Bandoneon - musical instrument - history, photos, videos. History of the bandoneon There is no doubt that the bandoneon and concertina originated on German soil and the bandoneon is its improved and improved version.
The bandoneon was designed by Heinrich Band in Kreffeld in 1840, based on the German concertina. It has a quadrangular shape and produces two different sounds when changing the movement of the fur (that is, it produces twice as many sounds as there are buttons on the keyboard). The fur is multifold, with two frames. At the top of each frame there are rings into which the ends of the lace, which serves to support the instrument, are tied.
At first the instrument had up to 28 buttons (56 tones), over time the number of buttons reached 72 (144 tones) - this range of keyboards was created on a unified model as a result of many collective efforts and was accepted as a standard. The keyboard of the bandoneon (unlike the German concertina) is located in a vertical direction, and the buttons are placed not in four, but in five rows. The arrangement of sounds on the keyboard is also slightly different.
Bandoneons were built (like German concertinas) in the keys of G, D, A, E major. The octave sound of the voices in them is two- and three-voice (two or three vocal reeds per octave sound simultaneously inside the instrument).
When playing the bandoneon, the right hand is threaded under the right, and the left hand under the left wrist strap; the straps fit tightly to the hand when the bellows is released, and when squeezed with the back of the hand, they rest against wooden projections - blocks. The game involves four fingers on both hands. The right thumb rests on the air valve lever and regulates the additional air flow into and out of the bellows when playing.
Bandoneon has become widespread in Germany. The “Society of Lovers of the German Concertina and Bandoneon” was created, and even a special newspaper was published. The bandoneon has become not only a favorite instrument in the home but also in professional music-making; a large number of ensembles and orchestras are being created. For ensemble playing, picolo bandoneons (sounding an octave higher than usual) and bass bandoneons (sounding an octave lower) began to be produced. A lot of literature is published for quartets and bandoneon ensembles.
Study guides and collections of songs and dances were first published using a digital system, then a transition was made to a digital music system. A lot of different sheet music literature has been published for the bandoneon. The most famous authors of schools and tutorials are O. Balman, V. Pershman, F. Kale. In addition to a large number of transcriptions, many original works by V. Pershman, G. Nauman, O. Balman, X. Ambrosaus, P. Estel and others are published. There are also well-known virtuoso soloists on this instrument (I. Schramm, V. Pershman, Astor Piazzola).
In 1926, E. Kusserov and R. Miklitz developed a more convenient keyboard system for the bandoneon. Their instruments (referred to as the “bandoneon of the Kusserow system”) had a full chromatic range of sounds, and most importantly, the same sound of voices when changing the movement of the bellows. E. Kusserov created a school for playing bandoneons of this system.
Today, the bandoneon continues to be popular in Germany, where this instrument is taught in music clubs and folk music schools. The bandoneon is also very popular in Argentina, where it has long been considered a national instrument. There bandoneons are made with three and even four voices.
Basic information
Variety. Named after its inventor, Heinrich Banda.
At first, the bandoneon was used to perform sacred music in churches in Germany. At the end of the 19th century it was brought to Argentina and became part of tango orchestras. It was thanks to the bandoneon that Argentine tango music received that piercing, poignant sound that attracts so many fans to it.
The sound in the bandoneon is produced by vibrations of metal reeds when the air pumped by the bellows during the game passes through the cracks in the metal plates. What’s interesting is that when you inhale and exhale the bellows, the same bandoneon button can play different notes. In addition, the sound quality can be made different by adding to the game the knee of the leg on which the bandoneon is placed during the game. This is why learning to play the bandoneon is extremely difficult.
Varieties of bandoneons
Bandoneons are distinguished by the number of tones. Typically this number ranges from 106 to 148.
The standard is a 144-tone bandoneon, and these are the instruments that all professional bandoneon players play. 144-tone bandoneons are soloists in tango orchestras.
Bandoneon in 110 tones It is mainly used for learning to play, so that the beginning bandoneonist can become familiar with the instrument.
