ffi Forgothn Jnstrurent

Cbegfurogst6:
ffi Forgothn
Jnstrurent
by Mich\le Gingras
uring the ClarFestin Cincinnati
hostedby Ron de Kant in 1992,1
heard an unforgettable program
played by trlrag6tistGheorgheTrimbitas.
A Romanian native, Trimbitas settled in
the U.S. in 1990.He residesin Cleveland
where he performs with his band, TransylvaniaGroup.
His performance made a formidable
impressionon me three yearsbefore I was
to embark on a journey into the world of
klezmermusicin 1995.My fascinationfor
world music continuesand it led me to
further investigateeasternEuropean folk
music, particulary Romanian folklore. As
a result of the generoussupport available
to me as a professorat Miami University,
I acquireda ti{rogat6,contactedMr. Trimbitas,and spenttime at his home in Cleveland to learn,play, listen to vintagerecordings, and to talk about Romanianmusic
making. (The term taragot is used in Romania, and tdrogardis used in Hungary.)
Photo 2: GheorgheTrimbitas
Page 42
Plsr AND
Pnnsnur
The ti{rogat6is a Hungarian wooden instrumentwith a single reed and a conical
bore,similar to the sopranosaxophone.It is
usually pitched1ngb (but it was also available in C and A), with a rangeof Bbto C"'
or higher,dependingon the instrumentand
performer.(The lowest pad, Bb,is activated
by the right-hand thumb, but it is rarely
used, so its mechanismis sometimesremoved to allow more comfort below the
thumb rest.) In former times, the t6rogat6
was a double-reedinstrument.It was redesignedin 1894by Hungarianinstrument
makerJosephSchunda.At the beginningof
the 18th century,the instrumentwas very
popular among the adherentsof the R6k6czy movementand it laterbecamesucha
symbol of freedom to the Hungariansthat
when the movementwas defeated,the tdrogat6 was prohibited and disappearedfrom
public use, only to reappearat the time of
the war of independenceagainstthe Austrian Hapsburgsin 1896.
The t6rogatSis used in the shepherd's
tune in Act 3 of Tristan und Isolde in performances at the Budapest Opera House
Photo I: Threeslightly dffirent tdrogatos.
Left to right: Trirogatd with right-hand
coveredtonehole keys;with rollers on le.fthand kevs;with right-hand G# trill key.
Photo 3: TransylvaniaGroup, Cleveland
THB Cr,,qnrNrr
\ince Mahler suggestedthe idea, and the practicewas followed at
Bavreuth under Hans Richter. The first known appearanceof the
tfro-sat6 in symphonic music was in Kdroly Thern's opera
Svutopluc( 1839). In more recent times, Antal Molni{r used the
instrumentin his Kuruc muzzikafor small orchestraand four t6rogat6s(1936).More informationand photosmay be found in The
.YewGrove Dictionary of Instruments,volume 3.
Today,the instrumentis mostly used in Romanianfolk bands
for celebrationsand gatherings.These bands may include an
accordion, a trumpet, a violin, an alto saxophoneor clarinet
(which sometimesdoublesthe melody in unison or in harmony
along with the tilrogat6 for short periods),a shepherd'sflute, a
cimbalom(or dulcimer),and a doublebass.The tilrogatdis sometimes replacedby a sopranosaxophoneor clarinet.
n
Durnns,Dnmm!
The t6rogat6'sbell is piercedwith l0 strategicallyplacedholesto
enhanceresonance(one upper row with five small holes, and one
lower row with five largerholes).Its key systemcombinesa mixture
of different instruments'characteristics,
including the clarinet,oboe
and saxophone.The chromaticscaleis played with fingeringsused
on those three instruments.The keywork is somewhatelementary
and often cumbersome,with archaicmechanismssuch as split key
leversand curvedoctavekeys. (Thereare two octavekeys,both operatedby the left thumb.)
