Build balalaikas and domras. Domra is a musical instrument

What is domra? The legendary "balalaika" and "harp" of Ukrainian kobzars, Belarusian songwriters and Russian storytellers has not lost its popularity for many years. Domra is a musical instrument that over the years has become a national symbol of the south of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. It is actively used by thousands of artists in recordings of both instrumental melodies and song compositions.

What is domra

Domra is a string instrument that belongs to the subgroup of folk instruments and is characteristic of the South Slavic peoples. In terms of its structure, domra is similar to a balalaika or khomes. Also, these instruments are united by the style of playing - with the use of a special pick, which touches the strings. This style of play is called plucking.

Domra is an instrument used for the solo performance of any texts with accompaniment, less often as part of an ensemble or orchestra of folk instruments.

As a member of the string family, domra is an instrument that requires a special approach to learn and use. Due to the acoustic features of the structure, in skillful hands, domra is capable of producing enchanting sounds unusual for the human ear.

Tool name

The word "domra" itself was obtained by processing several words from the Turkic languages ​​denoting stringed musical instruments, for example, in the Tatar language there is the word dumbra, which is translated as "balalaika". The Crimean Tatar dialect has the word dambura - "guitar". The Turkish language contains the word tambura, which also means guitar, and the Kazakh language calls balalaika - dombıra. The Kalmyk version is very close to the Kazakh language - dombr̥, which also means balalaika.

History of origin

What is domra? A musical instrument that can interest anyone who is fond of the history and theory of folk music.

The first mention of a musical instrument similar to her can be found in the palace records of the 16th-17th centuries, which tells about the domrachi - musicians playing the domra.

She was popular with buffoons, itinerant entertainers, and jesters. Since, with its simplicity and ease of use, it had a good sound and rather rich timbre capabilities, which allowed the artist to easily accompany himself while performing a song or legend.

For a long time, playing the domra was considered a humiliating occupation, unworthy of a person of the upper and middle class. That is why there was no single type of domra - each specimen was made using a handicraft home method. Often, artists made their own domra or performed such works to order.

Soon, domra disappeared from historical documents, and until the 19th century, no one knew about its existence. This was due to the introduction of censorship and active hunting for buffoons, except for whom no one else used this tool. With the disappearance of amusing songs as a genre, the instrument was forgotten for a while. Even the descendants of the once famous storytellers did not know what domra is.

"Second birth"

Only at the beginning of the 20th century, the head of the USSR's first "Orchestra of Folk Instruments" Vasily Andreev was able to restore the original form of the domra, as well as hypothetically restore its sound, based on a poorly preserved copy of a musical instrument he found in the Oryol region.

Despite the fact that many musicologists still do not consider Andreev's find to be a real domra, this word is now used to refer to the entire family of musical instruments created on the basis of his drawings.

Currently, this folk instrument is popular in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, and also enjoys success abroad due to its exotic sound.

For domra, as well as for many other folk instruments, concert and chamber works are created.

Design

Traditional domra of the highest quality is made from various expensive types of wood. Moreover, there are strict traditions of making the instrument. And also the rules for combining wood in strictly prescribed proportions.

The body of the instrument is made of white maple and spiny birch, the stand is made of rare maple, the soundboard is made of spruce or fir, the neck is made of larch, the fingerboard is made of ebony.

The Russian domra is an instrument made according to the model of Semyon Ivanovich Sotsky, the famous craftsman, keeper of Russian musical culture. The models of folk instruments created by him have been used in the world's elite orchestras since 1936.

The structure of domra is similar to that of almost any stringed instrument.

It consists of two parts - a resonating body and a neck. The body, in turn, is divided into a sound-saving body and a soundboard.

Different sound

Since ancient times, two styles of playing domra have been known: with and without a pick.

When struck with a hard plate, the strings of the instrument have a slightly rattling sound characteristic of Ukrainian folk melody of the late 17th century.

The Belarusians, who did not know what domra was until the end of the 16th century and were inspired to create it by Western analogs of stringed instruments, were not inclined to play with a pick. They preferred to play with tweaks, getting a completely different sound.

