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THE ANCIENT AZERBAIJANI STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT - THE KAMAN-
CHA - HAS AN UNUSUALLY DELICATE, SOFT AND CAPTIVATING SOUND, AND ITS
SOUNDS CHARM AND IMMERSE ONE IN THOUGHT. IT IS NO ACCIDENT THAT THE
FOUNDER OF AZERBAIJANI PROFESSIONAL MUSIC, UZEYIR HAJIBAYOV, REGARD-
ED THE KAMANCHA AS THE MOST MELODIOUS OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
U
nder this name, the kaman-
cha is known in the Cauca-
sus, Iran and Afghanistan. In
Egypt, a similar instrument is called
“kamanga”, in Turkey - “iklik”, and
in Central Asia - “gijak” (“gechak”).
Interestingly, another stringed in-
strument is known in Turkey under
the name of the “kamancha”, and
in Central Asia, the bow used to
play the gijak is called “kamancha”
or, as in Azerbaijan, “kaman”. Thus,
the area where the kamancha is
common includes Asia Minor, the
Caucasus, the Middle East and
Central Asia. Any attempt to link
its origin to one people is clearly
hopeless and unscientific.
The name of the instrument
comes from the word “kaman”, which
means a string, and the ending “cha”
is derived from “chal” (play), indicat-
ing that it is a bow instrument.
Researchers believe that bow in-
struments originated from stringed
musical instruments played by
plucking. A rod or a plectrum was
used for playing them instead of the
fingers, and its ends were pulled by
animal or horsehair tendons like the
string of a bow [1]. Experts tend to
believe that stringed instruments
have ancient Indian or Central Asian
origins [2].
Saadat ABDULLAYEVA
Doctor of Arts, Professor
The most melodious of
instruments
– kamancha
Focusing on Azerbaijan
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33
1-Body, 2-Pivot, 3-Stand, 4-String holder,
5-Big stand, 6-Back, 7-Strings, 8-Neck,
9-Small stand, 10-Pins, 11-Head
“Mugham”, Togrul Narimanbayov
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The kamancha was originally
one-stringed, had a relatively small
body, a long neck and an elongated
tip. The body was made from gourds,
coconut shells or hollowed tree, and
snake skin was pulled on the open
side. Medieval literature suggests
the simultaneous existence of the
kamancha and gijak, and when
comparing, preference was usu-
ally given to the former [3].
We know about the spread of the
kamancha on the territory of Azer-
baijan in the Middle Ages from the
classics of poetry such as Khagani
Shirvani, Nizami Ganjavi, Muham-
mad Fizuli and book miniatures of
Azerbaijani artists, Aga Mirak, Mir-
said Ali and others. According to the
prominent Azerbaijani musicologist,
Abdulgadir Maragai (1353-1434/35),
horse tail hair or silk thread, which
ensured the best sound, were used
for the manufacture of two strings
of the instrument. The film of a bull’s
heart was pulled on the body. The
strings were usually tuned to the
fourth, but depending on the tune,
other settings were also used.
The German naturalist, physician
and traveler, Engelbert Kaempfer,
who visited Azerbaijan in 1683-
1684, put the kamancha in first place
among stringed bowed instruments
because of its beautiful tone. Ac-
cording to his description, the ka-
mancha had three, sometimes four
strings, which were played by a bow
from horse tail hair. The lower part
of the instrument - the iron tip at a
length of half a palm – was placed
on the ground. The round body of
the kamancha had a diameter the
size of a palm and was covered with
a leather membrane, on which a
leather “bridge” (i.e. support) was
placed.
Before the beginning of the
20
th
century, a three-stringed ka-
mancha was mainly used in Azer-
baijan. The strings were made from
sheep or cattle intestines. Although,
according to museum collections,
in this period there were also ka-
manchas with four, five and even six
strings. There were also instruments
on whose body skin was pulled from
the lower side [4]. It should be noted
that in the old copies of the kaman-
cha, the tip is almost twice longer
than in modern ones [5].
