Basic information
An ancient Russian stringed musical instrument. It has three (sometimes four) strings and is usually played with a pick. Domra is a prototype of the Russian one.
It consists of a neck with pegs in the upper part and a wooden body with a shield in the lower part. Also, strings are attached below and stretched to the pricks.
Information about domra in Russia was preserved in ancient palace records and in popular prints. Domra players were called domrachey. It is very likely that domra, which still exists among the Kalmyks (under the name domr), and among the Tatars and Kyrgyz (under the names domra, dunbura, dumbra), was brought to Russia during Mongol yoke(although some researchers doubt this, since the Mongol-Tatars never moved to the Russian metropolis).
Types of domra
Three-string domras come in several types: piccolo, small, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, bass and double bass. In the orchestra of Russian folk instruments, piccolo, small, alto and bass domras have become widespread.
Device
The small domra consists of three parts: body, neck (neck) and head.
Frame has a body, a soundboard that covers the body from above and is edged along the edges with a shell, buttons for securing the strings and a bottom sill that protects the soundboard from the pressure of the stretched strings. In the middle of the soundboard there is a round hole - a voice box with a figured rosette. Above the soundboard, near the fingerboard, there is a hinged shell that protects the soundboard from scratches when playing. A stand - an armrest - is sometimes installed above the strings and the lower sill.
Vulture inserted into the housing and secured in it. A fingerboard is glued to the top of the fingerboard, and a nut is attached at the junction of the head and neck of the fingerboard. Thin transverse cuts are applied to the trim, into which metal thresholds are inserted. The spaces between the metal saddles are called frets. Their ordinal count begins from the top threshold. Frets II, V, VII, X, XII and XIX are marked with white circles.
On the headstock there are peg rollers for securing the strings. Their tension is adjusted by rotating the pegs.
The height of the strings above the fingerboard depends on the location of the stand and the nut. Strings raised too high above the fretboard make the instrument difficult to play and are difficult to press down on the frets. Recesses (slots) for the strings are made on the stand and on the top sill. The stand is installed on the deck in a precisely positioned location. This place should be at the same distance both from the top sill to the 12th metal sill, and from the 12th metal sill to the stand. Stickers, either straight or shaped, are made on the top of the stand. Curly stickers are used to align the tuning of the instrument.
Domra is being made made from seasoned dry wood. The body, consisting of seven staves, is made of maple or rosewood. The soundboard is made of straight (resonant) spruce. The neck of the neck is glued together from three longitudinal pieces of hardwood. Best material for making the stand - maple. The base sticker and the top and bottom sills are made of ebony or white bone. The maple hinged armrest is attached with screws to the body shell. The shell is also made from hard wood or plastic. The metal tuning mechanism is tightly attached to the head of the instrument; the pegs rotate easily and smoothly.
Strings are being made made of special steel and have different sections (thickness): the first - 0.30 mm (possibly 0.32 mm), the second - 0.40 mm, the third - 0.56 mm (possibly 0.58 mm). The third string is entwined with tinsel and silk threads. Each string is secured with a loop on its corresponding button. Then, stretched from the button through the lower sill along the recesses in the stand and in the upper sill, it is secured with two or three turns (counterclockwise) around the base of the peg roller.
All parts of the tool must fit well. The quality of its sound largely depends on this.
History-fate
The fate of domra is amazing and unique in its kind.
Where it came from, how and when domra appeared in Rus' still remains a mystery to researchers. IN historical sources Little information about the domra has been preserved, and even fewer images of the ancient Russian domra have reached us. And whether domras are depicted on documents that have come down to us, or some other plucked instruments common in those days, is also unknown. The first mentions of domra were found in sources of the 16th century. They speak of the domra as a fairly widespread instrument in Rus' at that time.
IN currently there are two most likely versions of the origin of the domra.
The first and most common version- about the eastern roots of Russian domra. Indeed, instruments similar in design and method of sound production existed and still exist in the musical cultures of Eastern countries. If you have ever seen or heard a Kazakh, Turkish baglama or Tajik rubab, then you might have noticed that they all have a round or oval shape, a flat soundboard, and the sound is produced through plectrum strikes of different frequencies and intensities. It is generally accepted that all these instruments had one ancestor - the eastern tanbur. It was the tanbur that had an oval shape and a flat soundboard; it was played with a special piece of wood, carved from scrap materials - a plectrum. Presumably, the instrument, which later transformed into a domra, was brought either during Tatar-Mongol yoke, or in the course of trade relations with Eastern countries. And the name “domra” itself undoubtedly has a Turkic root.