If the pick is not used when playing domra, then the sound becomes soft, smooth and voluminous. Extremely similar in tonality to an acoustic guitar. This method of playing domra is considered more academic and is used in folk orchestras.

Varieties

Domra is a musical instrument that has a small number of varieties. There are two types of it in total: three-stringed and four-stringed domra.

Their only difference is in their musical perception. The four-stringed domra has more tones and also one octave lower than the three-stringed version of this instrument.

There are no differences in the manufacturing process, in the composition of materials there is simply no. This can be explained by the mental characteristics of the peoples who created this or that version of domra.

The three-stringed instrument became widespread in Ukraine, and the four-stringed instrument in western Belarus. There, its design was significantly influenced by Polish string instruments.

The four-string domra, which has great sound extraction capabilities, is traditionally used in folk instrument orchestras, as well as in chamber orchestras. Many leading domrachev prefer it to the older three-string prototype precisely because of the similarity to the bass guitar, which provides a more comfortable playing during the performance.

Production

The first mention of the making of domra we can find in the annals of the Savino-Storozhevsky monastery in the Kuban. The monastic scribal book contains a record dated 1558 and tells how a certain master began to make special balalaikas with strange sound production.

At the end of the 18th century, it was here that the first serial production of folk musical instruments began. The "First Gusel Workshop" opens in the Kuban, producing domras, psaltery, balalaikas, guitars and other stringed instruments on an industrial scale. The head of this factory, according to legend, was a local peasant Yemelyanov, who managed not only to set up the production of domras, but also to produce string instruments of the highest quality, which was even noted with a diploma from the Imperial Court.

Domra is an ancient Slavic stringed plucked musical instrument. His fate is amazing and unique. The first mentions of domra were found in sources of the 16th century. They speak of domra as a fairly common instrument at that time.

Domra originates from the fusion of two cultures.

The first branch of the family tree has oriental roots. Similar instruments still exist in the musical cultures of the countries of the East. Kazakh dombra, Turkish baglama or Tajik rubab have a lot in common. All these instruments had one ancestor - the eastern tanbur. dombra

baglama

rubab

tanbur

Another branch of the ancestry comes from the European lute.

The lute, in turn, also originated from the eastern instrument - the Arab al-ud.

the appearance and design of the domra was influenced by the instruments of the Western, European, Slavs, for example, the Polish-Ukrainian kobza and its improved version - the bandura.

kobza

bandura

And so it happened that domra combined both European and Asian features.

It is well established that an instrument with this name is an important part of culture in the 16th-17th centuries. Musicians-buffoons played on it. domra performers - buffoons and "domrachei" were very popular.

All kinds of celebrations, festivals and festivities at all times and among all peoples were accompanied by songs and playing musical instruments.

On domras, like a bandura, they accompanied folk epics, epics, legends,

At the royal court there was a whole "Amusement Chamber" - a musical and entertainment group, the basis of which were buffoons with their domras.

But here in the history of domra comes the most dramatic moment.

The ministers of the church considered the performances of buffoons to be "demonic games". In 1648, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich issued a decree on the mass extermination of innocent instruments. According to the testimony of the 17th century German traveler Adam Olearius, the Russians were banned from instrumental music in general, and several carts loaded with instruments taken from the population were taken across the Moskva River and burned there. The domra players were told to "beat the batogs". Mostly buffoons were persecuted, but punishment threatened not only them, but any person playing the domra. Such a truly tragic turn of fate has never happened to any musical instrument in the world. The history of domra ends here, but ... Domra was destined to literally be reborn from the ashes!

It was revived by an outstanding researcher and musician, an unusually talented person - Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev.

In 1896, in the Vyatka province, he discovered an unknown instrument with a hemispherical body. Assuming by his appearance that this is domra, he went to the famous master Semyon Ivanovich Nalimov.

The instrument, reconstructed in 1896, received three strings and the name "domra".

In 1908, at the suggestion of the conductor G. Lyubimov

master S. Burov created a four-string domra with a quint system. “Chetyrekhstrunka” received a violin range and the ability to perform all European chamber music.

