Cymbalon
Top view and playing area of a modern concert cimbalom
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| Classification | String instrument (struck or plucked) |
|---|---|
| Playing range | |
| Various (see 2.2 "The Concert Cimbalom") | |
| Related instruments | |
The cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box with metal strings stretched across its top. It is a musical instrument commonly found in the group of Central-Eastern European nations and cultures, namely contemporary Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is also popular in Greece and gypsy music. The cimbalom is (typically) played by striking two beaters against the strings. The steel treble strings are arranged in groups of 4 and are tuned in unison. The bass strings which are over-spun with copper, are arranged in groups of 3 and are also tuned in unison. The Hornbostel-Sachs musical instrument classification system registers the cimbalom with the number 314.122-4,5. Moreover, the instrument name “cimbalom” also denotes earlier, smaller versions of the cimbalom, and folk cimbaloms, of different tone groupings, string arrangements, and box types.
In English, the cimbalom spelling is the most common, followed by the variants, derived from Austria-Hungary’s languages, cimbál, cymbalom, cymbalum, țambal, tsymbaly and tsimbl etc. Santur, Santouri, sandouri and a number of other non Austro-Hungarian names are sometimes applied to this instrument in regions beyond Austria-Hungary which have their own names for related instruments of the hammer dulcimer family.
The first representation of a simple struck chordophone (or "zither") can be found in the Assyrian bas-relief in Kyindjuk dated back to 3500 BC. Since that time, each region of the world has evolved their own specific version of this percussive stretched-string instrument.
Building on a regional derivation of the zither, the Hungarian concert cimbalom was created by V. Josef Schunda in 1874. The impetus to create such an elaborate instrument was born out of an attempt to establish a more formal "concert" cimbalom that would, in turn, help to establish a stronger 18th century Hungarian national identity. Schunda was part of a nationwide movement to "break away" from the strong association the country had with Romani musicians who often played a much more modest zither on street corners throughout Budapest. Schunda began serial production of the concert cimbalom out of a piano shop located across the street from the Budapest Opera House in Buda in 1874..
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Wikipedia