The main parts of today’s kaman-
cha are the body (chanag), which
has a spherical shape slightly point-
ed towards the center, the round
neck (gol), the curly head (kalla) with
pegs (ashikh) and the straight metal
rod. The total length of the instru-
ment is 700-800 mm. The diameter
of the open part of the body is 100-
110 mm, the diameter of the circle is
180-220 mm and the height is up to
175 mm. It is made primarily of wal-
nut. On the open part of the body
(uz, parda), the skin of the chest of
a large catfish or bovine bladder is
pulled. An arched support (kharak)
with a length of 50-60 mm and with
a height of 10-14 mm, made from
walnut, is obliquely installed toward
the strings on the sounding board
closer to the neck. This arrangement
of the support allows makes it possi-
ble to get stronger and better sound
quality in both high and low regis-
ters. The neck with a smooth surface
with a length of up to 450 mm and
without modes tapers towards the
bottom. The neck is made of horny
plates.
For attaching the neck to the
body, a metal rod with a length
equal to half the total length of the
kamancha is driven into the lower
end of the neck, passing through
the body. A pin – a support (shish)
at a length of 110-120 mm, which
slightly tapers toward the bottom
and ends with a nodular thickening,
is screwed on the tip of the rod that
sticks out of the body. In the upper
part, the neck turns into a slotted
head in the form of a box with a
shaped tip (taj). On the sides of the
head, spherical or pyramidal pegs
made of walnut are inserted into
holes.
The kamancha has four steel
strings (sim), of which the lower
third and fourth ones are wrapped
in copper and brass thread. In some
cases, the second steel string is re-
placed by one made from veins to
ensure softer sounding. The strings
rest on a support located on the
sounding board and on a bone
threshold at the upper end of the
neck. At one end, they are screwed
on the pegs, and at the other, they
are put on the hooks of the metal
support fixed to the top of the strut
in the form of hinges.
Sounds on the instrument are
produced with a 550-590 mm-long
bow (kaman), which is a straight
or slightly concave cane (chubug)
made of dogwood with a diam-
Renowned Azerbaijani kamancha
player Habil Aliyev
Focusing on Azerbaijan
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35
eter of 10 mm. By means of loose
metal tubes in the form of cartridge
cases, a lock of 160-180 horsehairs
is pulled on the end. After playing,
the tip is unscrewed and placed
into a case or bag together with the
instrument. The body (especially its
upper part), neck, head and pegs
are often decorated with inlaid
mother of pearl, bone, copper wire
and gold thread.
Most often, the performer plays
in a seated position and holds the
instrument vertically, placing its leg
on his left knee. The lower part of
the bow is slightly pinched between
the thumb and forefinger of the
right hand. The tension of the hair is
adjusted by pressing the strap with
the middle and ring fingers inserted
between the shaft and the lock of
hair. As a rule, the bow moves on
the strings at the site correspond-
ing to the middle of the distance
between the lower end of the neck
and the support. If you move the
bow on the strings near the neck,
very soft sounds are produced. The
technique of moving the bow on
the kamancha is different from play-
ing the violin in that the performer
rotates the instrument with his left
hand toward the plane of the move-
ment of the bow.
The attempt to provide the ka-
mancha with a sordino failed, and
therefore, in order to mitigate the
sound of strings, they use tightly
rolled paper, fabric or rubber placed
between the sounding board and
the strings below the support. The
instrument is played by four fingers
of the left hand.
The strings of the instrument
are adjusted in the range of the
four and the fifth. But for solo and
vocal-instrumental performances
of mugams, the second, third and
fourth strings are tuned according
to the modal basis of the music per-
formed, and the first one remains
unchanged. The kamancha has a
range from la in the small octave
to la in the third octave. While
performing certain works, mi in
the fourth octave is used. The low,
wheezing, matte register come out
on the 4
th
and 3
rd
strings, medium
(mild, clear, velvet) - on the 2
nd
and
high (soft and silver ringing) - on the
1
st
. The most heavily sounding mid-
dle register has a clear tone – it is the
most common one.