There are also special and hybrid varieties of bandoneons, such as: bandoneon with pipes, bandoneon c-system (Russian), chromatifon, Praktikal bandoneon, bandoneon with piano layout and others.
Video: Bandoneon on video + sound
Thanks to these videos, you can get acquainted with the instrument, watch a real game on it, listen to its sound, and feel the specifics of the technique.
"Bandoneon was invented in Germany,
to accompany a church service,
but I found myself very quickly
in the brothels of Buenos Aires."
Astor Piazzolla
It is impossible to imagine tango music without the bandoneon; it is this bandoneon that gives it its unique piercing sound.
Willem Haenraets. "Bandoneon"
Bandoneon belongs to the group of reed musical instruments. The sound is produced by vibrations of the metal reeds when the air forced by the bellows during play passes through the cracks in the metal plates.
The instrument weighs about five kilograms, its dimensions are 22 x 22 x 40 cm.
Bandoneon from "Pigini"
The bandoneon has a quadrangular shape and produces two different sounds when the movement of the fur changes. When the bellows inhale and when it exhales, the same bandoneon button can play different notes. In addition, the sound quality can be made different by adding to the game the knee of the leg on which the bandoneon is placed during the game.
Elaine Hughes. "Bandoneonist"
Although the bandoneon was invented relatively recently, there is no clear opinion about its origin. It can be considered a direct descendant of the German concertina, invented by Karl Friedrich Uhlig in Chemnitz around 1835. Many researchers agree that the German musician and musical instrument dealer Heinrich Band, originally from the city of Krefeld, was directly related to the invention of the bandoneon. It is reliably known that Band opened his music store in 1843 and presumably in 1846 the first bandoneon could have been sold here. It is believed that the bandoneon inherited the surname of its probable creator. However, there were also other variations of the name of this instrument: bandonion, bandeneon, bandolion, bandoleon, mandolin, mandoleon.
Be that as it may, the bandoneon became widespread in Germany. The “Society of Lovers of Playing the German Concertina and Bandoneon” was created, and even a special newspaper was published. The bandoneon became not only a favorite home instrument, but also began to be used in professional music-making: a large number of ensembles and orchestras were created.
The bandoneon was initially used to perform sacred music in churches in Germany, but at the end of the 19th century it was brought to Argentina and became part of tango orchestras.
The first examples of the bandoneon were brought to Buenos Aires at the end of the 19th century, presumably around 1870, under very vague circumstances. The first to include the bandoneon in a musical ensemble was Domingo Santa Cruz. Flutes, guitars and violins (occasionally mandolins and accordions) made up the first ensembles with the participation of the bandoneon.
Bandoneon. History of the instrument
There are a lot of musical instruments in the world that characterize the countries in which they became most popular. There are quite a large number of different types of harmonics all over the world. Take, for example, the bandoneon, named after its inventor, Heinrich Band, which appeared in Germany. Here the instrument was originally used to perform church music.
At the end of the XIX century, the bandoneon came to Argentina. The bandoneon appeared in Argentina by simple accident: it was brought with him by a German sailor who, on the shores of Argentina, exchanged the instrument for a bottle of whiskey.
Since 1880, the bandoneon began to be used in tango orchestras. Before the bandoneon, numerous instruments were used: guitar, flute, violin, piano, but not a single musical instrument gave the effect that the bandoneon brought with its aching sounds. The instrument became the main symbol Argentine tango .
Argentina even has a holiday - national bandoneon day, which is celebrated on July 11th. This day was not chosen by chance. It's the birthday of Argentine bandoneon virtuoso Anibal Troilo.
Latin America is generally famous for its love of music and dance, therefore, national days dedicated to music are a special tradition. Also about popular brazilian festival many different stories.
What does a bandoneon sound like?
The wind and reed instrument bandoneon has a unique sound, thanks to which Argentine tango has become so popular and recognizable.
When the air in the bellows vibrates the metal reeds, entering and exiting the same button can produce a different note.
