Jaltarang
Jaltarang , also jal tarang, jaltarangam (from Sanskrit jal , "water" and tarang "wave" or "sequence of tones") is an Indian musical instrument that belongs to the idiophones . It consists of 15 to 22 water-filled porcelain bowls that are set up in a semicircle and struck with light sticks. The tones can be tuned by the amount of water and the size of the bowls.
The jaltarang is possibly mentioned in the ancient Indian Sanskrit literature as udaka vadyam ("water instrument"), it occurs among other things in the Kamasutra . Alexander the Great is said to have brought musicians back from India, including jaltarang players. There is no reliable information on the origin. A comparable metal musical instrument is depicted in a Greek manuscript from the 4th century and appears in a Byzantine text from the 9th century. Sources from China and Malaysia report on it from the 10th century. In India, the jaltarang was first mentioned in the 17th century by the South Indian musician Ahobal in his work on ancient Indian music, Sangit parijat .
Before the introduction of porcelain (after the 10th century), metal cups were used. Today the instrument is played in North and South Indian music . Accompanying instruments in South India are a violin and the double-headed drum mridangam . A well-known jaltarang player of north Indian classical music is Milind Tulankar , a south Indian player is Anayampatti S. Ganesan .
A similar percussion instrument set up in a semicircle is the tabla tarang , which belongs to the membranophones . The kashta-tarang xylophone is much rarer in India than the jaltarang .
literature
- Jaltarangam. In: P. Sambamurthy: A Dictionary of South Indian Music and Musicians. Vol. 2 (G-K), The Indian Music Publishing House, Madras 1984, pp. 240-242
Individual evidence
- ^ B. Chaitanya Deva: Musical Instruments of India. Their History and Development. KLM Private Limited, Calcutta 1978, p. 50f
- ↑ David Courtney: Kasht Tarang. chandrakantha.com
