Tsymbaly
Encyclopedia
Chordophone
A chordophone is any musical instrument that makes sound by way of a vibrating string or strings stretched between two points. It is one of the four main divisions of instruments in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification....
made up of a trapezoidal box with metal (steel or bronze) strings strung across it. The tsymbaly is played by striking two beaters against the strings
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...
.
The strings are strung in groups of 3-5, which are tuned in unison. The bass strings may have 1 or 2 wrapped strings tuned in union. The beaters were quite short in comparison to those used by the Cymbalom although not as short as those of the Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
variety. Traditionally they had leather wrappings rather than the cotton wrap used by Hungarian and Romanian players.
Under the Hornbostel-Sachs
Hornbostel-Sachs
Hornbostel–Sachs is a system of musical instrument classification devised by Erich Moritz von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs, and first published in the Zeitschrift für Ethnologie in 1914. An English translation was published in the Galpin Society Journal in 1961...
system of classification of musical instruments, it has the catalog number 314.122-4,5.
History
A small multi-stringed chordophoneChordophone
A chordophone is any musical instrument that makes sound by way of a vibrating string or strings stretched between two points. It is one of the four main divisions of instruments in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification....
was first was depicted on Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n frescoes dating back to 3500 B.C. It is thought to have developed from the Persian santur
Santur
The santur is a Persian hammered dulcimerIt is a trapezoid-shaped box often made of walnut or different exotic woods. The Persian classical santur has 72 strings. The name santur was first referenced in ancient Persian poetry...
, which entered Europe in 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...
during the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
.
Eastern Europe
With the rise of piano manufacturing ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in the 19th century, access to metal tuning pins and strings became much easier. The hammered dulcimer
Hammered dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
became popular throughout the Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
Empire, where it was quickly spread by itinerant Jewish and Romani (Gypsy) musicians. It spread to Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, where a variety of regional folk versions and concert instruments were developed. These instruments differed in size, tuning, number of strings and method of holding and playing the hammers.
Ukraine
According to Hnat KhotkevychHnat Khotkevych
Hnat Martynovych Khotkevych December 31, 1877 in Kharkiv, Russian Empire – October 8, 1938 in Kharkiv, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union) was a Ukrainian writer, ethnographer, playwright, composer, musicologist, and bandurist....
, the tsymbaly has existed in Ukraine since the 9th century.
The first documented evidence of the tsymbaly in Ukraine dates to 17th century, where it appears in various dictionaries.
The tsymbaly were relatively easy to make and quite forgiving in its manufacture. With access to piano wire
Piano wire
Piano wire, or "music wire", is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano strings, as well as many other purposes. It is made from tempered high-carbon steel, also known as spring steel.-Manufacture and use:...
and metal tuning pegs, an instrument could easily be constructed in the village environment. The instrument spread in popularity among the population in the Carpathian
Carpathian
Carpathian may refer to:*Carpathian Mountains of Central and Eastern Europe*Carpathian Convention on sustainable development in that region*Carpathian Shepherd Dog, a Romanian sheep dog*Subcarpathian Voivodeship, an administrative division of Poland...
s in Southwestern Ukraine particularly among the Hutsuls and Bukovinians
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
. It also became relatively popular in Boikivshchyna, Transcarpathia
Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia is a region in Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast , with smaller parts in easternmost Slovakia , Poland's Lemkovyna and Romanian Maramureş.It is...
, Podolia
Podolia
The region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...
, Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
and Eastern Ukraine.
The instrument is often used in folk ensembles known as Troyista muzyka, usually made up of 3 instruments played in an ensemble with the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, basolia
Basolia
The basolia is a Ukrainian folk instrument of the bowed string family similar to the cello although slightly larger and not as sophisticated in construction. The basolia was usually homemade and of very rough construction. Sometimes the soundboard was sewn to the body rather than glued...
, sopilka
Sopilka
Sopilka is a name applied to a variety of woodwind instruments of the flute family used by Ukrainian folk instrumentalists. Sopilka most commonly refers to a fife made of a variety of materials and has six to ten finger holes...
or bubon
Bubon
The bubon is a Ukrainian percussive folk instrument, of the tambourine family. The bubon consists of a wooden ring with a diameter of up to which has a skin tightened over one or sometimes both sides...
.
Tsymbaly in the Ukrainian diaspora
Tsymbaly playing is popular in Western Canada among the ethnic Ukrainian diaspora thereUkrainian Canadian
A Ukrainian Canadian is a person of Ukrainian descent or origin who was born in or immigrated to Canada. In 2006, there were an estimated 1,209,085 persons residing in Canada of Ukrainian origin, making them Canada's ninth largest ethnic group; and giving Canada the world's third-largest...
. Numerous music competitions exist, and the instrument defines what "Ukrainian-ness" is in the local music scene.