It is rareto find two identicaltilrogat6s.Eachinstrumentseemsto
havedistinct and uniquefeatureswhich setsit apartfrom otherti{rogat6s.One instrumentcould havecoveredplatesinsteadof open rings,
or an extrakey for alternatefingerings,and so on (seephoto 1). The
relatively small mouthpiecerequiressoft or medium soft soprano
saxophone(or clarinet)reeds,and its baffle is typically lined with a
thick and hard substanceto give the tdrogatdits characteristicnasal
and dark sound,as well as to improve sound projection.It is connectedto the instrumentin the samemanneras a saxophonemouthpiece,with the cork on the tiirogat6'supperjoint insteadof on the
actual mouthpiece.Some players use two different mouthpieces
with various reed strengthsdependingon sound, style and repertoire. For example,to play a fast dance from the region of Banat
calledJoc de doi, a bright "Gypsy" sound(typical of Banat) would
be more appropriate,whereasa doina from Transylvaniarequiresa
warmer,richer "classical" sound.
Otherdancesincludehora (amixed dancewheremen and women
hold hands and dance in a circle), joc de doi, (literally meaning
"dancefor two" - a very fast mixed dancewhere men and women
danceseparatelyin line and in a circle), strba (mixed circle dance,
similar to a hora but faster,wheredancersplacetheir handsand arms
on each other's shoulders),andfecioreasca(a Transylvaniancircle
and line dancefor men only) (seeFigures2, 3 and 4).Another dance
calledfecioreascafetelor de la crihalma is for women only. It was
createdin Crihalma,a village nearFagarasCity (Transylvania)when
men left for war, leavingtheir families behind.
It is interestingto note that a pieceplayedin one tonality on the
tdrogat6 would actually sound better on the clarinet if it were
transposedto a higher key. For example,Fecioreasca(see Figure
3) played in F major on the clarinet would berter capture the
appropriate"folk" spirit than if played in the samekey as the ti{rogat6 (C major).
lst Ee keY+
tl
lst 8ve key
nflnflflflflf
HHHHHH
ffiffiffiffiffiff
-
December1999
FfCUnf
l: Tdrogatdfingering chart
Page43
TunBEsrrNrHELnnn
Legendaryt6rogat6playersinclude Luca Novac (consideredthe very best
playerfrom Banat),Dumitru Farcas(from Transylvania,he studiedthe oboeat
a music conservatoryin Romania,which may explain his "classical"tirogat6
sound),Ion Peptenar,Djivan Gasparian,Dimitru Dobrican,Luta Popoviciand
Luta lovita. Originally from Banat,Iovita wasthe first Romaniantaragotist.He
Hora Pe Loc
Romanian traditionaltrans. M. Gingras *
Bb Trirogat6 (chords in concert key)
C7
F
G?
C
C 7 F G 7
FICUnn 2: Transcriptionof ahora
Fecioreasca de la Ibanesti (Mures)
Bb Tarogato (chords in conccrt kcy)
Romanian tntlitional-tnns.
broughtthe instrumentto Romaniaaround 1910.\l
LP recordingsmade by thesemusiciansare not a\
any more but can be found in householdsin
Europe,France(Romanianfolk music is highll
atedby the French)and in the U.S.
WnnnnAnnrHETlnocAros?
Acquiring a tirogat6 is a challenging task. The
desirablemake is by Stowasser(Budapest).One crt
reasonsthe ti{rogat6becamea rare instrument is ttrs
StowasserCompanyburneddown in 1917 and
manufacturingtiirogat6s after that year. (Original i
mentsusually have a serial number near and up to I
The most common serial numbersbeing around 198[i
Since the instrument is not made anymore (exceptfcr
relativelysmall numberof copies),ownersrarely u'anr
part with their instrument, even though they might
unusablespecimensor don't play it themselves.hiru
vary from a few hundred dollars to severalthousanddollars, depending on the age, condition and most ofter
availability. Owners can be found mainly in Romanir
Hungary and in a handful of statesin the U.S.
A strategyto purchasean instrumentis to approache
tdrag6tistand go from there, acquiring namesby u'ord
of mouth. Ti{rag6tistscan be found in musicians'unim
directoriesin largecities and by investigatingfolk bands
in various locationsor browsins the Internet.
M. Ginsrm *
PmynrcrHETlnocAToJovsANDCTnIIENGES
*"*
t2-
O.c.otCoao-----1
^
FtCUnn 3: Transcription of a fecioreasca
Scumpia Joc de Doi (Banat)
Bb tiirogatd (chords in concrd kcy)
ExtremelY
Roruian
fast
L7
cm
c
F
D7
cm
tnditional-trus.
