Bandura

The Bandura (also: Ukrainian According zither or psaltery called ) is a Ukrainian zither. It is one of the plucked instruments and has up to 45 strings. The Bandura is plucked with both hands and held it like a harp.

History

The instrument is first mentioned in a Greek chronicle of the 6th century about warriors from the area of ​​present-day Ukraine, which played loud similar instruments. These sounds, called Kobza, were much smaller, rounder and had fewer strings than the modern Bandura. With time more strings were added, which were then attached to the side of the abdomen instead of the neck. In the Middle Ages the bandura was as well known as the lute in Western Europe at the royal courts of Eastern Europe. It was used mainly to accompany songs and dances. Great popularity they also found among the Ukrainian Cossacks, who have developed a unique repertoire for the instrument. From their ranks a new form of Ukrainian professional musicians has been created that are similar to the troubadours of France. They were Kobzari (singular: kobzar ) called.

Modern Times

At the beginning of the 20th century, interest in the bandura increased again and it was very popular among urban populations. With the increasing popularity of music groups Bandura, the demand grew for new instruments. At this time there was considerable innovations and experiments with the technique and the structure of the Bandura. Bandura's were mass produced. They had more strings and were tuned chromatic rather than diatonic. Lever have been added in order to accelerate the tuning. There have been teaching courses, composers were commissioned to write specifically for the bandura music. The high period of Bandura coincided with the awakening of the Ukrainian patriotism and the flourishing of the arts.

But this phase did not last long. The Soviet government fought all traces of the Ukrainian national consciousness and thus the emergent Ukrainian culture. In 1935, Kobzari invited from all regions of Ukraine under the pretext of an ethnographic conference in Kharkiv, where supposedly their songs and stories would be collected. Instead, they were all executed. Persecution, arrest and exile were everyday life for countless artists and Ukrainian bandura. Many emigrated to the USA and Canada, where they could live out their art.

Presence

Although Bandura is suited perfectly for sonatas and concertos, but it is particularly suitable for accompanying singers. Therefore, the combination of Banduragruppen and choral singers emerged as a synthesis of the two most popular forms of Ukrainian music.

Today there are three main types of Bandura's concert in use:

• The classic Bandura, diatonic, with about 20 strings
• The Charkiwbandura, diatonic or chromatic tuned with a single string mechanism and 34-65 strings
• Chromatically tuned the Kiewbandura with 55-64 strings

While the Kiewbandura is produced in two regions of Ukraine in mass production, the Charkiwbandura in Ukraine has virtually disappeared.