While playing the kamancha,
Well-known kamancha players
36
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they normally use various combi-
nations of bow and finger strokes,
the alternation and interrelation
of which are dictated by the con-
tent and emotional structure of the
piece, and they are chosen by the
performer in accordance with his
skill and artistic taste.
The kamancha is the most
“melodious” of Azerbaijani na-
tional musical instruments. For
its melisma, flexibility, dynamics
and nuances, the kamancha is
not inferior even to the tar, and
surpasses it in the cantilena. It is
no accident that the many terms
and epithets, reflecting different
dynamic nuances in Azerbaijani folk
performances, were developed pre-
cisely on the kamancha.
The masterly performance of a
kamanchist is particularly evident in
the instrumental solo performance
of mugams (especially “Shushtar”,
“Shur” and “Bayati-Shiraz”). This is
where they use all the strokes and
fingers inherent in the kamancha,
as well as hidden two-voice polyph-
ony and bourdon open strings. The
proximity of its sound to the vocal
line of the singer is especially felt
in an ensemble of saz performers,
when the kamanchist accompanies
the tarist along with the singer. At
times, as a performer on the leading
instrument, he undertakes the func-
tion of the tar or begins to play the
tune a bit later than the tar player.
“The Mugham philosophy”, Matanat Aslanova
“Harmony the music”, Teymur Garibov
Focusing on Azerbaijan
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37
In the episodes, the kamanchist of-
ten uses simulation, i.e. if the tarist
imitates the singer, then the kaman-
chist imitates the tarist. In this case,
something like a three-sound ca-
nonical imitation comes out. It is no
accident that the kamancha is called
“a companion of the tar”. The music
library of the Azerbaijan Broadcast-
ing Company keeps a recording of
the rhythmic mugam “Mansuriya”
sung by the famous singer Jabbar
Garyagdioglu to the accompani-
ment of the kamancha.
Apart from mugams, instrumen-
tal versions of folk songs, dances and
plays occupy an important place in
the repertoire of the kamancha.
From the second half of the last
century, the kamancha, like the tar,
became one of the leading instru-
ments in the orchestras of folk in-
struments and various ensembles as
a solo or accompanying instrument.
The kamancha is also played in solo
performances in pop music. During
the performances of the people’s
artist of Azerbaijan, Habil Aliyev,
he is successfully accompanied by
balaban and gaval performers. It is
largely thanks to this wonderful per-
former that the world learned not
only about the beauty of Azerbaijani
folk music, but also the unlimited
possibilities of the instrument.
The kamancha plays an impor-
tant role in the development of Azer-
baijan’s modern professional music.
Based on the technical capabilities of
the instrument, such famous works
as concerts for the kamancha with a
symphony (Zakir Bagirov, Haji
Khanmammadov and Tofig
Bakikhanov) and chamber
orchestra (Adviya Rahmato-
va), “ Scherzo”, “Tarantella” and
“Dance Suite” (Suleyman Alas-
garov), “Melodic Etudes” (Said
Rustamov), a play for the ka-
mancha for the Orchestra of Folk
Instruments (Nazim Guliyev) and a
monologue for the kamancha and
piano (Ramiz Zohrabov) were cre-
ated. Undoubtedly, Azerbaijan com-
posers will continue to please fans
of music with new works written for
this wonderful musical instrument.
References 1. Modr A. Musical In-
struments. M., Muzgiz, 1959, p. 15.2.
Bakhman B. Central Asian Sources
on the Homeland of Stringed Instru-
ments / / Music of Asia and Africa,
edition 2. M., Soviet Composer, 1973,
p. 349-373.3. Maragali A. Music
Instruments and Their Types /
/ Gobustan, 1977, № 1, p. 77.4.
Abdullayev S. Folk Musical In-
struments of Azerbaijan. Baku,
Elm, 2000, p. 79.5. Bakikhanov
A. The Yellow String of Life,
Baku, Ishig, 1985, p. 16.
“The Mugham evening”, Fakhtiyya Khalafova
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