A7
Dm
M. Gingro *
Bb
Dm
FICUnB 4: Transcription of a joc de doi
Page 44
Tnn Ct,.lnil\er
From a clarinetist'spoint of view, playing a t6rogato
is a refreshingexperiencebecausethe air column resistance is so minimal and free; however, small fingen
might find it difficult to sealthe holes completely,especially on the right hand.The conicalbore'sconstruction
calls for largerholes in the right hand,making low E and
D holesquite wide and difficult to covercompletely.Additionally, the holes are far apart, resulting in extra
stretchingon both hands. Tendinitis sufferers beware!
One suggestionis to seek a master repair person who
would createplate covers to replaceopen ring systems
(see photo 1). The procedure is complicated and requires cutting down hole chimneys,adding a metal post
and pads using sophisticatedtools owned by highly
qualified woodwind technicians.Another challenge is
intonation which tends to be unevenand very sharpunless the mouthpiece is pulled out several millimeters.
while the embouchureremainsflexible.
Fingeringsare simple to grasp,especiallyfor a woodwind doubler.The chromaticscaleis indicatedon the fingering chart (seeFigure 1,).Certain notesmay be modified to improve timbre, such as adding the left Cil key
while playing E', F', and Fil'.
Although double tonguing is often consideredan advanced contemporarytechniqueby clarinetists,it is an
essentialand basic skill to develop as a tdrag6tist.Romanian folk music from the region of Banat includes
e\tremely rapid myriadsof long passages
trf staccatonotes(seeFigure4).The good
ne\\'sis that the t6rogat6'slow air column
resistancemakesit a breezeto learn double tonguing. Simply play "da-9a," "taka." "tu-ku" or similar syllablesdepending
upon personaland pedagogicalphilosophy, and apply the fingerings slightly
beforethe next note to insure proper coordinationand precisionof articulation.
Romonion folk
musiclos in
monq other kinds
of folk musicl
is seldomwritten
down ond,
und€rstondobh;,
scor€s or€
procticolltl
non€xistent.
Vibrato is also an essentialaspectof
tdrogatSplaying. Romanianmastersuse a
very wide jaw vibrato, especiallyin slow
improvisatorypiecessuch as doinas. Although virtually all recordingsI heardby
master t6rogat6istsdisplay this kind of
vibrato, I still favor a narrowerwave and
relativelylessnoticeablevibrato.
FnourHEHnnnr
Romanianfolk music(as in many other
kindsof folk music)is seldomwrittendown
and, understandably,scoresare practically
The musicis handeddown by
nonexistent.
oral tradition, so one way musiciansget to
exchangedifferent pieces is by traveling
from town to town and playing for each
other; moreover,folk musicianswho learn
their skills by ear early on from their parentsor relatives,oftenfind scorereadingunnecessary,and memorize countlesspieces
easily.Naturally,ornamentation(including
trills, gracenotes,mordents,tone bending)
is also achievedthrough listening and experience.Ornamentationstylesare directly
linked to the soundsof specific regionsin
Romania; Banat (close to Serbia),Moldavia, Transylvaniaand so on. For example, players from Banat usually focus on
extremelyfast techniqueinvolving double
tonguing, while Transylvaniant6rag6tists
often prefer slow, meditativesongs.
When I askedaccordionistIoan Ailoae
from the TransylvaniaGroup to teach me
chords,he told me he doesn'treadmusic or
usechord namesand that actually he has a
hard time explaining how he even knew
where to place his fingers. He casually
answered,"I just hear it, that'sall(!)." His
fingers glide up and down the keyboard
with breathtakingability and artistry.How
!
inspiringa musicianship
Michdle Gingraswishesto thank Miami
University'sSchoolof FineArts (Ohio) for
its generoussupport,and GheorgheTrimbitas for his contributionto this article.
Brian Sutin (a scientistby profession)
createda comprehensiveWeb site for the
tiiragat6.It includesphotos,historicalinformation, names of tdragat6 dealers for
new and used instruments,t6ragat6summer camps,a list of books,performers,recordings,and more.The URL is: <www.
ucolick.org./-sutin/tarogato.html>.
Michdle Gingras may be contacted
through her Web site: <http://miavxl.
muohio.edu/-gingram>,
e-mail:<gingram
@muohio.edu>.
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