Another version proceeds from the assumption that domra traces its ancestry to the European one. In principle, in the Middle Ages they called any plucked string instrument that had a body, neck and strings. , in turn, also originated from an eastern instrument - the Arabic al-ud. Perhaps the appearance and design of the domra were influenced by the instruments of Western, European, Slavs, for example, the Polish-Ukrainian and its improved version -. I borrowed a lot directly from. Considering that the Slavs in the Middle Ages were constantly in complex historical and cultural relationships, of course, the domra can also be considered related to all European plucked string instruments of that time.
Thus, based on the knowledge and research accumulated to date, we can conclude that The domra was a typically Russian instrument, which, like many things in the culture and history of our state, combines both European and Asian features.
However, whatever the true origin of the domra, it is precisely established that an instrument with that name existed in Rus' and was an integral part of Russian culture in XVI-XVII centuries. Buffoon musicians played on it, as evidenced by known to researchers The proverb “I’m glad to scoff at my domra.” Moreover, at the royal court there was an entire “Amusement Chamber”, a kind of musical and entertainment group, the basis of which was buffoons with their domras and other ancient Russian musical instruments. In addition, according to some researchers, domra at that time had already formed a family of ensemble varieties. The smallest and squeaky one was called “domrishka”, the largest and lowest sounding was called “basistaya domra”.
It is also known that domras and domra performers – buffoons and “domrachei” – enjoyed considerable popularity among the people. All kinds of celebrations, festivities and folk festivals at all times and among all peoples were accompanied by songs and playing musical instruments. In Rus' in the Middle Ages, entertaining the people was the lot of “house doctors”, “guselniks”, “skrypotchikov” and other musicians. On domra, similarly, they accompanied folk epics, epics, tales, and in folk songs domra supported the melodic line. It is reliably known that handicraft production of domras and measuring strings was established, records of the supply of which to the court and to Siberia were preserved in historical documents...
Presumably, the technology for making domra was as follows: a body was hollowed out of a single piece of wood, a stick-neck was attached to it, and strings or animal sinews were stretched. They played with a sliver of wood, a feather, a fish bone. Relatively simple technology, apparently, allowed the instrument to become quite widespread in Rus'.
But here the most dramatic moment comes in the history of domra. Concerned about development secular culture, church ministers took up arms against the musicians and declared the buffoons’ performances “demonic games.” As a result, in 1648, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich issued a decree on the mass extermination of innocent instruments - instruments of “demonic games”. The famous decree reads: “And where domras, and surnas, and whistles, and haris, and haris, and all sorts of fortune-telling vessels appear... he ordered them to be confiscated and, having broken those demonic games, he ordered them to be burned.” According to the testimony of the 17th century German traveler Adam Olearius, the Russians were banned from instrumental music in general, and one day several carts loaded with instruments taken from the population were taken across the Moscow River and burned there. Both musicians and buffoonery in general were persecuted.
Perhaps, Such a truly tragic turn of fate has never happened to any musical instrument in the world. So, whether as a result of barbaric extermination and prohibition, or for other reasons, after the 17th century, researchers do not find any significant references to the ancient domra. The history of the ancient Russian instrument ends here, and one could put an end to it, but...
Domra was destined to literally be reborn from the ashes!
This happened thanks to the activities of an outstanding researcher and musician, extremely talented and extraordinary person- Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev. In 1896, in the Vyatka province, he discovered an unknown instrument with a hemispherical body. Assuming by his appearance that this was the domra, he went to the famous violin maker S. Nalimov. Together they developed the design of a new instrument, based on the shape and design of the one they found. Historians are still arguing about whether the instrument Andreev found was really an ancient domra. However, the instrument, reconstructed in 1896, was given the name “domra”. Round body, middle length neck, three strings, quart tuning - this is what the reconstructed domra looked like.
By that time, Andreev already had a balalaika orchestra. But to implement it brilliant idea The Great Russian Orchestra needed a leading melodic group of instruments, and the restored domra with its new capabilities was ideal for this role. In the period 1896-1890. V. Andreev and S. Nalimov designed ensemble varieties of domra. And for the first few decades after its rebirth, domra developed in line with orchestral and ensemble performance.