So since then, there are two types of domra: a three-string (Russian) domra with a quart scale, traditionally used in Russia, and a four-string domra with a quint system, which is most widespread in Belarus and Ukraine.

In Ukraine, the four-string domra was firmly entrenched in the system of musical education. At the first All-Union show of folk instrument performers (1939), the four-string domra won all the prizes among domra players.

During the post-war period, domra classes are opened in most conservatories.

Honored Artist of Ukraine Valeriy Ivanovich Ivko To the constellation of famous domrists of the best Ukrainian domrists B.A. Mikheev Thanks to the activities of two outstanding contemporary performers-domrists - Tamara Ilyinichna Volskaya and Alexander Andreevich Tsygankov - domra received a "second wind" in its development, became recognized everywhere and by all as an academic concert instrument.

Variety of types of domra

The end of the 19th century is a period of revival in the history of domra. At this time, the remarkable Russian musician-researcher V.V. Andreev did the most difficult painstaking work to restore and improve Russian folk instruments.

The reconstructed three-stringed domra received a quart scale and a full chromatic scale and was included in the ensemble of folk instruments.

It was on the instructions of V.V. Andreeva, a family of domras of different sizes was created - piccolo, small, alto, bass and contrabass. The domra tenor is less commonly used.

At the beginning of the 20th century, G.P. Lyubimov and S.F.Burov designed a family of four-stringed domras in the quint system. Since then, domra has firmly taken its place in the music world.

Domra device

Domra consists of three parts: a wooden hemispherical oval body, a neck (neck) and a head.

The body consists of: a body, a soundboard that covers the body from above and is edged along the edges with a shell, buttons for fastening the strings and a saddle that protects the soundboard from the pressure of the stretched strings.

In the middle of the deck there is a round hole - a resonator with a figured rosette. Above the deck, near the fretboard, there is a hinged shell that protects the deck from scratches when playing. Above the strings and the saddle sometimes there is a support - an armrest.

A neck is inserted into the body, on which a fretboard is glued with sills and frets located between them. Frets are counted from the nut. On the headstock there are tuning pegs that regulate the tension of the strings.

Domra is an ancient Russian musical instrument. Etymological investigations in related Slavic languages ​​show that the term "domra" is not of Slavic origin, since such roots are absent in them.

Domra is an ancient Russian musical instrument. Etymological investigations in related Slavic languages ​​show that the term "domra" is not of Slavic origin, since such roots are absent in them. Probably the word "domra" is of Turkic origin (tanbur, dombur, dunbara, dumbra, dombra, domb, domra).

Scientists suggest that the ancient ancestor of our Russian domra was an Egyptian instrument, which was named “pandura” by Greek historians, and was in use several millennia before our time. This instrument called "tanbur" may have penetrated to us through Persia, which traded with Transcaucasia.

Different peoples still use instruments close to domra: the Georgians - the Chunguri and Panduri, the South Slavs - the tanbur, the Ukrainians - the bandura, the Turkmens - the Duatars, the Mongols - the dombur, the Kirghiz and Tatars - the dumra, the Ostyaks - the dombra , the Kalmyks have domras. Such instruments entered Europe in the early Middle Ages and were called lute instruments. It was the lute that later became the ancestor of such multi-stringed instruments as the viola, mandolin, and guitar.

The first information about the existence of a musical instrument of the tanburo type among the ancient Russians belongs to the pen of Arab travelers of the 9th-10th centuries. However, without having a direct indication that we are talking about a domra, it is possible to put forward a hypothesis about the presence of such an instrument among the Eastern Slavs.

The first Russian historical written evidence of domra can be considered an entry in an old Novgorod book of the late 15th - early 16th centuries about Kalinka - "domrachee". In the census documents of this period, the professions of "house-keepers" and "house-keepers" are encountered more than once.

The direct name of the instrument is found only in the monuments of the 17th century. In 1627, the Russian painter Simon Ushakov compiled a description of the ancient wall painting of the Faceted Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin (the construction of which dates back to 1487-1491). In the description, Ushakov twice mentions the name of the instrument: "a man plays domra" and "people sit on a bench near the table and play gusli and violins and pipes and bagpipes and domras."

