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46-569: There are several hypotheses as to the origin of the instrument. One suggests that it descended from the kopuz , a string instrument still in use among the Turkic peoples of Central Asia and the Caspian region. The name itself derives from the tanbur (tunbur), which in turn might have descended from the Sumerian pantur . The name (and its variants such as tambouras , dombura ) also denotes

92-478: A philosopher , historian , composer , musicologist , linguist , ethnographer , and geographer . His son Antioch , Russia's ambassador to Great Britain and France and a friend of Montesquieu and Voltaire , would become known as "the father of Russian poetry ". Dimitrie is the Romanian form of the name Latinized as Demetrius and, less often, anglicized as Demeter . The Russian form of his name

138-495: A German geographical magazine in 1769 and was published as a book in 1771. His c.  1714 manuscript map of Moldova was the first real map of the country, containing geographical detail as well as administrative information. Printed in 1737 in the Netherlands , it formed the basis of most European maps of the country for decades. His 1705 roman à clef A Hieroglyphic History was the first Romanian novel, representing

184-463: A body (carved from one block of wood) shaped like a spade and fitted with a trident-like spike at the lower end. The Qanbūs of the Arabian and Malay peninsulae is considered by Sachs to derive its name from the komuz. The five-string kopuz is also thought to have transformed into the six-string instrument known as the sestar or seshane by 13th-century mystic Rumi . The word "sestar" is mentioned in

230-507: A council, holding a komuz-like instrument to their chests. The golcha gopuz was mentioned in the epic Book of Dede Korkut . The names of parts of the komuz are often allusions to body parts, particularly of horses. For example, the neck is called [mojun] "neck", the tuning pegs are called [qulɑq] , or "ear"s. The Kyrgyz word кыл/qyl means "string of an instrument" or "horse's hair". The ancient komuz generally had two or three strings. The three-stringed golcha gopuz

276-602: A hostage or envoy in Constantinople , living in the palace he owned, where he learned Turkish and studied Ottoman history at the Patriarchate 's Greek Academy . While there, he also composed Ottoman music . Upon Constantin's death in 1693, Dimitrie briefly succeeded him to the voivodeship but was passed over within three weeks in favor of Constantin Duca , whose candidacy was supported by his father-in-law,

322-729: A musical notation he developed from the Ottoman Turkish alphabet in his work Edvar-i Musiki , offered as a present to Sultan Ahmed III in 1703 or 1704 and recently reprinted with modern explanations. In 1999, the Bezmara ensemble recorded Yitik Sesin Peşinde ("In Search of the Lost Sound") from the Cantemir transcriptions using period instruments. His compositions, those of his European contemporaries and Moldavian folk music of

368-754: A romano-moldo-vlahilor ), from 1719 to 1722. It asserted the Latin origin of the Romanian language and the Roman origin of the people living within the former land of Dacia . Cantemir wrote his Descriptio Moldaviae ("Description of Moldavia" in Latin) in 1714 at the request of the Royal Academy in Berlin. Covering geographical, ethnographical, and economic aspects of Moldavia, it was similarly circulated in manuscript and only published much later. It appeared in

414-564: A secret agreement signed at Lutsk . Then he joined Peter the Great in his war against the Turks . This ended in failure at Stănilești (18–22 July 1711) and the Cantemirs were forced into Russian exile. Turkey then replaced the voivodeship with the rule of Greek phanariots . In 1712, Peter I presented Bogorodskoye District (Black Mud) to the former Moldavian ruler. In Russia, Dimitrie

460-419: A similar physical appearance, although the shell -a nearly perfect semi-sphere- might be made of metal. It is played with a bow instead of a plectrum. The technique was introduced by Cemil Bey in the end of the 19th century. Ercüment Batanay was, after Cemil Bey, the most outstanding virtuoso of this instrument, until his death. The yaylı tambur is held vertically on the knees, as opposed to the regular one where

506-658: A simple tune repeated many times, each with a new stroke, as a test of the performer’s skill and creativity. The komuz has many different tunings, and the names of the tunings correspond with various styles of music. The word komuz is cognate to the names of other instruments in the Music of Central Asia , including the Kazakh kobyz ( Uzbek qo'biz ) ( bowed instruments ), and the Tuvan and Sakha or Yakut xomus (a jaw harp ). The oldest known komuz-like instrument dates from

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552-515: A wide spectrum of pear-shaped string instruments in Persia and Central Asia yet these share only their names with the Ottoman court instrument and in fact are more akin to bağlamas or sazes . By the 15th century, the tambur had assumed the modern shape, being described by Tinctoris in 1480 as being like "a large spoon with three strings." By 1740, when Jean-Étienne Liotard painted his painting,

