Martin, totally correct on Kodaly [Háry János]. I think it’s his best piece, better than Taras Bulba, etc. You probably know that the cimbalom is a slightly more fancied up version of another of my favorites, the santouri, which features in some of my favorite Greek performances. The santouri is a very old and truly sophisticated instrument in its own right, going deep into Byzantine (Romaika) history of the eastern Roman empire. It and its variants are found from Iran to Hungary and even beyond, and it is played by genuine artists often of very high caliber. If one wants to hear what the emperors and empresses of Constantinople listened to (when they weren’t killing each other, in the best top-dog fashion) go santouri or cimbalom. I am inexcusably fond of its timbre.
I’ve revised TANGLEWOOD.
mmmnnTanglewood
mmnn Is there music here?
Now the children through afternoon
Step the meadow. Courtly measures
mmnn Salute twilight.
mmnn After setting sun,
Gossips hush to muted hobnob.
Hoots and squeaks reverberate
mmnn Soft through heaven.
mmnnCloudlets ride above.
nHow the cimbalom resolves!
nArtists steady into silence.
mmnn Hundreds listen.
mmnn Ennui scampers out.
Closing rhythms laud the hillsides.
Time returns. Warm night’s hearers
mmnn Hurrah, and exit.
PS: I’ve made a post publication change in line 2, from “of” to “through”. This will have to be scribbled in by hand by me in my stack of physical copies, by interested buyers, and altered in any republication.
Last edited by Allen Tice; 05-03-2022 at 11:14 AM.
Reason: (top-dog)
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