However, almost immediately some limitations in the capabilities of the Andreevskaya domra emerged, and therefore attempts were made to improve it constructively. The main task was the expansion of the instrument's range. In 1908, at the suggestion of conductor G. Lyubimov, master S. Burov created a four-string domra with fifth scale. The “four-string” received a violin range, but, unfortunately, was inferior to the “three-string” in terms of timbre and color. Subsequently, its ensemble varieties and an orchestra of four-string domras also appeared.
Interest in domra grew every year, musical and technical horizons expanded, virtuoso musicians appeared. Finally, in 1945, the first instrumental concert for domra with an orchestra of Russian folk instruments was created. The famous G-moll concerto by Nikolai Budashkin was written at the request of the concertmaster of the orchestra. Osipov Alexey Simonenkov. This event opened new era in the history of domra. With the advent of the first instrumental concert, the domra becomes a solo, virtuoso instrument.
In 1948, the first department of folk instruments in Russia was opened in Moscow at the State Musical-Pedagogical Institute named after. Gnesins. The first domra teacher was the outstanding composer Yu. Shishakov, and then the young soloists of the orchestra. Osipova V. Miromanov and A. Alexandrov - the creator of the first school of playing the three-string domra. Thanks to the highest vocational education originally a folk instrument, the domra short term It has traversed a path on the academic stage that took centuries for the instruments of a symphony orchestra to achieve (after all, it was once a folk instrument!).
Domra playing is moving forward at a gigantic pace. In 1974, the First All-Russian competition of performers on folk instruments was held, the winners of the competition were outstanding domrista virtuosos - Alexander Tsygankov and Tamara Volskaya (see the Interview section), creative activity which for decades to come determined the direction of development of domra art, both in the field of performance itself and the domra repertoire.
Today, the domra is a young, promising instrument with enormous, above all, musical and expressive potential, having truly Russian roots and, nevertheless, rising to the heights of the academic genre. What will be his further fate? The floor is yours, dear domrists!
Video: Domra on video + sound
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Tool name
“Domra” is a word borrowed from Turkic: cf. tat. dumbra“balalaika”, Crimean-Tat. dambura"guitar", tour. tambura"guitar", Kazakh. dombıra, calm. dombra. Here too housekeepers (housekeeper) - a musician playing the domra, from the Turkic people. *domračy; Wed treasurer, treasury .
Domra appears as an attribute of the buffoon's craft, usually in combination with other instruments: gusli, bagpipes, zurnas, tambourines.
The sayings “I am glad to scoff at my domra”; “to love is a game, to buy is domra”; “Erema has a gusli, Foma has a domra”... give reason to assume that the emphasis in the name of the instrument fell on the last syllable: domra.
Story
The domra became most widespread in the 16th-17th centuries among buffoons as a solo and ensemble instrument.
In Poland, an edition of the Bible translated by Semyon Budny (Nesvizhskaya, 1571−72, the so-called “Arian”) has been preserved, which uses the name of the instrument “domra” as a translation of the word “organum”, that is, “instrument”, to emphasize the comprehensive glorification of God by the people in the Psalms of King David (“Praise the Lord in domra”). At that time, domra was widespread in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( modern Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus and West Side Russia where official language was a Western Russian common book language for Ukrainian and Belarusian languages of that time), and was perceived by the Poles as folk (ignoble, although it sounded at the court of the Grand Dukes Radziwill). Also considered a "Cossack" instrument, like the Ukrainian torban.
In the medieval Moscow State, the domra was an instrument of folk musicians and actors - buffoons. Buffoons walked around villages and cities and staged funny performances, in which they often allowed themselves harmless jokes at the expense of the boyars and the church. This angered both secular and ecclesiastical authorities, and in the 17th century they began to be exiled or executed. Along with the disappearance of the buffoons, the domra also disappeared. The reasons for the disappearance of domra are not entirely clear. Another instrument of buffoons was the harp, which has not disappeared anywhere. Quite often, the disappearance of the domra is blamed on the presence of royal decrees of the 17th century, in particular the Royal Charter of 1648; but the decrees themselves were not directed against the instrument - the domra (called “momra” in the letter), but were aimed against the correction of morals and the destruction of superstitions, which included buffoonery with their pagan and blasphemous elements, according to the authorities; in addition, the tsarist decrees were valid only on the territory of the Russian kingdom and had no force in vast territories such as Left Bank Ukraine and Right Bank Ukraine. If Left Bank Ukraine became part of the Russian kingdom according to the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, then Right Bank Ukraine remained in the 17th century as part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In the 19th century, no one knew about the existence musical instrument domra. Only at the end of the century, the director of the first orchestra of folk instruments, musician-researcher Vasily Andreev, did the most difficult and painstaking work to restore and improve Russian folk instruments. Together with S.I. Nalimov, they developed the design of the domra, based on the shape and design of an unknown instrument with a hemispherical body found by Andreev in 1896 in the Vyatka province. Historians are still arguing about whether the instrument Andreev found was really an ancient domra. However, this instrument, reconstructed in 1896, was given the name “domra”. Round body, medium-length neck, three strings, quart action - this is what the reconstruction looked like.