There are repeated references to domra in the administrative documentation of the 17th century: in decrees, letters, memorials, messages. In them, domra appears as an attribute of buffoonery, usually in conjunction with other instruments: gusli, bagpipes, surnas, tambourines, etc.

By the same time, the sayings "ryad skomrakh about their domrah" belong. "to love is a game, to buy is domra", "at Erema's gusli, at Foma's domra." They give reason to assume that the stress in the name of the instrument fell on the last "a".

So, the word "domra" appears in various literary sources of Russian origin. In addition, we have variants of the names "domrishka", "big bassist domra". Probably others were also used: alto, tenor domras.

Based on the materials, one can come to the conclusion about the popularity of domra not only among the people, but also in the palace life of the 17th century. During the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, at the palace amusement chamber, there were domracs next to the guselniks and bakhars. Such names as Bogdan Putyata, Andreyushka Fedorov, Vaska Stepanov and others are repeatedly mentioned.

The main performers on domra were buffoons and they were not only musicians, but also actors, dancers, acrobats and jokes. (The word "buffoon" itself comes from the Arabic "maskhora" - laughter, mockery.) In Ancient Russia, Veliky Novgorod became the center of the settlement of buffoons. Representatives of this profession enjoyed great honor in the "free" city.

The buffoons were the main instigators of songs and dances. With their fun and "goodness", they not only entertained the people, but also forced them to imitate themselves. Therefore, during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, nicknamed "the quietest" on the initiative of the patriarch, persecution of singers and buffoons began.

The ascetic Byzantines believed that the Russians, who were very fond of singing and music, began to abuse this art, singing all sorts of "scandalous songs". Music and its tools were recognized as "damned inventions of the devil", the musician was considered a direct servant of Satan and was called "spyn".

Beginning in 1648, a series of royal decrees followed, forbidding instrumental music. In Moscow, it was ordered to collect all the instruments, and when they were collected, then, having loaded them with 5 carts, they were taken across the Moskva River and burned there. Since then, the singers of spiritual poetry have become of paramount importance at the court.

Despite the rather frequent mentions of domra, the image of this instrument has not reached us. Therefore, for a long time they did not know what kind of instruments it should be attributed to. Only at the end of the last century, a small stringed instrument with a rounded body was found in the Vyatka province. The instrument soon fell into the hands of Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev, just at that time, who was engaged in the search and restoration of samples of old Russian instruments preserved among the people.

Andreev, by comparing the found instrument with images on old popular prints and engravings, as well as by description, suggested a long-sought domra in it. It was on this Vyatka model in 1896 that the half-forgotten Russian domra was recreated, which received a quart scale and a full chromatic scale. In 1896-1900. on the basis of this domra V.V. Andreev in collaboration with F.S. Paserbsky and S.I. Nalimov created a whole family of domras from piccolos to double bass.

In 1908, G.P. Lyubimov, together with the master S.F.Burov, based on the domra reconstructed by Andreev, created a four-string domra with a quint system. In 1914, a quartet was organized from such domras, and in 1919 - an orchestra. The emergence of this instrument is caused by the increased need to increase the sound range of the domra. The generality of the structure of the structure with the mandolin and violin makes available to her a huge repertoire written for these instruments.

The sound of a four-stringed domra is comparatively weaker, which is caused by the design features of multi-stringed instruments, therefore, at present, three-stringed domras are mainly used in balalaika-domra orchestras, although four-stringed ones are not uncommon. The most popular four-string domras are used on the territory of Ukraine.

Due to their performing abilities, the domras in the orchestra constitute the main melodic group. In addition, domra is used as a solo instrument. Concert pieces and works are written for her. Unfortunately, domra is not very popular as a folk instrument in Russia and Ukraine; it is almost never found in villages.

From the history of musical instruments: domra

Something we haven't heard for a long time

The sound of a flooded string

They say: out of fashion

Songs of Russian antiquity!

