Tárogató
Other names | Taragot, Töröksíp |
---|---|
Classification | |
Playing range | |
Written Range: B♭3 to C6 (scientific pitch notation) | |
Related instruments | |
The tárogató (töröksíp, Turkish pipe; plural tárogatók or, anglicized, tárogatós; or torogoata) is a woodwind instrument commonly used in Hungarian folk music. The modern tárogató was intended to be a recreation of the original tárogató, but the two instruments are thought to have little in common.[1]
History
Early use
Mention of the tárogató in Hungarian writings dates back at least as long ago as the 15th century. It is not clear whether it was first brought into Europe by the Hungarians when they first emigrated from the east in the 9th century. It is certain, however, that instruments of this type, descended from the Middle Eastern
Being a very loud and raucous instrument, the tárogató was used as a signaling instrument in battle (like the
Modern usage
In the 1890s, a modern version was invented by
This instrument was a symbol of Hungarian aristocracy, and the favorite woodwind instrument of Governor Miklós Horthy.[4] Manufacturing in Hungary ceased after World War II, though tárogatós continued to be made in Romania and other countries. In the 1990s several Hungarian makers started producing the instrument again.
A modern tárogató may occasionally be heard in Act 3 of Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner where it has become traditional in some opera houses (e.g. the Royal Opera House, London) to use it instead of the off-stage cor anglais for the last passage (bars 999-1149) of the Shepherd's air, but Wagner did not specify this, merely suggesting in the score "a specially built simple natural instrument".
In the 1920s, Luță Ioviță, who played the instrument in the army during World War I, brought it to Banat (Romania), where it became very popular under the name taragot.[5] In 1928, the British music journal Melody Maker reported that the Oxford-based clarinettist Frank Dyer was using "a taragossa, a novelty Hungarian instrument which is a cross between a saxophone and a Cor Anglais" with his Symphonic Dance Orchestra. No such instrument as a "taragossa" exists: the rest of the journal's description fits that of the tárogató.[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Fox, Stephen. "The Tárogató". Sfoxclarinets.com. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
- ^ a b c d e "A Brief history of the tarogato/taragot". 11thmuse.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-24. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ "The Tárogató Page". Hungaria.org. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b "The Tárogató and Central Eastern Europe". Archived from the original on 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ a b "The taragot in Romanian folk music". Eliznik.org. Archived from the original on 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ "Dance Band Diaries Volume 3 1928 0004". Nationaljazzarchive.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
- ^ "Irina Ross - Taragot (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
External links
- Tárogató Műhely
- Video of Dumitru Fărcaș playing the Tárogató Archived 2008-12-01 at the Wayback Machine
- Tárogató/Taragot regional map
- Tárogató.lap.hu
- Henk Jansen's comments about the spread of the taragot (tarogato) in Europe Archived 2015-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
- Irina Ross - Taragot (Official Video)