Later, thanks to V. Andreev’s closest associate, pianist and composer Nikolai Petrovich Fomin, a family of domras was created, which became part of the Russian orchestra - piccolo, small, alto, bass, double bass.
To expand the range of the domra, attempts were made to improve it constructively. In 1908, at the suggestion of conductor G. Lyubimov, master S. Burov created a four-string domra, with fifth tuning, and it was called domra prima. “Prima” received a violin range and had its own deep coloristic timbre. Subsequently, its ensemble varieties and an orchestra of four-string domras also appeared.
Now the instrument is popular in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus and foreign countries; many concert and chamber works, transcriptions have been created, in particular, of violin works.
Design
Domras and other plucked instruments High Quality are made from the following types of wood:
- White maple (sycamore) and holly, wavy birch - the body of the instrument.
- Maple (special) - stand.
- Spruce, resonant fir (straight-layer, well-dried) - soundboard.
- Very hard rocks - vulture.
- Ebony fingerboard, top and bottom.
- Hard rocks - the hinged shell of small domras and prima balalaikas.
The best examples of three-string domras are made according to the models of Semyon Ivanovich Nalimov (1857-1916).
The best examples of four-string domras were prepared according to the models of Semyon Ivanovich Sotsky, whose instruments, in particular 4-string domras of all types (Prima, Tenor, Alto), were actively used in Russian folk orchestras of the Central Main Post Office of Moscow and the Moscow House of Culture of Railway Workers (from about 1938).
The domra, like many other stringed instruments, consists of two main parts: a hemispherical body and a neck.
The main parts of the hull are the body and deck. The body is formed by gluing seven (less often nine) strips of wood - rivets. The deck covers the body from above and is edged along the edges with a shell. On the body there are buttons for securing the strings and a bottom sill that protects the soundboard from the pressure of the stretched strings. In the center of the soundboard, closer to the neck, there are seven round sound holes (one large and six small ones around). As a rule, they are called a “sound hole” (unit for ease of speech), “voice box” or “rosette”. Above the soundboard, near the fingerboard, there is a hinged shell that protects the soundboard from damage when playing. For ease of play and protection of the deck where the forearm touches right hand An armrest can be attached to the body.
A stand is located between the resonator hole and the lower sill. It supports the strings and transmits their vibrations to the body.
The neck is inserted into the body and secured in it. A fingerboard is glued to the top of the fingerboard, and a nut is attached at the junction of the head and neck of the fingerboard. Thin transverse cuts are applied to the trim, into which metal thresholds are inserted. The spaces between the metal saddles are called frets. Their ordinal counting begins from the top threshold. There are 19-26 frets on the small domra, about 19 on the other three-string ones. There are approximately 24-30 frets on the domra, about 19 on the other four-string frets. On the headstock there are peg rollers for securing the strings. Their tension is adjusted by rotating the pegs.
The height of the strings above the fingerboard depends on the location of the stand and the nut. Strings raised too high above the fretboard make the instrument difficult to play and are difficult to press down on the frets. Recesses (slots) for the strings are made on the stand and on the top sill. The stand is installed on the deck in a precisely positioned location.
Domra strings are traditionally more elastic for the fingers than, say, balalaika strings. Both steel and synthetic strings are used to play.
Mediator
The best material for making a mediator is caprolon. The shape of the pick is oval. The size depends on the size of the instrument, and is approximately 2-2.5 cm long and 1.4 cm wide. The thickness of the pick gradually decreases, starting from 1.5 mm in the part in contact with the string (bottom part) to 0.5 mm in the part held by the fingers (top part). The lower right edge of the pick (approximately 1/4 of the perimeter) is ground down at an angle to create a chamfer, which is then ground to a "mirror finish". The mediator is turned over and a second chamfer is made on it in the same way.