Like a flock of migratory birds

Fashion rushes with the wind

Do not be sad balalaika

Domra, don't you cry, don't cry

With a daring folk heart

You have a good reason!

In the golden hands of craftsmen

You will never be silent!

"What is domra?" - this question is often asked by people when they hear about an instrument with that name. Others happily rush to demonstrate their enlightenment and clarify: "We know, this is such a balalaika, only round." And only a few imagine domra as a truly musical instrument with own, specific sound and unique timbre.

How does it happen? After all, domra is a Russian folk instrument! For example, the balalaika is known to everyone. Even children know the violin, and not every Russian can name domra. To clarify the reason for this paradox, one must turn to history.

And the history of the emergence and development of domra is perhaps one of the most interesting, confusing and dramatic. For the first time, an instrument with this name was mentioned in documents of the 16th century. But, probably, even earlier in Russia, there were instruments of a tanbur-shaped form that came to us from the East. They were especially popular among the folk. Images of musicians playing these instruments are found in many manuscripts of that time. Such musicians were called buffoons and were, in essence, professional artists. At the beginning of the 16th century, at the court of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, there was an Amusement Chamber, which just consisted of musicians playing domra, harp, beeps. Even a saying has survived: "I am glad skomrah about my domras." Folk festivals and festivities were accompanied by performances of merry wandering buffoon artists, just as they are now accompanied by performances by famous pop stars.

But it was the popularity and love of the people for domra that did her a disservice. The main enemy of buffoonery was the church. The clergy were indignant: "The games are trampled down, but the churches are empty." In addition, the buffoons did not hesitate to raise social problems in their speeches, which they ridiculed in a rather free satirical form. Naturally, all this could not please the authorities. This is how the decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich appeared in 1648, the famous phrase from which reads: "And where will the domras, and surnas, and beeps, and gusli, and all sorts of buzzing vessels, be ordered to be seized and, having broken those demonic games, ordered to burn."

Hardly any other musical instrument in the history of mankind has been subjected to such a monstrous extermination. Domras were burned, broken, destroyed. It was forgotten for more than two centuries.

Domra "resurrected" only at the end of the 19th century thanks to the talented musician V.V. Andreev.

Name Vasily Vasilievich Andreev- the creator of the first Great Russian orchestra, composer and conductor - enjoys great and well-deserved love of millions of music connoisseurs.

My father was a wealthy merchant. The composer's mother, a representative of a noble family, strove to give a brilliant education and upbringing. But the boy aspired to the people from the very childhood. He loved to be in the people’s room, where old songs were dragged on for needlework, one of the lackeys took out an accordion from the shelf, and famously stretching the accordion, started folk dancing. On such evenings, the boy's joy knew no bounds.

And then one day a five-year-old boy was found in an empty room with an accordion in his hands. The instrument was confiscated, and the boy was punished. So soon a music teacher appeared in the Andreev mansion.

While studying at the gymnasium, Vasya worked hard to play the violin. And, who knows, maybe a professional violinist was formed from a talented young man, if a common handicraft balalaika had not met on his way. For him, one thing becomes clear: it is necessary to study Russian folk instruments in the future.

Here is how Andreev writes about one accidental circumstance that turned his whole life upside down: “It was a quiet June evening. I was sitting on the terrace and enjoying the silence of the village evening ... And suddenly I heard sounds hitherto unknown to me ... I made out very clearly that they were playing a string instrument. The player played a dance song, at first rather slowly, and then faster and faster. The sounds flared up, the melody poured irresistibly pushing me to dance ... I jumped from my place and ran to the outbuilding, from where the sounds were rushing. A peasant was sitting on the steps and playing the balalaika ... I was amazed at the rhythm and originality of the playing techniques. “I remember that then, like a hot iron, it burned out in my brain: to play myself and bring the game to perfection”

Andreev persistently hones his performing skills, at the same time dreams of such a balalaika, which could sound in any salon of the capital.

But none of the masters agrees to make this instrument. One of the best violin makers, Ivanov, agreed to make a balalaika, provided that no one would know.

