Kamancheh

The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) (Persian: کمانچه‎, Azerbaijani: Kamança, Kurdish: کەمانچە ,Kemançe‎) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian,[1] Azerbaijani[2] and Kurdish music.[3] The kamanchech is related to the rebab which is the historical ancestor of the kamancheh and the bowed Byzantine lyra.[4] The strings are played with a variable-tension bow. It is widely used in the classical music of Iran, Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan with slight variations in the structure of the instrument.[5]

This article is about the Iranian kamancheh. For the related but different Pontian Greek, Turkish or Armenian instrument, see Kemenche.

Kamancheh

Woman playing the kamancheh in the painting "Musical banquet" by Ibrahim Jabbar-Beik (1923-2002)
String instrument
Other names	Kamancha, Kamanche, Kemancheh, Kamanjah, Kabak kemane
Classification	Bowed Strings
Playing range
g3-e7
Related instruments
Kemancheh Tarhu Shahkaman Ghaychak Rebab Sorahi Kemenche
Musicians
Sayat Nova Ali-Asghar Bahari Kayhan Kalhor Ardeshir Kamkar Saeed Farajpouri Habil Aliev Mehdi Bagheri
Builders
Ebrahim Ghanbari Mehr Bayyaz Amir-Ataaie Saeed Maleki Qodratollah Kurdi Emad Kosari

Art of crafting and playing with Kamantcheh/Kamancha, a bowed string musical instrument
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Country	Azerbaijan and Iran
Reference	1286
Inscription history
Inscription	2017 (13th session)

Kamancheh

In 2017, the art of crafting and playing with Kamantcheh/Kamancha was included into the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.[6]

Name and etymology

The word "kamancheh" means "little bow" in Persian (kæman, bow, and -cheh, diminutive).[7] The Turkish word kemençe is borrowed from Persian, with the pronunciation adapted to Turkish phonology. It also denotes a bowed string instrument, but the Turkish version differs significantly in structure and sound from the Persian kamancheh. There is also an instrument called kabak kemane literally "pumpkin-shaped bow instrument" used in Turkish music which is only slightly different from the Iranian kamancheh.[8]

Structure

The kamanche has a long neck including fingerboard which kamancheh maker shapes it as a truncated inverse cone for easy bow moving in down section, peg box in both side of which four pegs are placed, and finial[9] Traditionally kamanchehs had three silk strings, but modern instruments have four metal strings. Kamanchehs may have highly ornate inlays and elaborate carved ivory tuning pegs. The body has a long upper neck and a lower bowl-shaped resonating chamber made from a gourd or wood, usually covered with a membrane made from the skin of a lamb, goat or sometimes a fish, on which the bridge is set. From the bottom protrudes a spike to support the kamancheh while it is being played, hence in English the instrument is sometimes called the spiked fiddle. It is played sitting down held like a cello though it is about the length of a viol. The end-pin can rest on the knee or thigh while the player is seated in a chair.

Kamancheh is usually tuned like an ordinary violin (G, D, A, E).

Notable kamancheh players

• Habil Aliyev
• Mehdi Bagheri
• Ali-Asghar Bahari
• Mark Eliyahu
• Kayhan Kalhor
• Ardeshir Kamkar
• Sayat-Nova

See also

• List of bowed stringed instruments
• Music of Iran
• Music of Azerbaijan
• Byzantine lira
• Haegeum
• Rebab
• Silk Road Ensemble

References

1. Global Minstrels: Voices of World Music. Elijah Wald. 2012. p. 227. ISBN 9781135863685.
2. "Kamancha". UNESCO. In the Republic of Azerbaijan it constitutes a major element of classical and folkloric music, and performances occupy a central place in a wide number of social and cultural gatherings.
3. "Iranian Kurdish musician wins prestigious award". Kurdistan24. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
4. "Iranian string instrument 'Kamancheh' to be inscribed on UNESCO list". 11 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
5. "Pastimes of Central Asians. Musicians. A Man Practising the Kamancha, a Long-necked Stringed Instrument". World Digital Library. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
6. "Art of crafting and playing with Kamantcheh/Kamancha, a bowed string musical instrument". UNESCO.
7. loghatnaameh.com. "کمانچه – پارسی ویکی". Archived from the original on 2008-10-17.
8. "Kabak kemane ve Kemancha hakkında rehber". Archived from the original on 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2014-07-05.
9. Ch, R. A. M.; 51, Rakausika राम च (2013-03-08). "The Masters of Kamanche". A World Heritage Of Native Music. Retrieved 2017-05-16.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links

• Nay-Nava: The Encyclopedia of Persian Music Instruments
• Kamanche, Iran, ca. 1869
• Kamanche, Iran, ca. 1880