Currently, mediators made from polymeric materials are widely used: caprolon, tortoiseshell etrol, soft capron. To obtain a muffled sound on alto and bass domras, a pick made of genuine leather is used.
Build
Three-string domra
The sound of the open strings of a three-string domra forms it quart build . The sequence of tones for a small domra, starting with the first string, the highest in tone: Re(second octave); La, Mi(first octave).
All subsequent strings are tuned by creating intervals between two adjacent open strings: clean quarts for three-string domra and clean fifths for a four-string domra (the double bass domra is tuned in fourths).
A pure quart contains V semitones (a fifth contains VII), so the 2nd string is clamped to the 5th fret and the 1st string is tuned in unison with the 2nd, after which a pure quart is formed between them open. The third (and fourth) string is tuned in the same way, clamping it to the V (VII) fret and comparing its sound with the open tuned string.
Varieties
Three- and four-string domras together with balalaikas form a balalaika-domra orchestra. Four-string domras can form a pure domra orchestra. Domra prima (small) is the leading instrument in the orchestra and the solo instrument. Currently, three-string domras are practically not used mezzo-soprano, tenor and double bass.
Piccolo domras sound an octave higher than what is written on the staff. Tenor, double bass, and alto sound an octave lower than written.
Four-string domras, compared to three-string ones, have a greater range of sounds by almost a whole octave. The structure of four-string domras is similar to the structure of the corresponding violin instruments: domra prima - violin, viola - viola, bass - cello, double bass - double bass.
| View | 3-string | 4-string | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build | Notation | Build | Notation | |
| Piccolo | a 2 , e 2 , h 1 |  |
a 2 , d 2 , g 1 , c 1 |  |
| Small/Prima | d 2 , a 1 , e 1 |  |
e 2 , a 1 , d 1 , g |  |
| Mezzo-soprano | a 1 , e 1 , h |  |
- | - |
| Alto | d 1 , a, e |  |
a 1 , d 1 , g, c |  |
| Tenor | a, e, H |  |
e 1 , a, d, G |  |
| Bass | d, A, E |  |
a, d, G, C |  |
| Double bass | D, A 1, E 1 Composers
Radio broadcasts
see alsoIn related projects | |||
Domra is a Russian folk stringed musical instrument with four strings. Domra consists of three parts: a wooden hemispherical oval body, a neck and a head. A mediator is used to produce sound.
Figure 1 - Four-string domra
A mediator is a device for plucking strings when playing some stringed plucked musical instruments (such as domra, lute, zither, mandolin, guitar); a bone, plastic, metal plate, quill feather or ring with a “claw” worn on a finger.
Figure 2 - Mediator for domra
History of domra
The history of domra is tragic. In medieval Rus' it was the main instrument of folk musicians and buffoon actors. Buffoons walked around villages and cities and staged funny performances, in which they often allowed themselves harmless jokes at the expense of the boyars and the church. This angered both secular and ecclesiastical authorities, and in the 17th century they began to be exiled or executed. Domra was executed in the same way. She disappeared.
In the 19th century, no one knew about its existence. Only at the end of the century, the director of the first orchestra of folk instruments, musician-researcher Vasily Andreev, did the most difficult and painstaking work to restore and improve Russian folk instruments. Together with Semyon Nalimov, they developed the design of the domra, based on the shape of an unknown instrument with a hemispherical body found by Andreev in 1896 in the Vyatka province. Historians are still arguing about whether the instrument Andreev found was really an ancient domra. However, the instrument, reconstructed in 1896, was given the name “domra”. Later, thanks to Vasily Andreev’s closest associate, pianist and composer Nikolai Fomin, a family of domras was created, which became part of the Russian orchestra - piccolo, small, alto, bass, double bass.
Figure 3 – The founder of the modern domra, the creator of the first orchestra of folk instruments
Domra device
The body of the domra has a body, a soundboard that covers the body from above and is edged along the edges with a shell, buttons for securing the strings and a bottom sill that protects the soundboard from the pressure of the stretched strings. In the middle of the soundboard there is a round hole - a voice box with a figured rosette. Above the soundboard, near the fingerboard, there is a hinged shell that protects the soundboard from scratches when playing. A stand - an armrest - is sometimes attached above the strings and the lower sill.