Andreev begins teaching. Takes over the organization of a new musical ensemble.

In 1896, in the Vyatka province, a small stringed instrument with a rounded body was accidentally found, which soon fell into the hands of Andreev. By comparing the found instrument with images on old popular prints and engravings, as well as by description, Andreev suggested a long-sought domra in it. It was on his instructions that a family of domras of different sizes was created - piccolo, small, alto, bass and contrabass. So the rehabilitated domra was included in the balalaika ensemble. And then - to the famous Great Russian Orchestra of Folk Instruments V. Andreev. Moreover, as the main orchestral instrument. The domra group was entrusted with the melodic function.

The Great Russian Folk Instruments Orchestra won recognition on the academic stages not only in Russia, but also in the world (it toured with brilliance in France, England, America). The great musicians A.G. Rubinstein, P.I.Tchaikovsky spoke very warmly about the performances of this group.

The creative life of Semyon Ivanovich Nalimov is firmly connected with the activity of Andreev. Today, few people know this name. Meanwhile, it occupies a prominent place in the history of Russian musical culture. “Russian balalaika Stradivarius” was called by Soviet musicologists. Thanks to the cooperation of two talented people, Russian plucked musical instruments were improved. The domra was reconstructed in 4 strings with a quint system, thanks to which we have in our artistic arsenal the richest violin literature and the opportunity to perform world-class works. This domra has taken root in Ukraine, in Belarus.

T.I. Volskaya is one of the most brilliant domra performers. Volskaya's unusual musical talent, combined with great emotional depth, exceptional musicality, impeccable taste and mastery of the instrument, made her an unrivaled performer in her genre.

T.I. Volskaya graduated from the Kiev Conservatory (class of M.M. Gelis), an assistant internship at the Ural Conservatory (class of E.G. Blinov). In 1972 she became a laureate of the 1st All-Russian Competition of Performers on Folk Instruments, sharing the 1st prize with A. Tsygankov.

The performance of Tamara Volskaya has always been distinguished by the depth and scale of thought, technical perfection. Both in large-scale works and in miniature modest in volume, she finds the finest colors, skillfully coloring the musical fabric with an unmistakable penetration into the style of the era and especially the genre.

But back to domra. Until 1945, it was mainly used as an orchestral instrument. However, the original repertoire was missing. Some works appeared, but they did not leave a significant trace in the future. Therefore, it is generally accepted that the history of solo performance on domra began in 1945, when N. Budashkin wrote the first domra concert - a concert for domra with an orchestra of Russian folk instruments g-moll. It was Budashkin who, for the first time, at a high professional level, was able to emphasize the rich technical and expressive capabilities of the instrument, the brilliant virtuosity and at the same time the lyricism, intimacy of the timbre in the unique sound of the domro tremolo.

From this moment, domra begins his "solo career", a new stage in development, and moves forward very successfully. Following Budashkinsky, other concerts appear - Y. Zaritsky, B. Kravchenko, Y. Shishakov, N. Peyko, V. Pozhidaev, G. Shenderev, L. Balay, I. Tamarin, etc., all more complex in terms of technical and musical tasks.

And how many brilliant performers the history of domra already has: A. Alexandrov, V. Nikulin, V. Yakovlev, M. Sheinkman, R. Belov, A. Tsygankov, T. Volskaya, V. Kruglov, N. Maretsky, V. Ivko, V . Mikheev, I. Erokhina, I. Akulinina, S. Lukin, M. Gorobtsov and many others

Alexander Tsygankov is a virtuoso musician. The composing activity is inextricably linked with the performing one. He thoroughly knows the possibilities of domra and uses in his compositions the passage technique, chords, double notes, three-part polyphonic texture, left-hand pizzicato, single and double harmonics, as well as various combinations of these techniques. The author's collections, published in the largest publishing houses in Russia, have become the ‘School of Higher Performing Arts, which has trained more than one generation of domra performers”.

Spectacular concert pieces by Alexander Tsygankov are performed at competitions for young performers, in programs as soloists, ensembles and orchestras throughout Russia and abroad.