Re: Jews with tsimbls in Greece -forward -Reply

[Tim Meyen <tim...>]

Peter Rushefsky wrote:

> Here's Zev Feldman $.02 on the Greek tsimbl connection.
>
> >>> <WZFeldman (at) aol(dot)com> 09/10/99 06:22pm >>>
> Hi Pete,
>
> The only reasonable explanation for the near identity of shape and
> tunings for the Jewish cimbal, Romanian tambal, Greek santuri and Turkish
> santur is the diffusion of an already existing Jewish instrument and tuning
> system in the early 19th century. The cimbal was already in Romania half a
> century earlier, and perhaps considerably earlier, as Ashkenazim were already
> numerous in Moldavia in the mid-to late 17th century. We should probably look
> into the diffusion of the modern santuri=cimbal in the Greek islands. here
> seems to be a movement from East to West, as the santuri is unknown or was
> never widely accepted in some of the more central or westerly islands, like
> Crete. This question needs more careful research.
>
> A Shono Toyve to all

First of all thanks to all who have posted on this, it's extremely interesting.

I'd like to know what you mean by "near-identity" of  tuning though.  The Greek
instruments I know of differ considerably in tuning to Romanian ones. To
oversimplify, they progress in semitones up the central (treble) bridge, whereas
the Romanian instruments...um...don't. They are tuned roughly like the Hungarian
kiscimbalom. I have not seen Greek instruments which utilize two bridges under
one course of strings (to produce 3 tones), either.

Are you referring to some older sanduri tuning (or an older tambal tuning) that 
I
don't know about? Or are the differences  considered only cosmetic (also
understandable, since there are undeniable similarities between the two systems
too. Still, a player familiar with one tuning could not, I think, instantly
translate to the other)?


Tim Meyen


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