Bandura
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- For the article on the Canadian psychologist, see Albert Bandura.
-->The bandura organologically refers to a Ukrainian and Polish plucked-string instruments of two distinct families: the lute or kobza from medieval times to ca. 1800 ("barduny" in medieval Polish) and the more modern zither type commonly associated with Ukraine. The term "bandura" can also refer to a number of different ethnic Eastern European regional instruments ranging from a hurdy-gurdy to a guitar. The terms kobza and bandura were at one time used interchangeably, although these terms diverged in the nineteenth century, and so they do today.
The earliest mention of the "lute-type" bandura, dates back to a Polish chronicle of 1441, which states that the Polish King Sigismund III had a court bandurist known as Taraszko who was Ukrainian in origin and was also the king's companion in chess. The first use of the term kobza dates back to a 1313 Polish chronicle.
The existence of lute-like instruments used by the inhabitants of the lands than now constitute Ukraine date back to 591. However, it is not known what specific terms were used for such instruments until the Turkic word Kobza was introduced in the twelfth century. The term bandura is thought to have a Latin pedigree (deriving from pandora or pandura). This has meant that some nineteenth-century academics have argued that the instrument came to Ukraine from England or Italy. This is a hotly disputed subject, notwithstanding a few Italian iconographic examples of banduras from ca. 1700 and an ascription of the instrument's invention to Francesco Landini (a blind lutenist-composer from the thirteenth century). It is known that by the 1700s the instrument had approximately four or five stoppable strings strung along the neck (with or without frets) and up to sixteen treble strings known as prystrunky strung in a diatonic scale across the sound board. The bandura existed in this form relatively unchanged until the middle of the nineteenth century, but around 1800 the unfrettable (now referred to as "starosvitska") bandura was developed, and this particular type of bandura superseded the frettable type, and became the ancestor of the banduras of our time.
The bandura underwent a rapid change in the twentieth century paralleling the development of Ukrainian ethnic awareness. After the death of the blind kobzar Ostap Veresai in 1890 it was thought that the last bandurist had died. In 1902 at the 12th Archeological Conference six blind traditional kobzars were found. After 1902 the sanctions introduced by the Russian government in 1876 banning the playing of the instrument on stage were lifted. In 1908 F. Kolessa made wax cylinder recordings of the epic ballads known as dumy which these blind kobzars sang. The recordings were transcribed and published in 1910.
After 1902 the bandura became a cause popular among non-blind student youth. Metal strings became standard after 1902 and the number of strings and size of the instrument began to grow. In 1912 metal tuning pegs were introduced. In 1925 chromatic strings were introduced on instruments used by the Kyiv Bandurist Cappella. In 1931 the first mechanisms were introduced for the rapid retuning of the instrument. The first Primer for the bandura was published in Lviv by Hnat Khotkevych in 1909. In 1910 the first composition for the bandura was published. In 1918 the first professional bandurist cappella was established. In 1926 the first professional tertiary education courses in bandura playing were established in Kharkiv. Bandura playing became extremely popular and by 1928 there were over 900 bandura ensembles in Ukraine.
In the 1930s attempts were made to control this rapid growth with the introduction of various sanctions. By the end of the 1930s many blind itinerant bandurists fell under harsh persecution from the Soviet authorities, many being arrested and most of them either executed or sent to Gulag labour camps.
After the death of Joseph Stalin severe persecution of bandurists stopped. Conservatory courses were once again re-established as was the serial manufacture of instruments by instrument factories in Chernihiv and Lviv.
Today there are three main directions in bandura playing:
- Authentic-folkloric-reproductive playing on traditional instruments
- Academic performance on Kyiv-style instruments taught in conservatories (primarily transcriptions of classical music)
- 'Fakeloric' performance of stylised songs and music on contemporary instruments
External links
- [Torban]
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