Hungarian music and the Cimbalom

The "Cimbalom", musical instrument of the Hungarian Gypsies, may be tracked back in history to the Orient and the Middle East. An earlier instrument in Arabia was called the "Kannun" (or Qanun ), which was a musical sound box with metal or gut strings strung across one or two bridges. It was played by striking the strings with a pair of metal mallets. The early Asiatic Nomads, especially the conquering invaders from Mongolia and China, and the roaming Gypsies from India, carried the instrument to all parts of Europe and Middle East. Its size and shape varied: in Greece, Turkey, and Persia the "Santure" was developed, in Russia, we find the "Gusli", in Germany, the "Hackbrett", in Italy, the "Psalterio"; in England, the "Dulcimer", in Austria, the "Zither", and in Hungary and Romania the "Cimbalom". In Europe by the 17th century it was already considered on par with the violin, the pipe and the virginal in the courts of Hungarian nobles. In the course of the 18th century ended up in the Gypsy band, ousting the pipe and taking over its accompanying role.

What is now known as the cimbalom in Hungary is a much larger instrument equipped with a pedal that makes softer playing possible. It was developed by József V. Schunda in 1874. Hungarian composers, however, had discovered the cimbalom prior to this significant innovation and used it to highlight the national character. Ferenc Erkel was apparently the first to note down a cimbalom part in the musical scores of Bánk bán. One of the striking features of Liszt's Hungarian rhapsodies is the piano harmonization reminiscent of cimbalom-playing, suggesting that the composer also considered the cimbalom one of the most typical representations of Hungarian music. Stravinsky's encounter (Maxim, Geneva, 1915) with the legendary gipsy cimbalom virtuoso, Aladár Rácz resulted in buying himself a cimbalom, learning to play it a little, and writing important parts for it in Renard and Ragtime, Valse and Polka. Zoltán Kodály combined the special sound of the cimbalom with that of the traditional full orchestra in Háry János played most authentically by Aladár Rácz.

His acquaintance with great composers had a decisive influence on Aladár Rácz's career: the Gypsy musician, who at the start could not even read notes, set out to educate himself with unflagging diligence, and discovered the history of European music. As a result, he gradually exchanged his coffee-house repertoire consisting of folk pieces for the works of Francois Couperin, Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti and others, showing that, in expert hands, the cimbalom was an instrument suitable and equal to performing the masterpieces of the history of music.

After his repatriation to Hungary, from 1938 to his death in 1958, Aladár Rácz handed over his fantastic knowledge to his students including worthy inheritors such as Ferenc Gerencsér, József Szalai, and Elek Tóth. From that time on, several generations of cimbalom-players were raised, whose technical skills and openness to contemporary music had an inspiring effect on the Hungarian musical compositions of the post-1945 era.

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