598-643: Is an ancient fretless string instrument used in Central Asian music , related to certain other Turkic string instruments , the Mongolian tovshuur , and the lute . The instrument can be found in Turkic ethnic groups, from China to Turkey. Forms of this instrument are used in China by the Naxi people and are called Huobusi , Hebisi , and Hunbusi . It is the best-known national instrument and one of

644-462: Is mounted. The soundboard ( Göğüs ) is a rotund thin (2.5–3 mm) flat three-, two- or single-piece plate of resonant wood (usually Nordmann , silver or Greek fir ). This circular plate measuring about 30 to 35 cm in diameter is mounted on the bottom wedge and the heel with simmering glue and encircled with a wooden ring. A soundhole is either wanting or consists of a very small unornamented opening (mostly in historical specimens), giving

690-425: Is seen as the inventor of the kopuz. In The Book of Dede Korkut , his special bond with the kopuz is not limited to his performances as a bard . Of particular importance, there is a passage in the story about the brothers Egrek and Segrek. When Segrek wants to attack Egrek, because he thinks he is dealing with an infidel, he says: Hey infidel, out of respect for Dede Korkut's lute, I didn't strike. If you didn't have

736-573: The Byzantine Kantakouzenoi , in 1699, and to Princess Anastasiya Trubetskaya (1700–1755) in 1717. Cantemir's children were rather prominent in Russian history. His elder daughter Maria Cantemir (1700–1754) so attracted Peter the Great that he allegedly planned to divorce his wife Catherine to be with her. Upon Catherine's own ascension to the throne, however, Maria was forced to enter a convent. Cantemir's son Antioch (1708–1744)

782-641: The Wallachian voivode Constantin Brâncoveanu . When his brother Antioh eventually succeeded to the control of Moldavia, Dimitrie served as his envoy to the Porte. During these years, he also served with distinction in the Turkish army on its campaigns. In 1710, Dimitrie was appointed voivode in his own right. Believing Ottoman Turkey to be collapsing, he placed Moldavia under Russian control through

828-532: The 4th century although the related Azerbaijani gopuz is believed to date back to 6000 BC following an archaeological discovery of clay plates depicting gopuz players. In the 1960s American archeologists working in the Shushdagh mountains near the ancient city of Jygamish in Iranian Azerbaijan, uncovered a number of rare clay plates which dated back to around 6000 B.C. which depicted musicians at

874-574: The Rifai Tekkesi in Kozyatağı (Istanbul) Abdülhalim Efendi was his pupil and carried on the same tradition. Among notable 18th-century players were Numan Ağa, Zeki Mehmed Ağa, Küçük Osman Bey, all of whom remained representatives of this allegedly old style. The first virtuoso to claim renovation was Tanburi Büyük Osman Bey who broke with his father Zeki Mehmed Ağa's technique to present his own. Later on, this later style became so prevalent that

920-409: The better-known Kyrgyz national symbols. The komuz is generally made from a single piece of wood (usually apricot or juniper ) and has three strings traditionally made out of gut, and often from fishing line in modern times. In the most common tunings the middle string is the highest in pitch. Virtuosos frequently play the komuz in a variety of different positions: over the shoulder, between

966-406: The first time the proper intervals to use. Yet there is little mention of playing styles and the first tambur master recorded by chronicles and of whom we have solid information is İzak Efendi, who is said to have brought the playing technique to maturity. Today, he is considered as the reference of the "old style" in tambur playing, partially recovered in the 20th century by Mesut Cemil . Sheikh of

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1012-566: The high courts of Europe. His name is among those who were considered to be the brightest minds of the world on a plaque at the Library of Sainte-Genevieve in Paris , next to those of Leibniz , Newton , Piron , and other great thinkers. A few of Cantemir's roughly forty Ottoman compositions are still performed today as part of the Turkish repertoire, but his greatest service was in preserving 350 traditional instrumental pieces by publishing them in

1058-611: The history of the Wallachian Brâncoveanu and Cantacuzino dynasties through allegorical and mythological animals. He also wrote an introduction to Islam for Europeans, a biography of Jan Baptist van Helmont , a philosophical treatise in Romanian and Greek, and an unfinished second treatise on the Undepictable Image of Sacred Science . Due to his many esteemed works he won great renown at

1104-562: The instrument fell from favour. It was derided as rudimentary and attempts were made to make it more like the Russian balalaika , notably by adding frets . After independence the komuz was again taught in music colleges, though some of the Soviet changes have remained. In the twentieth century the late Iranian dutar player Haj Ghorban Soleimani invented a new form of the komuz which has received some popularity. In legends, Dede Korkut