The sound character of the bandoneon is sad and dramatic. But it is precisely such sounds that give that unique effect, which makes one listen to its melodies.
The musical instrument became very popular in orchestras in Argentina, so in 1930 the German manufacturer Alfred Alnold exported almost 2,500 bandoneons to Argentina.
Playing the bandoneon is not difficult for those who are familiar with playing the accordion, button accordion, and accordion. The playing principle is similar to these instruments. However, a peculiarity still exists: the bandoneon must be played alternately: first with the right hand and then with the left, thus each part of the musical instrument acts independently of each other, and the keys can produce different sounds, which are sometimes compared to the sounds of an organ.
What are the differences between an accordion and a bandoneon?
Playing the accordion involves using the left hand to produce different sounds by pressing the keys. The right hand, while working with the left, holds a certain set of keys, without overdoing it. Thus, playing the accordion is not complicated and harmonious. The accordion has 5 vibrating sounds on the right side, which help produce completely different sounds when playing.
When playing the bandoneon, the musician generates only one note with his right hand, as a result of which the difficulty of playing the instrument with his left increases. With the help of such a game, you can produce completely different musical parts, of which you get much more than when playing the accordion. Bandoneon has only 2 vibrating sounds that appear by pressing the buttons. Such sounds produce a fundamentally different timbre, different from the accordion.
How is the bandoneon played?
The bandoneon is played sitting down on one knee and, unlike the accordion, it cannot be moved while playing tunes. In addition, playing the bandoneon requires considerable physical strength, since its bellows open much more than those of the accordion.
Also, in addition to the classic bandoneon, there is also:
- diatonic, which produces slightly different sounds when the bellows opens and closes;
- chromatic, having similar opening and closing bellows as an accordion.
In Argentina, only diatonic bandoneons are used, which, among other musical instruments, are recognized as real kings.
Bandoneon And concertina... Their emergence is inextricably linked with three Germans, each of whom could lay claim to the “palm of championship”
He is an instrumentalist and clarinetist Carl Friedrich Uhlig from Chemnitz / Carl Friedrich Uhlig (Chemnitz), who designed the first German concertina in 1834, and who still knew nothing about the invention and research of the English physicist Sir Charles Wheatstone, who, while studying acoustics, created in 1829 a new musical instrument, the predecessor of the English concertina. The truth was not yet concertina, as we imagine it, but only a metal box with voices without fur with an oval mouthpiece and called “Symphonium”. From this description, in my opinion, the patented instrument looked more like a concertina. Heinrich Band
from Krefeld / Heinrich Band (Krefeld)- a music teacher and dealer in musical instruments whose name gave the name to the new instrument, and finally - Carl Friedrich Zimmermann (Carlsfeld), who began producing the first bandoneons in 1849. There are several plausible versions of the creation of this musical instrument, which played such a significant role in the development and spread of the tango genre at the beginning of the 20th century, but
There is no doubt that the bandoneon and concertina originated on German soil and the bandoneon is its improved and improved version
It is also reliably known that the word bandoneon came from the name of Heinrich Band / Heinrich Band,
music teacher from the city of Krefeld, who presumably studied concertina playing with Friedrich Uhlig in 1840 in Chemnitz.
You can see what a simple 20-button concertina looks and sounds like in this Video
English concertina . This is what Irish music sounds like
Grigorash Diniku - "Lark" Valentin Osipov (Concertino) and trio "Academy" - Vladimir Ushakov, Svetlana Stavitskaya, Sergey Likhachev
Heinrich Band did not make anything himself, but bought concertinas produced there in Bohemia / Böhmen (now the territory of the Czech Republic) and Saxony / Sachsen, remade them, improving the mechanics and increasing the range. These instruments were sold under the name Bandion exclusively in his shop, which he inherited from his father, and their range increased thanks to him, first to 64 and later to 88 sounds (at that time there were only 54 sounds). Thus, already in 1846, instruments with 100 sounds appeared, which were used in the city orchestra, and all this - 3 years earlier than Carl Friedrich Zimmermann, who is widely credited with creating the bandoneon in 1849.