Types of Ukrainian Tsymbaly
1) The Hutsul tsymbaly: a small instrument usually carried by the musician, using a strap around the player's neck and leaning one edge of the instrument against the player's waist. These instruments usually have 12-13 courses of strings.2) A semi-concert tsymbaly: manufactured by the Chernihiv Musical Instrument Factory
Chernihiv Musical Instrument Factory
The Chernihiv musical instruments factory was a factory founded in 1933 making stringed instruments.It is named in honour of Pavel Postyshev.-History:...
in three sizes designed by Olexander Nezovybat'ko and Ivan Skliar. These instruments were manufactured from 1950-1986.
3) Concert cimbaloms: originally developed in Hungary by József Schunda
József Schunda
József Schunda and Vencel József Schunda were brothers and Hungarian musical instrument makers.József Schunda started a workshop in Pest in 1848, and his brother joined him as an apprentice in 1856, advancing to become a partner, and later the owner of the factory...
in the 1870s. These instruments stand on four legs, have many more strings, and a damping pedal. The concert cymbalom has replaced most of the smaller folk tsymbaly previously used in Ukrainian orchestras and in Academic Conservatory courses. These instruments are fully chromatic and have a range of over four octaves.
Use of the Tsymbaly in Ukrainian music
Concert works have been composed for the tsymbaly by professional Ukrainian composers V. Shumeiko, Volodymyr Zubytsky, Anatoliy Haidenko, Bohdan Kotiuk, Izydor Vymer, Dezyderiy Zador, Myroslav SkorykMyroslav Skoryk
Myroslav Skoryk is a famous Ukrainian composer of diverse and impressive compositions. His music is contemporary in style and contains stylistic traits from two disparate folk traditions: Ukrainian and American.- Early life :...
and Yevhen Stankovych
Yevhen Stankovych
Yevhen Fedorovych Stankovych is a contemporary Ukrainian composer of stage, orchestral, chamber, and choral works. His works have been performed around the globe.- Biography :...
.
Tsymbaly manufacturers in Ukraine
Among the first concert tsymbaly to be manufactured in Ukraine were made by the Melnytse-Podilsk workshop in Western UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
by Vasyl Zuliak. These instruments had two pedals and were slightly smaller than the concert Hungarian instruments, although the range was the same. Zuliak later made three different types of instrument.
Instruments were also made by the Chernihiv Musical Instrument Factory
Chernihiv Musical Instrument Factory
The Chernihiv musical instruments factory was a factory founded in 1933 making stringed instruments.It is named in honour of Pavel Postyshev.-History:...
. These instruments were designed by Ivan Skliar aided by O. Nezovybat'ko. They were made in 3 sizes: prima, alto and bass.
Prominent Tsymbaly players of Ukraine
Some notable Ukrainian tsymbaly players are:- Taras Baran: Professor of tsymbaly at the Lviv ConservatoryLviv ConservatoryThe Lviv National Musical Academy, M. Lysenko is a state conservatory of Ukraine based in Lviv.-History:...
. - Gheorghe Agratina: Professor of tsymbaly at the Kiev ConservatoryKiev ConservatoryThe Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music is a Ukrainian state institution of higher music education. Its courses include postgraduate education.-History:...
. - Dumitru Popiciuc: One of the first tsymbaly graduates from the Kiev Conservatory.
- Oleksander Nezovybatko: One of the pioneers of tsymbaly playing in Eastern Ukraine.
Sources
- Bandera, M. J. - The Tsymbaly maker and His Craft - The Ukrainian Hammered Dulcimer in Alberta - Edmonton:CIUS. 1991
- Baran, T. - The Cimbalom world - Lviv: Svit, 1999
- - The Cimbalom player Taras Baran - Lviv: Kobzar, 2001
- Humeniuk, A. - Ukrainski narodni muzychni instrumenty - Kiev: Naukova dumkaNaukova DumkaNaukova Dumka is a publishing house in Kiev, Ukraine.It was established by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in 1922, and is one of the oldest scientific and academic publishing houses in the former USSR...
, 1967 - Ivanov, P. - Orkestr ukrainskykh narodnykh instrmentiv - Kiev: Muzychna Ukraina, 1981
- Khotkevych, H. - Instrumenty Ukrainskoho narodu - Kharkiv: DVU, 1930
- Mizynec, V. - Ukrainian Folk Instruments - Melbourne: Bayda books, 1984
- Nezovybat'ko, O. - Shkola hry na ukrainskykh tsymbalakh - Kiev: Mystetsvo, 1966
- Nezovyba'ko O. - Ukrainski tsymbaly - Kiev: Muzychna Ukraina, 1976.
- Cherkasky, L. - Ukrainski narodni muzychni instrumenty // Tekhnika, Kiev, Ukraine, 2003 - 262 pages. ISBN 966-575-111-5