1150-580: The instrument in his painting has pegs for 8 strings, which are strung in four courses. The modern instrument also has four pairs or courses of strings. Tamburs are made almost entirely of wood. The shell ( Tekne ) is assembled from strips of hardwood called ribs joined edge to edge to form a semi-spherical body for the instrument. The number of ribs traditionally amounts to 17, 21 or 23, yet examples with slightly wider and consequently fewer ribs (7, 9 or 11) can also be found among older specimens. Traditionally, thinner strips called fileto are inserted between

1196-457: The instrument is 810 mm, with the body 410 mm, the width 240 mm and the height or breadth only 20 mm. The Kyrgyz : ооз комуз ( [oːz qoˈmuz] , literally "mouth komuz") or, alternatively, Kyrgyz : темир комуз ( [temir qoˈmuz] , literally "metal komuz" or "iron komuz"), is a jaw harp and as an instrument is unrelated to the komuz. During the Soviet era

1242-401: The instrument its peculiar sonority. The neck ( Sap ) is a mince (only 4-4.5 cm in diameter) 100–110 cm long D-section fingerboard made of light wood and carries catgut frets adjusted to give 36 intervals in an octave. Catgut frets are fixed on the neck by means of minute nails. The main bridge is trapezoidal and mobile, and since the shell lacks braces to support the soundboard,

1288-441: The knees and upside down. An illustration of a komuz is featured on the reverse of the one-som note . The komuz can be used either as accompaniment or as a lead instrument and is used in a wide variety of musical styles including aytysh (a song competition between akyns ) and the recitation of epics. It is generally played seated, held horizontally and may be strummed or plucked . One piece ("mash botoy") consists of

1334-463: The latter slightly yields in under the bridge. The smaller upper bridge between the pegbox and the neck is traditionally made of bone. The plectrum is made of tortoiseshell and is called "bağa" (meaning turtle). Cut in an asymmetrical V-form and polished at 45° on the tip, it measures 2-2.5 mm × 5–6 mm × 10–15 cm. Nowadays the tambur has seven strings. In the past tamburs with eight strings were not uncommon. The yaylı tambur has

1380-459: The lute in your hand I'd have you cut in two in my brother's name. Thus a random lute is directly connected to Dede Korkut here, which is presumably a reference to the fact that he was the inventor there. Different variations of the komuz spread to several eastern European countries such as Ukraine , Poland and Hungary during the 4th-5th century A.D, during the mass migration of the Huns into

1426-417: The most renowned and probably the most prolific of tamburis is Cemil Bey , who not only excelled in virtuosity but bequeathed a heritage that later prominent figures of Turkish Classical Music such as Neyzen Niyazi Sayın and Tamburi Necdet Yaşar claimed. Kopuz The komuz or qomuz ( Kyrgyz : комуз Kyrgyz pronunciation: [qoˈmuz] , Azerbaijani : Qopuz , Turkish : Kopuz )

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1472-525: The neck is maintained horizontal to the ground at all times. Owing to its long past, the tambur has let flourish several schools of interpretation. The oldest description of tamburîs is reported by the French traveller Charles Fonton who describes the use of catgut frets. A Turkish musical theory written in the beginning of the 18th century by the famous Kantemir Pasha -first an Ottoman citizen of Polish-Moldavian origin, then voivode of Moldavia- elucidates for

1518-417: The older technique came to suffer oblivion. The musical heritage transmitted to Suphi Ezgi by Abdülhalim Efendi, and from the former to Mesut Cemil , an eminent figure in 19th century Turkish classical music, has helped retrieve the essentials of this old technique. One last important tamburi successfully performing according to principles of the old school was Cemil Özbal (1908–1980) from Gaziantep . Yet

1564-612: The period were explored on Cantemir (Golden Horn Records, 2000) performed by İhsan Özgen and the Lux Musica ensemble under Linda Burman-Hall 's direction. Seven of Cantemir's compositions were also featured on Hespèrion XXI 's 2009 Istanbul , under the direction of Jordi Savall , with focus on Cantemir's “Book of the Science of Music”. One of the houses inhabited by Dimitrie Cantemir during his exile in Constantinople

1610-601: The poems of the 14th-century poet Yunus Emre . Evliya Çelebi describes the kopuz as a smaller version of the seshane. Although the term huobosi still applies to the traditional instrument, in China a newer instrument has evolved from the older instrument, resembling a guitar and called the Huobosi . Dimitrie Cantemir Dimitrie or Demetrius Cantemir ( Romanian pronunciation: [diˈmitri.e kanteˈmir] , Russian : Дмитрий Кантемир ; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings ,

