The word "kamancheh" means "little bow" in Persian (kæman, bow, and -cheh, diminutive).[9] 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.[10]
Structure
The kamancheh has a long neck including
fingerboard which kamancheh maker shapes it as a truncated inverse cone for easy bow moving in down section, pegbox in both side of which four pegs are placed, and finial[11] Traditionally kamanchehs had three silk
strings, but modern instruments have four metal strings. Kamanchehs may have highly ornate inlays and elaborately
carved ivorytuning 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.[6]
Kamancheh is usually tuned like an ordinary
violin (G, D, A, E).
Qajar Iran miniature of a woman playing the kamancheh.
A woman playing the kamancheh. Detail from a wall painting in which
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar is surrounded by musicians and dancers. Painted by Abuʾl-Qasim, dated 1816.[12]
Woman playing kamancheh, ca. 1820.
The Armenian ashugh
Sayat-Nova playing a kamanacheh, ca. 1964.
Azerbaijani kamancheh player Malik Mansurov.
Kayhan Kalhor performance in Vahdat Hall, Tehran, 2016.
^Global Minstrels: Voices of World Music. Elijah Wald. 2012. p. 227.
ISBN9781135863685.
^"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.
^Chandrakausika, R.A.M. (2013-03-08).
"The Masters of Kamanche". A World Heritage Of Native Music. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
^Jonathan M. Bloom,
Sheila S. Blair (Ed.): The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Volume 1. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2009, p. 8
Further reading
Blum, Stephen (2010).
"KAMĀNČA". In
Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume XV/4: Kafir Kala–Ḵamsa of Jamāli. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 434–437.
ISBN978-1-934283-26-4.