Schellenbaum
The bell tree , English Turkish crescent ("Turkish crescent") or jingling Johnny (" jingling Johnny "), French chapeau chinois ("Chinese hat"), is a richly decorated, representative standard of military music and thus also of the carnival music clubs and marching bands . In the military music corps it is worn for special occasions. Musically it is only effective when marching through the rhythmically resonating bells and bells.
Appearance
The bell tree, which was also called the “ crescent moon ” or “Muhammad's flag ” not only because of its origins but also because of its appearance , is a Turkish rattle or bell instrument that came into German regimental music at the time of the Turkish wars . Are mounted on a support rod with cross beams and crossbars clamps and bells secured that sound when worn during a move, and / or rhythmic up and down. At the upper end there is a kind of standard , underneath the lying crescent bar, mostly colored horse hair (horse's tail) is attached and underneath in turn a number of cross braces with the attached sound bodies over a similar ball. A lush bell tree, as carried in music associations, weighs more than ten kilograms and is often over two meters in size, so that the wearer should have a sufficient constitution during a parade march lasting several hours. Helpers are often at his side, with whom he takes turns.
origin
In England the bell tree is called Turkish crescent , the soldiers also called it jingling Johnnie . The crescent-shaped part on the upper part of the carrying bar indicates the Ottoman Empire as the country of origin. The Ottoman travel writer Evliya Çelebi (1611–1683) mentioned an instrument called çaǧana ( chaghana ), which was popular in the European part of the Ottoman Empire at the time, and attributed it to a Persian origin. Henry George Farmer (1937) interpreted Çelebi's çaǧana as a bell tree, but what Çelebi meant by this is unclear. Deborah M. Olsen (1991) suspected that the bell tree could have had its origin in Central Asia or China, which the French name chapeau chinois ("Chinese hat") alludes to. The instruments used by the Ottoman Mehterhâne music bands , which were used in the military and on representative occasions, have parallels in medieval orchestras in Central Asia and North China.
The European bell tree could have emerged in the 17th century from the Tugh badge of rank of the Ottoman military leaders and entered Janissary music, an orientalizing European military music style that was later played with Western instruments. From there it was taken over by the Ottoman military bands in the 19th century, in which the bell tree ( çaǧana ) was used together with the percussion instruments - the frame drums davul , the kettle drums nakkare and the pair cymbals zil by rhythmic shaking to the rhythmic and characteristic accompaniment of the melody-leading wind instruments . The attached horse tails were often colored and different in number depending on the rank of the commander. A sultan had six, a vizier four and a pasha two of them.
For the design of the European bell tree in the 18th century, another Turkish musical instrument that was not used by the military, called the cewhan , was perhaps the model . The cewhan was a hand-held sickle-shaped rod rattle with a bell and probably corresponded to the çaǧana mentioned by Çelebi .
Ottoman bell tree
Bell trees in an Ottoman chapel
Bell trees at a large tattoo by the BGS , 1961
Old bell tree
Schellenbaum of the music association of Calcar (probably 19th century)
Use in European troops
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At first the brass music was taken over from the conflicts between the European states and Turkey. The Prussian troops only took over the Schellenbaum after they had captured one in the wars of 1813/15 . The bell tree thus achieved the status of a victory or honorary instrument and served as a standard . An eight-pointed star was added to the Prussian bell tree, the shape of which is based on the star of the Order of the Black Eagle , founded in 1701 . These signs were carried in front of the commanders during parades and / or subsequently placed in front of their tents or accommodations. After the Wars of Liberation , many cities donated bell trees to the units stationed with them, which were later standardized in the provisions of January 27, 1902 applicable to new acquisitions by a decree of Kaiser Wilhelm II . The bell tree was therefore not considered a musical instrument , but a trophy . It is also documented that it was used as a gift from Kaiser Wilhelm I to King Kalākaua of Hawaii on the occasion of his visit to Berlin and Essen in 1881.
In the Reichswehr , the individual troops continued the tradition of carrying bell trees during presentations. Uniform regulations on appearance and use also existed in the Wehrmacht . In the Bundeswehr , too , the bell tree with black, red and gold horse hair made of plastic and the federal eagle on the tip is part of the equipment of a music corps. Likewise, the National People's Army did not dispense with this symbol. However, instead of the federal eagle, a hammer and compass were placed on top of the wreath as an emblem.
literature
- Deborah M. Olsen: The Schellenbaum: A Communal Society's Symbol of Allegiance. In: Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. 92, No. 4, The Aurora Colony. Winter 1991/1992, pp. 360-376
- Memo G. Schachiner: Schellenbaum. In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 4, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-7001-3046-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Henry George Farmer (ed. And transl.): Turkish Instruments of Music in the Seventeenth Century. As described in the Siyāḥat nāma of Ewliyā Chelebī. Civic Press, Glasgow 1937, p. 8
- ↑ Deborah M. Olsen, p. 361
- ^ Michael Pirker: Janissary music. In: Grove Music Online , 2001
- ↑ James Blades: Turkish crescent . In: Grove Music Online, 2001
- ^ Harrison Powley: Janissary Music (Turkish Music) . In: John H. Beck (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Percussion . Taylor & Francis, New York 2013, p. 186
- ^ Influence of Prussia , Honolulu Star-Bulletin Sunday, January 23, 2005