Double reed instrument
Double reed instruments (short double reed instruments) are wind instruments whose sound is produced by a double reed . When blowing, a pair of similar, opposing leaves is excited to vibrate. According to the way it works, this reed is also referred to as a counter blow tongue.
Due to the vibration of the reed, the air flow is interrupted at a certain frequency and then released again. This causes the air column in the instrument body to vibrate and the tone sounds. The pitch is determined by the length, diameter and shape of the body ( conical / cylindrical ). Clay scales can be created by opening or closing finger holes .
In the western orchestra , the double sheet instruments Oboe (with English horn ) and bassoon (with contrabassoon represented). There are also many traditional instruments around the world, including the bombard , the zurna , the duduk and the suona . In Europe during the Renaissance, in addition to the shawms, numerous other double reed instruments were used, for example the krummhorn or the rauschpfeife .
Together with the single reed instruments , the double reed instruments form the category of reed instruments that belong to the woodwind instruments . The structure of the melody tubes of many bagpipes corresponds to that of double reed instruments.
terminology
To summarize double reed instruments, oboes , traditional oboes, cone oboes, folk oboes are also spoken of. A more detailed distinction is made between (conical) cone oboes and (cylindrical) short oboes . Historical and modern instruments are not taken into account. Another collective term is shawms or shawm instruments . In a broader sense, however, it can also be used for all (traditional) reed instruments (see shawm ).
The terminology for the individual instruments is often fluctuating. The same name can represent very different instruments. Catalan Xeremia is used in different regions for a double or single reed instrument or for a bagpipe. The underlying old French word chalemie could already designate double and single reed instruments. Accordingly, Schalmei is derived from this for a type of double-reed instrument, but also Chalumeau for a single-reed instrument.
Conversely, the same or very similar instruments can have different names. For example, in the Catalan-speaking area , Dulzaina , Gralla and Xirimita refer to the same type of instrument in different regions.
Sound and style of play
The tone of double-reed instruments is usually more open than that of single-reed instruments and is often penetrating, especially on smaller instruments with a conical tube. Instruments with large blades or cylindrical tubes can also sound softer. Wind capsule instruments with a cylindrical tube often have a rasping sound.
With traditional and some historical instruments, the reed is completely inserted into the oral cavity. With this approach ("wind capsule approach", "approach with inflated cheeks"), the lips enclose the leaf below the freely swinging leaf tongues. The oral cavity forms an air reservoir from which the air flows evenly into the instrument. To support the lip closure, some instruments have a round or oval lip support, which is also called a pirouette . Unlike with directly blown instruments, the musician with wind capsule instruments has no direct contact with the reed. The wind capsule forms a chamber in which the reed swings freely. In the traditional way of playing, instruments with a conical tube are usually blown only once, while the instruments with a cylindrical tube are not blown at all . In the Middle East and Asia, they are often played with circular breathing .
The modern instruments and some historical instruments, on the other hand, are played "lip-directed", that is, the upper and lower lips are placed over the tooth dam and enclose the two reeds. This approach is also known as the "oboe approach". By changing the pressure and position of the lips, the tone can be modulated and the instrument can be overblown several times. The oboe approach is now occasionally used on traditional instruments without a wind cap in order to expand their musical possibilities.
to form
- Reed
In European instruments, the reed is usually made of reed or stake cane , in Asia bamboo ( Duduk , Pi Or ), a type of sugar cane ( saccharum spontaneum , Shehnai ), reed grass ( Taepyeongso ) or palm leaves ( Pi Chanai , Hne ) are traditionally used. Today, plastic is also found for the reeds. In some cases a clasp regulates the tension of the reed (Duduk, Pi Or, Hichiriki ). The reed is often attached to the instrument with the aid of a metal sleeve to which the reed is tied. The pirouette can be placed below the reed ( Pommer , Piffero , Zurna , Shehnai, Suona ).
- Wind capsule
In the Renaissance period, the mouthpieces of double- pipe instruments were often provided with wind capsules ( Krummhorn , Cornamuse , Schryari , Rauschpfeife , Kortholt ).
- Body
Various woods, often fruit or hardwood, are used as material for the body . The body can be decorated depending on the craft tradition. A special feature are curved shapes ( oboe da caccia , an instrument called Mvahli of the Nepalese Newar ). The Sarrusophone has a metal body.
The smallest double reed instruments are between 10 and 20 cm long, the largest have a tube length of several meters, but they are folded once or several times (the contrabassoon has an air column of almost six meters). This connection of parallel tubes to a sound tube can be found in the sordun , the dulcian and the bassoon . The principle is most consistent with the Rankett , in which even the large bass instruments only have small external dimensions due to the nine-fold kinking of the sound tube.
The majority of double-reed instruments have a conical inner bore. But instruments with a cylindrical sound tube are no exception ( Krummhorn , Cornamuse , Sordun , Rankett , Duduk , Mey , Hujia , Guan , Piri and Hichiriki ). They correspond to the tone gedackten pipes and hence may sound an octave lower than conical instruments or flutes equal length. Because of the counter-conical outer shape, a counter-conical inner bore can be assumed for the Schryari .
In addition to the finger holes (often 6–9), there are holes on many instruments that serve as sound holes or can be sealed with wax in order to create other tone scales.
- Falls
The cylindrical double-reed instruments usually do not have a bell . On the other hand, it is very pronounced on many instruments with a conical sound tube (see the designation "cone oboes"). The body and bell can be made from one piece ( shawm , zurna ). Often the falls are also put on. In addition to wooden lintels, there are those made of metal, often brass ( oboe da caccia , tenora , suona , gyaling ). The Hne has a metal funnel hanging loosely over the end of the sound tube.
