psalterium
= . During the later Middle Ages was often translated "sackbut
" in the vocabularies, whether merely from the phonetic similarity of the two words has not yet been established.
The great Boulogne Psalter
(11th Century) contains many fanciful instruments which are evidently intended to illustrate the equally vague and fanciful descriptions of instruments in the apocryphal letter of Saint Jerome
, ("to Dardanus
"). Among these is a , which resembles a somewhat primitive sackbut without the bell joint. In the 19th Century it was reproduced by Edmond de Coussemaker
, Charles de la Croix
and Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, and has given rise to endless discussions without leading to any satisfactory solution.
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
of Asiatic origin.
Form
The sambuca is generally supposed to have been a small triangular harpHarp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
of shrill tone., probably identical with the Phoenician and the Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
, the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
form being or .
The sambuca has been compared to the siege engine
Sambuca (siege engine)
The sambuca was a ship-borne siege engine which was invented by Heraclides of Tarentum and were first used unsuccessfully by Marcus Claudius Marcellus during the Roman siege of Syracuse in 213 BC. Polybius describes usage of the machine:...
of the same name by some classical writers; Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
likens it to a rope ladder
Ladder
A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps. There are two types: rigid ladders that can be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rope ladders that are hung from the top. The vertical members of a rigid ladder are called stringers or stiles . Rigid ladders are usually...
; others describe it as boat-shaped. Among the musical instruments known, the Egyptian nanga best answers to these descriptions, which are doubtless responsible for the medieval
drawings representing the sambuca as a kind of tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, for Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
elsewhere defines the symphonia
Symphonia
Symphonia is a much-discussed word, applied at different times to the bagpipe, the drum, the hurdy-gurdy, and finally a kind of clavichord...
as a tambourine.
Etymology
The is mentioned in the Bible ( verses 5 to 15). In the King James Bible it is erroneously translated as "sackbutSackbut
The sackbut is a trombone from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, i.e., a musical instrument in the brass family similar to the trumpet except characterised by a telescopic slide with which the player varies the length of the tube to change pitches, thus allowing them to obtain chromaticism, as...
".
During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
the word "sambuca" was applied to
- a stringed instrument, about which little can be discovered
- a wind instrument made from the wood of the elder treeElderberrySambucus is a genus of between 5 and 30 species of shrubs or small trees in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. It was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified due to genetic evidence...
(sambūcus).
In an old glossary
Glossary
A glossary, also known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms...
article on (flute), the sambuca is said to be a kind of flute:
sambuca (Latin singular sambucus) are soft and pliant trees, and from the sambucus is named one of the symphonia family of instruments, which is made from [the wood of] these trees.
Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
describes it in his Etymologiae
Etymologiae
Etymologiae is an encyclopedia compiled by Isidore of Seville towards the end of his life. It forms a bridge between a condensed epitome of classical learning at the close of Late Antiquity and the inheritance received, in large part through Isidore's work, by the early Middle Ages...
as:
The sambuca is in the symphonia family of musical instruments. It is also a kind of softwood from which these pipes are made.
In a glossary by Papias of Lombardy (c. 1053), first printed at Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in 1476, the sambuca is described as a cithara, which in that century was generally glossed "harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
":
Sambucas, simple harps.
In Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
(bars 7563-72) when the knight is enumerating to King Marke all the instruments upon which he can play, the sambiut is the last mentioned:
A Latin–French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
glossary
Glossary
A glossary, also known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms...
has the equivalence Psalterium
Psalterium
Psalterium may refer to:* Psalterium Georgii, a constellation*Psalterium *Psalterium , book of Psalms* Omasum, the third stomach of ruminants*For neuroanatomical structure, see Commissure of fornix...
= . During the later Middle Ages was often translated "sackbut
Sackbut
The sackbut is a trombone from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, i.e., a musical instrument in the brass family similar to the trumpet except characterised by a telescopic slide with which the player varies the length of the tube to change pitches, thus allowing them to obtain chromaticism, as...
" in the vocabularies, whether merely from the phonetic similarity of the two words has not yet been established.
The great Boulogne Psalter
Psalter
A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the later medieval emergence of the book of hours, psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons and were...
(11th Century) contains many fanciful instruments which are evidently intended to illustrate the equally vague and fanciful descriptions of instruments in the apocryphal letter of Saint Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
, ("to Dardanus
Dardanus
In Greek mythology, Dardanus was a son of Zeus and Electra, daughter of Atlas, and founder of the city of Dardania on Mount Ida in the Troad....
"). Among these is a , which resembles a somewhat primitive sackbut without the bell joint. In the 19th Century it was reproduced by Edmond de Coussemaker
Edmond de Coussemaker
Charles Edmond Henri de Coussemaker, known as Edmond de Coussemaker, born on 19 April 1805 in Belle, died on 10 January 1876 in Lille, was a schooled jurist. As a musicologist and ethnologist, he focused mainly on the heritage of French Flanders...
, Charles de la Croix
Charles de la Croix
Charles de la Croix was a Flemish Roman Catholic missionary.-Early life:He was born at Sint-Kornelis-Horebeke and was educated at the seminary in Ghent...
and Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, and has given rise to endless discussions without leading to any satisfactory solution.