The neck is inserted into the body and secured in it. A fingerboard is glued to the top of the fingerboard, and a nut is attached at the junction of the head and neck of the fingerboard. Thin transverse cuts are applied to the trim, into which metal thresholds are inserted. The spaces between the metal saddles are called frets. Their ordinal count begins from the top threshold. On the headstock there are peg rollers for securing the strings. Their tension is adjusted by rotating the pegs.
The height of the strings above the fingerboard depends on the location of the stand and the nut. Strings raised too high above the fretboard make the instrument difficult to play and are difficult to press down on the frets. Recesses (slots) for the strings are made on the stand and on the top sill. The stand is installed on the deck in a precisely positioned location. Domra strings are traditionally more elastic for the fingers than, say, balalaika strings.
Figure 4 – Construction of a domra
My attitude towards the instrument
I first learned about this instrument when, at the age of 5, I went with my mother to the Palace of Culture named after. Gorky in order to start making music. I planned to play the piano or guitar, but when I saw the domra, I decided that I wanted to learn to play this instrument. And I didn’t regret it at all. For a year I studied at the Palace of Culture named after. Gorky with Ninel Leonidovna Morozova, who instilled in me a love for domra. Then I entered music school No. 2. There I began playing in a folk instrument orchestra under the direction of Alexander Antonovich Korogodin, from whom I later began to learn to play the guitar. Every year I took an exam in which I had to play three pieces. Exams always took place in the concert hall of the music school. Friends and my mother came there to support me. Perhaps, thanks to the support of people dear to me, I always passed all exams with excellent marks. also in music school we were taught solfeggio and musical literature. These disciplines helped me develop an ear for music and musical memory, as well as learn a lot of new things from the lives of great composers and musicians. Even now, when studying at music school is behind me, I am invited to play in the orchestra at various concerts. Last time I played at the Donetsk Regional Philharmonic at the report concert of the music school. I am glad that I can play such a wonderful musical instrument, and every time I pick up a domra, I remember how interesting it was to learn to play it. Links to material:1.Wikipedia [ Electronic resource]. - Access mode.
T There are several types of three-string domras: piccolo, small, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, bass and double bass. In the orchestra of Russian folk instruments, piccolo, small, alto and bass domras have become widespread. Here is shown the structure of the leading instrument in such an orchestra - the small domra.
The small domra consists of three parts: the body, the neck (neck) and the head.
The body has a body, a soundboard that covers the body from above and is edged along the edges with a shell, buttons for securing the strings and a bottom sill that protects the soundboard from the pressure of the stretched strings. In the middle of the soundboard there is a round hole - a voice box with a figured rosette. Above the soundboard, near the fingerboard, there is a hinged shell that protects the soundboard from scratches when playing. A stand - an armrest - is sometimes attached above the strings and the lower sill.
The neck is inserted into the body and secured to it. A fingerboard is glued to the top of the fingerboard, and a top nut is attached at the junction of the head and neck of the fingerboard. Thin transverse cuts are applied to the trim, into which metal thresholds are inserted. The spaces between the metal saddles are called frets. Their ordinal count begins from the top threshold. Frets II, V, VII, X, XII and XIX are marked with white circles.
On the headstock there are peg rollers for securing the strings. Their tension is adjusted by rotating the pegs.
The height of the strings above the fingerboard depends on the location of the stand and the nut. Strings raised too high above the fretboard make the instrument difficult to play and are difficult to press down on the frets. Recesses (slots) for the strings are made on the stand and on the top sill. The stand is installed on the deck in a precisely positioned location. This place should be at the same distance both from the top sill to the 12th metal sill, and from the 12th metal sill to the stand. Stickers, either straight or shaped, are made on the top of the stand. Curly stickers are used to align the tuning of the instrument.
Domra is made from seasoned dry wood. The body, consisting of seven staves, is made of maple or rosewood. The soundboard is made of straight (resonant) spruce. The neck of the neck is glued together from three longitudinal pieces of hardwood. The best material for making a stand is maple. The base sticker and the top and bottom sills are made of ebony or white bone. The maple hinged armrest is attached with screws to the body shell. The shell is also made from hard wood or plastic. The metal tuning mechanism is tightly attached to the head of the instrument; the pegs rotate easily and smoothly.