How the name came about bandoneon? There is also no consensus on this matter. The often cited arguments that supposedly Heinrich Band created “Band Union” for the production and promotion of his instruments, which is consonant with the word bandoneon and hence the name of the instrument, did not come true. I am much closer to another point of view on its origin. At that distant time, instruments from the harmonica family were called Accordions / Accordion, which is from the Italian word “Accord” and the ancient Greek ending “ion”, which has a mythical origin and is translated as “something in motion.” Movement... - this is probably not only the need for constant movement of the fur, but also the fact that the instruments were used mainly in motion, during walking, processions, processions, they were played mainly while standing and they were held by a neck strap that was attached to eyes to the middle of the fur. Names Accordion and concertina- by that time there were well-known, good-sounding brands, but the new instrument did not have a beautiful name. It was called the “New Type Accordion” or simply “harmonica”. And then, adding another syllable to the not very euphonious “bandion”, it turned out - bandonion, and subsequently the letter changed i on e finally determined the name of the new instrument: bandoneon. Heinrich Band continued to improve his brainchild, as a result of which the range increased from 106 to 112, and then to 130 sounds. In 1924, the German Union of Concertina and Bandoneon set the parameters for the so-called “standard bandoneon” - 72 buttons and 144 sounds.
Bandoneon very quickly became known and popular far beyond the borders of Germany and in the 19th century, with sailors and settlers, it came to the American continent, where it truly received its new birth in Argentina. Because of its light weight and size, low price, and versatility, it firmly established itself in the brothels and pubs of the huge and seething Buenos Aires, sounded on its streets and in the gateways, gradually displacing wind instruments, especially flutes, from ensembles.
South Americans prefer “Rhine-type” bandoneons with 142 sounds. Design "disadvantages" such as the knocking of the keys and noise when closing the bellows were perceived positively and were organically integrated into playing the instrument. The timbre of these instruments ranges from sharp to soft, from mournful to mysterious at the same time. From Argentina bandoneon Together with tango, he triumphantly returned to Europe, enriched with new sounds and playing techniques.
Tango is the force that, at least for a moment, unites strangers and strangers. This whisper of sensuality carried out through imitation. Tango is also the glitz of the dance hall and the charm of the underworld, the splendor of Paris and the smoky twilight of cafes and brothels in Buenos Aires. Tango is a world of subtle metaphors, captivating with its melancholy melancholy.
Without the bandoneon, invented by the Germans, Argentine tango would certainly not have become what we know it - a heritage of world culture. This is a real "little man's piano" born in Saxony, by the way, very close to Klingenthal.
In the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires, in 2007 there is even a tango monument - a 3.5-meter steel bandoneon.
There was also a bandoneon “boom” inside Germany. Already since 1900, associations, orchestras, and clubs arose. In 1939 alone, 686 orchestras were registered. The bandoneon has become the leading instrument in dance ensembles.
Later, the bandoneon in Europe and Germany was replaced by a more advanced accordion, which sounded almost the same, but with much greater performance capabilities.
On this recording, Richard Galliano plays J. S. Bach's Aria on bandoneon
Unfortunately bandoneon Due to historical reasons, it did not receive proper distribution and development in Russia, but, nevertheless, there were enthusiasts of this instrument. In this video there is a Russian Alexander Mitenev, winner of the Klingenthal and Castelfidardo competitions in 2009, plays this rare instrument for Russia.
Well, and of course, the most prominent representative is Astor Piazzolla. It is with his name, first of all, that the concept of modern is associated bandoneon. Thanks to him and his famous compositions, which revealed to the world the extraordinary beauty and variety of Argentine melodies, tango turned into an almost classical genre, migrating from brothels and gateways to the most sophisticated concert halls and received the name Tango Nuevo - the new tango.
Astor Piazzolla with his quintet performs "Milonga of Angels"
