RE: Cimbalom recordings, history

[Paul M. Gifford <PGIFFORD...>]

Noel Kropf <noel (at) datacap(dot)com> said:
> 
> I have seen numerous suggestions on the EEFC
> list server (majordomo (at) eefc(dot)org) that the Cimbalom came to Europe 
> from
> India well before the 1400's but I don't have any scholarly sources to
> back this up.
> 
Nor are there any scholarly resources to suggest an Indian origin.  
First of all, until the '60s, it wasn't played in India, only in 
Kashmir.  It was undoubtedly imported from Iraq.  The earliest 
representations of the instrument in the Islamic world (where it is
hammered) occur in Turkey in the 16th century, AFTER European 
illustrations occur in the 15th century, especially in Burgundy.  
Perhaps it was introduced to Turkey from Kronstadt (now Brasov, 
Romania).  

I might as well mention that the best Romanian Gypsy cimbalom player
in the U.S. is Nicolae Feraru, who has been here for 10 years and 
lives in Chicago.  He had a couple of LPs on the Electrecord label in 
Romania and has a tape recorded here.  Contact him at 773-878-0147 
for further info.  He was one of a half-dozen virtuosos in Bucharest 
in the '70s and '80s.  He specializes naturally in muzica lautareasca,
but plays some music which also is played in klezmer tradition.  It 
would be nice if some record label were interested in this music, but
I don't think there are any recordings currently available of 
Romanian Gypsy music featuring it as a solo instrument.  Some of Toni 
Iordache's (the most famous player, 1942-1987) have been reissued on 
CD in Romania, but are not really available in the U.S.  Nicu plays 
mostly at weddings, which in the Romanian Gypsy tradition is mainly 
where it is heard.  Also in Chicago is Alex Udvary, an American 
Gypsy, who plays at the Paprikas Restaurant, last I knew.

Paul Gifford