Domra
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- Not to be confused with Dombra
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The domra (Russian language: домра) is a long-necked Russian string instrument of the lute family with a round body and three or four metal strings.
The domra is tuned as follows:
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[edit] History
In 1896, a student of Vassily Vassilievich Andreyev found a broken instrument in a stable in rural Russia. It was thought that this instrument may have been an example of a domra, although no illustrations or examples of the traditional domra were known to exist in Russian chronicles. A three-stringed version of this instrument was later redesigned in 1896, patented, and introduced into the orchestra of Russian folk instruments.
Later, a four-stringed version was developed by Moscow instrument maker, Liubimov, in 1905.
In recent times, scholars have come to the conclusion that the term "domra" actually described a percussive instrument popular in Russia, and that the discovered instrument was either a variant of the balalaika or a mandolin.
Today, it is the three-stringed domra that is used almost exclusively in Russia. It is played with a plectrum, and is often used to play the lead melody in Russian balalaika ensembles.
[edit] The four-string domra
The four-string domra is somewhat different from the three-string variant. It is larger and has a different tuning, and as a result a different quality of sound. It is used and taught exclusively in Ukraine where it replaced the mandolin that was popular in the 1920's.
The fact that the four-stringed domra is no longer used or taught in Russia has raised the question of whether the four-string variant remains, in fact, a Russian folk instrument, or whether it has effectively become a Ukrainian folk instrument. In 2001, the Kyiv Conservatory renamed their domra class, calling it a kobza class, and ordering instruments with a slightly different appearance, but using the same tuning and playing technique. Other conservatories are also following suit.
[edit] Orchestral instruments
Instruments are made in various sizes including picollo, prima, alto, tenor, bass, and contrabass.
[edit] Performers
Tamara Volskaya is considered to be one of the leading contemporary performers on the domra. She is a Merited Artist of Russia, a Laureate of the USSR competition, and a Professor at the Mussorgsky Ural State Conservatory in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
[edit] See also
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