Síppal, dobbal, nádihegedüvel (With Pipes, Drums, Fiddles) (2000) is a song cycle

Song cycle

A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's...

 by György Ligeti

György Ligeti

György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...

 on poetry by Sándor Weöres

Sándor Weöres

Sándor Weöres was a Hungarian poet and author.Born in Szombathely, Weöres was brought up in the nearby village of Csönge. His first poems appeared when he was nineteen, being published in the influential journal Nyugat through the acceptance of its editor, the poet Mihály Babits...

. The work is scored for mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano

A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...

 and an unusual ensemble of percussion and wind instruments (including, in some songs, slide whistles and harmonicas). The lyrics are whimsical and often nonsensical, sometimes combining random Hungarian

Hungarian language

Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....

 words or parts of words into a nonsense language.

One of Ligeti's last works, it represents a synthesis of folk and avant-garde elements typical of his later compositions.

Instrumentation

• Mezzo-soprano
• 4 percussionists, playing the following instruments:
  • triangle, crotales (suspended), pair of cymbals (high, with a coughing sound), cymbal with the sound of a broken pot, 2 suspended cymbals (high/low), tam-tam or gong (as low as possible), 2 cowbells (one dull, the other lower), Japanese bell (high), Japanese temple bells (Rin
    Singing bowl
    Singing bowls are a type of bell, specifically classified as a standing bell. Rather than hanging inverted or attached to a handle, singing bowls sit with the bottom surface resting...
    
    ) (tuned), Burmese gongs (tuned), tubular bell
    Tubular bell
    Tubular bells are musical instruments in the percussion family. Each bell is a metal tube, 30–38 mm in diameter, tuned by altering its length. Its standard range is from C4-F5, though many professional instruments reach G5 . Tubular bells are often replaced by studio chimes, which are a smaller...
    
    s, 3 different snare drums, 2 rototoms (high), bongo or conga (tuned), 3 bongos, tambourine, 2 tom-toms (one of which low but not resonant), log drum
    Log drum
    A log drum is a type of unpitched percussion instrument.*see drum for the history of log drum and information on the log drum as a means of communication in ancient cultures* see also:**Tongue drum**Slit drum**Bosalabos**Wood block...
    
    , wood drum (with muffled sound), low slit drum, 2 bass drum
    Bass drum
    Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
    
    s (medium and low), 4 temple blocks, woodblock, sandpaper blocks, claves, castanets, Japanese wooden rattle, sistrum
    Sistrum
    A sistrum is a musical instrument of the percussion family, chiefly associated with ancient Iraq and Egypt. It consists of a handle and a U-shaped metal frame, made of brass or bronze and between 76 and 30 cm in width...
    
    , chimes (unpitched), maraca, ratchet, guiro
    Güiro
    The güiro is a Latin-American percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound. The güiro is commonly used in Latin-American music, and plays a key role...
    
    , vibraslap
    Vibraslap
    A vibraslap is a percussion instrument consisting of a piece of stiff wire connecting a wood ball to a hollow box of wood with metal “teeth” inside. The percussionist holds the metal wire in one hand and strikes the ball...
    
    , large whip, 2 slide whistles, railway whistle (or signal whistle), 2 police whistles (rather high/as high as possible), 2 siren whistles, metal pipe, sopranino ocarina
    Ocarina
    The ocarina is an ancient flute-like wind instrument. Variations do exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body...
    
     in F, 2 soprano ocarinas in C, 3 recorders (descant, treble, tenor), 4 Hohner
    Hohner
    Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a company specialising in the manufacture of musical instruments. Founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner , Hohner is identified especially with harmonicas and accordions. The Hohner company has invented and produced many different styles, and most of the...
    
     M270 chromonicas
    Harmonica
    The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
    
    , lion's roar, 2 flexatone
    Flexatone
    The flexatone is a modern percussion instrument consisting of a small flexible metal sheet suspended in a wire frame ending in a handle. -History, construction and technique:...
    
    s, glockenspiel
    Glockenspiel
    A glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
    
    , xylophone
    Xylophone
    The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
    
    , vibraphone
    Vibraphone
    The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
    
    , 2 marimbas, bass marimba.

The percussion disposition for the different movements is as follows:

I. Fabula

• 1. 1st Marimba, 1st slide whistle, 1st siren whistle, side drum, descant recorder
• 2. 2nd Marimba, 2nd slide whistle, 2nd siren whistle, small side drum, treble recorder
• 3. Bass marimba, 1st flexatone, 1st marimba, Burmese gong in F sharp, tenor recorder
• 4. Medium and low bass drums, 2nd flexatone, lion's roar, 2nd marimba, tam-tam, cymbal with the sound of a broken pot

II. Táncdal

• 1. 2 Police whistles, log drum, tom-tom, small pair of cymbals (with coughing sound), ratchet, castanets, wood drum (with muffled sound), guiro, railway whistle, vibraslap, slide whistle, sandpaper blocks, 2 cowbells, tambourine, siren whistle, 2 rototoms, tuned bongo or conga, low slit drum, 4 temple blocks (tuned), low cymbal (bowed)
• 2. 1st marimba, sopranino ocarina in F
• 3. 2nd marimba, 1st soprano ocarina in C
• 4. Bass marimba, 2nd soprano ocarina in C

III. Kínai templom

• 1. Rin, glockenspiel
• 2. Burmese gongs, crotales
• 3. Tubular bells
• 4. Vibraphone

IV. Kuli

• 1. Xylophone
• 2. 1st marimba
• 3. 2nd marimba
• 4. Bass marimba

V. Alma álma

• 1. 1st Chromonica in C
• 2. 2nd Chromonica in B flat
• 3. 3rd Chromonica in C
• 4. 4th Chromonica in B flat

VI. Keserédes (67. Magyar Etüd)

• 1. Claves, sopranino ocarina in F
• 2. 3 different snare drums and tom-tom, 1st soprano ocarina in C
• 3. Vibraphone
• 4. Bass marimba, 2nd soprano ocarina in C

VII. Szajkó

• 1. Maraca, bass drum, tambourine, Japanese wood rattle, castanets, wood block, sistrum, chimes (unpitched), metal bar, guiro, small Japanese bell, tom-tom, 2 police whistles, railway whistle, triangle, 4 temple blocks, 2 different side drums, small suspended cymbal, lion's roar, big whip
• 2. 4 bongos (tuned ad lib)
• 3. Xylophone
• 4. Marimba