The strings are made of special steel and have different sections (thickness): the first - 0.30 mm (possibly 0.32 mm), the second - 0.40 mm, the third - 0.56 mm (possibly 0.58 mm). The third string is entwined with tinsel and silk threads. Each string is secured with a loop on its corresponding button. Then, stretched from the button through the lower sill along the recesses in the stand and in the upper sill, it is secured with two or three turns (counterclockwise) around the base of the peg roller.
All parts of the tool must fit well. The quality of its sound largely depends on this.
From the history of musical instruments: domra
Something we haven't heard for a long time
The sound of a string
They say they are out of fashion
Songs of Russian antiquity!
Like a flock of vagrant birds
Fashion rushes with the wind
Don't be sad balalaika,
Domra, don't cry, don't cry
With a daring people's heart
You are related for a reason!
In the golden hands of craftsmen
You will never be silent!
“What is domra?” – this is a question people often ask when they hear about an instrument with that name. Others happily rush to demonstrate their enlightenment and clarify: “We know, this is a kind of balalaika, only round.” And only a few imagine the domra really as a musical instrument with with its own specific sound and unique timbre.
How does this happen? After all, the domra is a Russian folk instrument! For example, everyone knows the balalaika. Even children know the violin, but not every Russian can name it domra. To clarify the reason for this paradox, we must turn to history.
And the history of the emergence and development of domra is perhaps one of the most interesting, confusing and dramatic. This is the first time that a tool with this name is mentioned in documents. XVI century. But, probably, even earlier in Rus' there were tanbur-shaped instruments that came to us from the East. They were especially popular among the people. Images of musicians playing these instruments are found in many manuscripts of the time. Such musicians were called buffoons and were, essentially, professional artists. At the beginning of the 16th century, at the court of Tsar Ivan the Terrible there was an Amusement Chamber, which consisted of musicians playing domra, harp, and whistles. There is even a saying that has been preserved: “I’m glad to scoff at my domras.” National holidays and the festivities were accompanied by performances of cheerful traveling buffoon artists, just as they are now accompanied by performances of famous pop stars.
But it was precisely the popularity and love of the people for domra that did it a disservice. The main enemy of buffoonery was the church. The clergy was indignant: “The games are trampled down, and the churches are empty.” In addition, the buffoons did not hesitate to raise social problems, which were ridiculed in a fairly free satirical form. Naturally, the authorities could not like all this. This is how the decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich of 1648 appeared, the famous phrase from which reads: “And where domras, and surnas, and whistles, and harps, and all sorts of fortune-telling vessels appear, order them to be confiscated and, having broken those demonic games, order them to be burned.”
It is unlikely that any other musical instrument in the history of mankind has been subjected to such monstrous destruction. Domras were burned, broken, destroyed. She was forgotten for more than two centuries.
Domra “resurrected” only in late XIX century thanks to the talented musician V.V. Andreev.
Name Vasily Vasilievich Andreev- the creator of the first Great Russian orchestra, composer and conductor - enjoys great and well-deserved love of millions of music connoisseurs.
The father was a rich merchant. The composer's mother, a representative of a noble family, strove to provide an excellent education and upbringing. But the boy strove for the people from childhood. He loved to be in the people's room, where ancient songs were sung while doing handicrafts, one of the lackeys took an accordion from the shelf, and, famously stretching the accordion, started folk dances. On such evenings the boy's joy knew no bounds.
And then one day a five-year-old boy was found in an empty common room with an accordion in his hands. The tool was confiscated and the boy was punished. So soon a music teacher appeared in the Andreevs’ mansion.
While studying at the gymnasium, Vasya intensively practiced playing the violin. And, who knows, maybe the talented young man would have become a professional violinist, if he had not encountered a common handicraft balalaika on his way. One thing becomes clear to him: he must continue to study Russian folk instruments.
This is how Andreev writes about one random circumstance that turned his whole life upside down: “It was a quiet June evening. I was sitting on the terrace and enjoying the silence of the village evening... And suddenly I heard sounds that were still unknown to me... I distinguished very clearly that they were playing a string instrument. The player played a dance song, at first quite slowly, and then faster and faster. The sounds flared up, the melody flowed uncontrollably, pushing me to dance... I jumped out of my seat and ran to the outbuilding, where the sounds were coming from. A peasant was sitting on the steps and playing the balalaika... I was amazed at the rhythmicity and originality of the playing techniques, and I could not understand how such a poor-looking, imperfect instrument, only stirred with strings, could produce so many sounds.” “I remember what was burned into my brain then, like a hot iron: to play myself and bring the game to perfection.”
