Tenora
The tenora ( Catalan la tenora , "the tenor shawm ") is a Catalan woodwind instrument with a double reed . It was isolated in Catalonia from the shawm , which was widespread in large parts of Europe in the Middle Ages , especially from the xeremia tenora . Her current name is derived from this by abbreviation. Today this instrument only occurs in this form in Catalonia and is the leading solo instrument in the performance of the sardanas .
Design
The tenora's play tube consists of three parts: the upper and middle parts are made from the jew's thorn (wood from the Ziziphus jujuba or jujube shrub ); the bell is made of metal. Today it is 85 cm long. Forerunner of Tenora was to the 19th century used Tarota that cm in descant about 60, in the alto range was about 70 cm long and is made of book or fruit woods. From 1849, Andreu Toron in Perpignan gave it the three-part construction with 13 keys described above, according to Pep Ventura, the first great soloist of this instrument. The Tible was derived from the Tenora as a significantly smaller version of this type of instrument.
Mood and style of play
The tenora is tuned in B. It has a range of approximately three octaves from F sharp 0 to D 3 (sound a big second lower). It is characterized by a rich sonority and intensity and has a very harmonious and expressive effect. It is therefore particularly suitable for outdoor concerts and is used in the Sardana band (also known as Cobla) as the leading solo instrument. In the sardana, the tenora often leads musical dialogues with her younger brother, the tible. The Sardana composer Juli Garreta i Arboix characterizes the tenora as follows: “There is only one instrument that can reproduce a cry of happiness or pain in a human voice and that is the tenora.” (Catalan: “Només hi ha un instrument al món que pugui donar un crit de joia, o de dolor, amb veu humana, i aquest és la tenora. ")
literature
- Enciclopèdia Catalana: Tenora. In: Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana . Retrieved April 10, 2020 (Catalan).
- Enciclopèdia Catalana: Tenora. In: Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música . Retrieved April 10, 2020 (Catalan).
