Balaban (wind instrument)

Azerbaijani balaban

Balaban , bālābān , is a cylindrical woodwind instrument with a large double reed that is played in Azerbaijani music and Iranian music in northern Iran and northeastern Iraq . A short oboe of the same shape and name is the yasti balaban in Dagestan . The Armenian duduk , the Georgian duduki , the Kurdish dûdûk and the Turkish mey are also related .

The Uzbek and Tajik balaban is a single reed instrument (clarinet) similar to the Turkmen dilli tüýdük .

Design

The Azerbaijani balaban is made from peach, mulberry or pear wood. It is about 28 to 37 centimeters long and has an outer diameter of 2 to 2.2 centimeters. In addition, there is a 9 to 11 centimeter long double reed, which is in a spherical socket ( kup ). In the middle, the reeds are held in shape by a wooden clasp. When not in use, the reeds are protected by a cap that hangs down on a string at the upper end when playing. The game tube has seven or eight finger holes ( ses perdesi ) at the top and one thumb hole at the bottom. The range is eleven tones ( undecimal ). By partially covering the finger holes, a chromatic tone sequence can be produced. Different sizes are divided into alto , tenor and bass instruments according to their pitch , namely cürə balaban (short, cf. cura ), bəm balaban (bass) and zil balaban (tenor, cf. zil ).

The balaban in northern Iran (also narme ney ) is made of mulberry or walnut wood, is 35 centimeters long and has seven finger holes and one thumb hole. A corresponding wind instrument called a balaban or qarnata , which is played by the Kurds and Turkmens in northeastern Iraq , consists of plum wood and a wide, approximately ten centimeter long double reed.

The Uzbeks and Tajiks play the single- reed instrument balaban with a 30 centimeter long, cylindrical tube, seven finger holes and a thumb hole. The Karakalpaks call this instrument balaman .

Style of play

Two Azerbaijani balaban players at a concert by epensingers ( aşıq ) in Saint-Florent-le-Vieil , 2013. Shirzad Fataliyev (left) plays the melody, Shohrat Aliyev (right) drones.

The balaban is preferably played in ensembles with another balaban , which contributes a drone , and with a double-headed cylinder drum nağara ( naghara , similar to the Georgian doli ) or a frame drum daf . This line-up belongs to the davul - zurna ensemble type, which is widespread in the Orient ; similarly in the Balkans the drum tapan and the cone oboe zurla play together on festive occasions. The balaban is used to accompany songs, dances and for instrumental pieces, also as a solo instrument. Since the composer Üzeyir Hacıbəyov introduced a folk music orchestra in 1931, the balaban has also been represented in large Azerbaijani orchestras by professional musicians and in amateur groups in cities and in the countryside.

The sound of the balaban is soft, velvety and rich in overtones. However, it is not suitable for particularly virtuoso playing.

The balaban can also be used to accompany an aşıq (epic singer ) (variant aşıq balabanı ).

Some Azerbaijani balaban players are Əli Kərimovun (Ali Kerimov, 1874–1962), Bahruz Zeynalov (1926–2000), Museyib Abbasov, Shahmurad Tahirov, Hasrat Huseynov, Izzatali Zulfugarov, Hasan Maharramov, Alihan Samadedov and Alij.

Other wind instruments that are played in Azerbaijan are the bowling oboe zurna , the beaked flute tutek , the end-edge flute ney and the bagpipe tulum .

origin

An ancient forerunner of cylindrical woodwind instruments is the monaulos . A cylinder oboe of the balaban type is mentioned in the Turkic, mythical tale Dede Korkut (Azerbaijani Kitabi Dədə Qorqud ). In the 17th century, the Ottoman travel writer Evliya Çelebi described a wind instrument called the belban in Istanbul . The balaban used to have five to seven finger holes. At the end of the 19th century, two more finger holes were added and the music tube was lengthened to make the instrument sound deeper.

literature

• Saadat Abdullayeva: Enchanting Sounds of Balaban. In: IRS Heritage, No. 2, 2010, pp. 48-51
• Bālābān. In: Encyclopædia Iranica
• Jean During ao: Bālābān. In: Laurence Libin (Ed.): The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments . Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2014, p. 181

Web links

Commons : Balaban  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Balaban Karabach (German)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kara Hasanoǧlu: A Comparative View of the Mey, Balaban and Duduk as Organological Phenomena. Paper. 37th ICTM World Music Conference, Fuzhou & Quanzhou, China, 15. – 22. July 2003, pp. 437-446, here p. 440
2. ↑ Saadat Abdullayeva, 2010, p. 50