Andreev persistently hones his performing skills, at the same time dreaming of a balalaika that could be performed in any salon in the capital.
But none of the masters agrees to make this instrument. One of the best violin makers, Ivanov, agreed to make a balalaika on the condition that no one would find out.
Andreev begins pedagogical activity. Takes up the task of organizing a new musical ensemble.
In 1896, in the Vyatka province, a small stringed instrument with a rounded body was accidentally found, which soon fell into the hands of Andreev. By comparing the found instrument with images in ancient popular prints and engravings, as well as from the description, Andreev suggested that it contained the long-wanted domra. It was on his instructions that the domra family was created different sizes- piccolo, small, viola, bass and double bass. Thus, the rehabilitated domra was included in the balalaika ensemble. And then - to the famous Great Russian Orchestra of Folk Instruments V. Andreev. Moreover, as the main orchestral instrument. The domra group was entrusted with a melodic function.
The Great Russian Folk Instruments Orchestra won recognition on academic stages not only in Russia, but also around the world (it toured brilliantly in France, England, and America). The great musicians A. G. Rubinstein and P. I. Tchaikovsky spoke very warmly about the performances of this group.
Strongly connected with Andreev’s activities creative life Semyon Ivanovich Nalimov. Today, few people are familiar with this name. Meanwhile, in Russian history musical culture it occupies a prominent place. “Russian balalaika Stradivarius” was called by Soviet musicologists. Thanks to the cooperation of the two talented people Russian plucked musical instruments were improved. The domra was reconstructed into 4 strings with a fifth scale, thanks to which we have the richest violin literature in our artistic arsenal and the opportunity to perform world-class works. This domra has taken root in Ukraine and Belarus.
T.I. Volskaya is one of the most brilliant domra players. Volskaya's unusual musical talent, combined with great emotional depth, exceptional musicality, impeccable taste and virtuoso control of the instrument, made her an unrivaled performer in her genre.
T.I. Volskaya graduated from the Kyiv Conservatory (class of M.M. Gelis), and completed an assistantship at the Ural Conservatory (class of E.G. Blinov). In 1972 she became a laureate of the 1st All-Russian competition performers on folk instruments, sharing the 1st prize with A. Tsygankov.
Tamara Volskaya's performances have always been distinguished by the depth and scale of thought and technical perfection. She finds the finest colors in both large-scale works and modest-sized miniatures, skillfully coloring the musical fabric with an unmistakable insight into the style of the era and especially the genre.
But let's return to the domra. Until 1945 it was used mainly as an orchestral instrument. However, there was no original repertoire. Individual works appeared, but they did not leave a significant trace in the future. Therefore, it is generally accepted that the history of solo performance on the domra began in 1945, when N. Budashkin wrote the first domra concert - a concert for domra with an orchestra of Russian folk instruments g-moll. It was Budashkin who was on high for the first time professional level managed to emphasize the rich technical and expressive capabilities of the instrument, brilliant virtuosity and at the same time lyricism, sincerity of timbre in the unique sound of the domrov tremolo.
From this moment, Domra begins her “solo career”, new stage in development, and is moving forward very successfully. Following Budashkin's, other concerts appear - Yu. Zaritsky, B. Kravchenko, Yu. Shishakov, N. Peiko, V. Pozhidaev, G. Shenderev, L. Balay, I. Tamarin, etc., increasingly more complex in technical terms and musical tasks.
And how many brilliant performers the history of domra already includes: A. Alexandrov, V. Nikulin, V. Yakovlev, M. Sheinkman, R. Belov, A. Tsygankov, T. Volskaya, V. Kruglov, N. Maretsky, V. Ivko, V. Mikheev, I. Erokhina, I. Akulinina, S. Lukin, M. Gorobtsov and many others
Alexander Tsygankov is a virtuoso musician. Composer's activity is inextricably linked with performing. She thoroughly knows the capabilities of the domra and uses in her compositions the passage technique, chords, double notes, three-voice polyphonic texture, left-hand pizzicato, single and double harmonics, as well as various combinations of these techniques. Author's collections published in the largest publishing houses in Russia have become a 'School of Higher Performance Skills, which has trained more than one generation of domra performers.'
Alexander Tsygankov's spectacular concert pieces are performed at competitions for young performers, in programs as soloists, ensembles and orchestras throughout Russia and abroad.