In addition to the funnel-shaped falls, there are egg-shaped ( musette , oboe d'amore , English horn , Heckelphone ).
History and dissemination
- Antiquity and late antiquity
Double reeds are likely to have been used to produce music as early as prehistoric times. For the oldest evidence and the development in antiquity, see the article Aulos . The instruments, usually played in pairs, were called aulos by the Greeks , subulo by the Etruscans and tibia by the Romans . These names refer to both double and single reed instruments.
Since the music of the ancient reed instruments was an important part of religious ceremonies and the mystery cults , it was sharply rejected by the Christian church fathers . For a long time church music was restricted to singing. The aulets sank to minstrels and jugglers. It can only be assumed that double-reed instruments were preserved in popular culture in the West into the Middle Ages.
- Middle East, Central and East Asia, North Africa
In the Islamic cultural area, the legacy of antiquity was adopted more freely. From forerunners of the Arabic cone oboe Mizmar , the instruments developed in Persia that are still preserved today as sornay . In Turkey and the Balkans the corresponding instrument is called zurna . Often two of these instruments play together, with one perhaps providing a drone to the melody in the tradition of the ancient double aleos. They are rhythmically complemented by a drum.
In North Africa such instruments are called Ghaita or Algaita and on the East African coast Nzumari .
In Islamic times, the type of instrument spread via the trade routes under derivative names across Central and South Asia to China, while the Indian Mohori refers to a pre-Islamic origin of the double reed instruments in India. In Pakistan the cone oboe is called Turi , in India Shehnai , in Sri Lanka Horonava , in Nepal Mvahli , in China Suona . It came to Korea between the 10th and 14th centuries and was named Taepyeongso (also Soaenap ) there. In Myanmar the cone oboe developed into the Hne , in Cambodia the Sralai (without bell ). Islamic immigrants brought her to Malaysia and Indonesia , where she is called Sarune ( sarunei, serune ) on Sumatra , Tarompet ( selompret ) on Java , Preret on the island of Lombok and Puik-puik in the south of Sulawesi .
The distribution of the short oboes with cylindrical bore is likely to have proceeded in a similar manner. The instrument, which is called Mey in Turkey , is Armenian national instrument as Duduk . Similar forms are called Hujia in northwest China, Guan in China , Piri in Korea, and Hichiriki in Japan .
- Europe in the High Middle Ages and the Renaissance
In the West , too , the double-reed instruments were (again) spread through contact with the Islamic world. Since the time of the Crusades and the Venetian Mediterranean trade , the shawms have been very popular with minstrels in the western Mediterranean and Central Europe. During the Renaissance, different forms were built into instrument families. The pomeranian and the dulcian joined the shawms . With a cylindrical tube, there were Rankette and Sordune in all voices . The wind capsule instruments included the Rauschpfeife , Krummhorn and Cornamuse .
From Spain, a double-reed instrument with a cylindrical chess tube spreads under the name Chirimía in some areas of Latin America and Central America.
- Baroque and 19th century
In the Baroque era , wind capsule instruments were receded. From the high shawm, Jean de Hotteterre (died 1691) developed the baroque oboe with a narrower cone and two keys for the lowest notes. From France, the instrument spread across Europe. As a bass instrument, the baroque bassoon gradually replaced the dulcian.
Even with the Renaissance instruments, keys were used on large instruments where the grip span of the hand was insufficient. These flaps were protected by a wooden cover called a fontanel . A few flaps were added in the baroque period. It was not until the 19th century that numerous keys were added to make it easier to grip semitones and embellishments, as well as for easier overblowing and to improve intonation. The modern oboe has up to 21 keys, the bassoon has up to 25.
In addition to the instruments for courtly or civil music as well as for church music, the folk instruments developed from the shawm continue to exist, especially in the Mediterranean region. These include the Bombarde from Brittany , the Hautbois Languedocia , the Gralla , Tarota , Tible and Tenora from Catalonia, the Ciaramella and the Piffero from Italy and the Sopila from Istria . They are often played together with bagpipes .
In many areas, instruments had declined sharply or became extinct at the turn of the 20th century. With the cultivation of regional awareness, their importance for their own cultural identity was discovered in many places and the revival and further development were promoted. So today some traditional instruments are provided with keys (Tenora, Tible, Bombarde) in order to expand the playing possibilities.
literature
- Gisa Jähnichen, Terada Yoshitaka (Ed.): Double Reeds along the Great Silk Road. Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Logos Verlag, Berlin 2019
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heinz Stefan Herzka : Schalmeien der Welt: Volksoboen and Volksklarinetten - Distribution and history of musical instruments with the magical sound . Schwabe, Basel 2003, ISBN 3-7965-1969-5 .
- ↑ a b David Munrow : Musical instruments of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance . Moeck, 1980 (English: Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, 1976. ).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Hans-Jürgen Schaal: Zurna, Shenai, Argol - The magical sound of the reed (2006). Retrieved October 7, 2009 .
- ↑ Herzka, Schalmeien, p. 74
- ↑ Heinz Becker : On the history of the development of ancient and medieval reed instruments . Hamburg 1966.
- ↑ Becker, History of Development, pp. 154f
- ↑ Herzka, Schalmeien, p. 75
- ↑ Herzka, Schalmeien, p. 155
- ↑ Charles McNett: The chirimía: A Latin American shawm. In: The Galpin Society Journal , Vol. 13, July 1960, pp. 44-51
- ↑ Herzka, Schalmeien, p. 170
- ↑ Herzka, Schalmeien, p. 188