1656-689: The region. There they became known with similar variations of the name. (See : kobza ) In Dagestan (a Russian republic between Chechnya and the Caspian Sea , just east of Georgia in the Caucasus ) a special instrument mentioned in both the Vertkov's Atlas SSSR, and in Buchner's book, is called agach komus , or temur by the Avar people. It seems a kind of slender guitar with 3 strings, with

1702-400: The ribs for ornamental purposes, but are not obligatory. The most common tonewood veneers used for rib-making are mahogany , flame maple , Persian walnut , Mecca balsam wood ( Commiphora gileadensis ), Spanish chestnut , Greek juniper , mulberry , Oriental plane , Indian rosewood and apricot . Ribs are assembled on the bottom wedge (tail) and the heel on which the fingerboard

1748-757: The seminal work on the Ottoman Empire up to the middle of the 19th century; notably, it was used as a reference for Edward Gibbon 's own Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire . Later scholarship contests many points owing to the dubiousness of some of Cantemir's sources. He also published the first critical history of Romania as a whole, the Chronicle of the Antiquity of the Romano-Moldavo-Wallachians ( Hronicul vechimei

1794-717: Was Dmitri Konstantinovich Kantemir ( Дми́трий Константи́нович Кантеми́р ). He is also known as Dimitri Kantemiroğlu in Turkish contexts, Dymitr Kantemir in Polish , and Dēmētrios Kantimērēs ( Δημήτριος Καντιμήρης ) in Greek . His surname Cantemir (Kantemir) is of Turkic/Tatar origin, "kan" meaning "blood" and "temir" meaning "iron". Dimitrie was born in Silişteni , Moldavia (now Vaslui County , Romania ) on 26 October 1673 to Constantin Cantemir and Ana Bantăș. His mother

1840-412: Was a Moldavian prince, statesman, and man of letters. He twice served as voivode of Moldavia (March–April 1693 and 1710–1711). During his second term he allied his state with Russia in a war against Moldavia's Ottoman overlords; Russia's defeat forced Cantemir's family into exile and the replacement of the native voivodes by Greek phanariots . Cantemir was also a prolific writer, variously

1886-415: Was a learned daughter of a local noble family. In 1685, Constantin was named voivode of Moldavia by its Turkish overlords. Although Constantin himself was illiterate, he educated his sons Dimitrie and Antioh thoroughly. Dimitrie learned Greek and Latin to read the classics as a child. One of his tutors was the scholar John Komnenos Molyvdos . Between 1687 and 1710, Dimitrie spent most of his time as

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1932-583: Was created both a Russian prince ( knyaz ) by Peter and a prince of the Holy Roman Empire by Charles VI . He lived on an estate at Dmitrovka near Oryol , with a sizable boyar retinue (including the chronicler Ion Neculce ). There he died on 21 August 1723, on the very day he was awarded his German title. In 1935, his remains were returned to Iași . Cantemir was married twice: to Princess Cassandra Cantacuzino (1682–1713), daughter of Prince Șerban Cantacuzino and supposed descendant of

1978-569: Was more popular in ancient Azerbaijan and Anatolia : the two-stringed gil gopuz or "iklyg" was used on the Altai plains, in parts of Turkmenistan and in Chinese territory inhabited by the Uyghur people . The golcha gopuz is made from a leather covering which covered around two-thirds of the surface, and the other third is covered with thin wood along with the sound board. The total length of

2024-744: Was named a member of the Royal Academy of Berlin . Cantemir's best-known history work was his History of the Growth and Decay of the Ottoman Empire (the original title was in Latin , Historia incrementorum atque decrementorum Aulae Othomanicae ). This volume circulated throughout Europe in manuscript for a number of years. It was finally printed in 1734 in London and was later translated and printed in Germany and France. It remained

2070-483: Was the Russian ambassador at London and Paris, a friend of Voltaire and Montesquieu , and so influential a poet, satirist, and essayist as to be considered "the father of Russian poetry ". Another son Constantin (1703–1747) was implicated in the Golitsyn conspiracy against the empress Anna and was exiled to Siberia . Dimitrie's younger daughter Smaragda (1720–1761), reckoned one of the great beauties of her time,

2116-524: Was the wife of Prince Dmitriy Mikhailovich Golitsyn and a friend of the empress Elizabeth . Cantemir was a polyglot known as one of the greatest linguists of his time, speaking and writing eleven languages. Well versed in Oriental scholarship, his oeuvre is voluminous, diverse, and original, although some of his scientific writings contain unconfirmed theories or simple inaccuracies. Between 1711 and 1719 he wrote his most important creations. In 1714, he

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