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| String instrument | |
|---|---|
| Classification | stringed |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 321.321 (Necked bowl lute) |
| Related instruments | |
| Byzantine lyra,Gadulka,Calabrian Lira,Cretan lyra,Lijerica | |
Theclassicalkemenche (Turkish:Klasik kemençe),Armudî kemençe ('pear-shaped kemenche') orPolitiki lyra (Greek:πολίτικη λύρα, 'Constantinopolitan lyre') is a pear-shaped bowed instrument that derived from the medieval Greek Byzantine lyre.
It was mainly used byGreek immigrants fromAsia Minor and in classicalOttoman music. The instrument was also used earlier for popular music, such as early "Smyrna-Style"Rebetiko and played till nowadays. It has become the main bowed instrument ofOttoman classical music since the mid 19th century.
The nameKemençe derives from thePersianKamancheh, and means merely "small bow".[1]
The namelyra derives from the name of the ancient Greeklyre and was used in medieval times, seeByzantine lyra.
| External videos | |
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 Neva Özgen demonstrates the kemençe |
It is played in the downright position, by resting it between both knees or on one knee when sitting. It is always played "braccio", that is, with the tuning head uppermost. The kemenche bow is called the yay (Turkish:Yay) and thedoksar (Greek:δοξάρι), the Turkish and Greek terms for bow respectively.
The strings are stopped by touching them by the side with the nails, like for many folk fiddles from Southeastern Europe to the Indian sub-continent, including the Indiansarangi.
Its pear-shaped body, elliptical pegbox and neck are fashioned from a single piece of wood. Its sound-board has two D-shaped soundholes of some 4x3 cm, approximately 25 mm apart, the rounded side facing outwards. The bridge is placed between, one side resting on the face of the instrument and the other on the sound post. A small hole 3–4 mm in diameter is bored in the back, directly below the bridge, and a 'back channel' ('sırt oluğu') begins from a triangular raised area ('mihrap') which is an extension of the neck, widens in the middle, and ends in a point near the tailpiece ("kuyruk takozu") to which the gut or metal strings are attached. There is no nut to equalize the vibrating lengths of the strings.
The pegs, which are 14–15 cm long, form a triangle on the head, the middle string being 37–40 mm longer than the strings to either side of it. The vibrating lengths of the short strings are 25.5–26 cm. All the strings are of gut but the yegâh string is silver-wound. Today players may use synthetic racquet strings, aluminium-wound gut, synthetic silk or chromed steel violin strings.
Formerly the head, neck and back channel might be inlaid with ivory, mother-of-pearl or tortoise shell. Some kemençes made for the palace or mansions by great makers such as Büyük İzmitli or Baron had their backs and even the edges of the sound holes completely covered with such inlays with engraved and inlaid motifs.
TheByzantine lyra (Latin:lira) was a pear-shaped bowed string instrument. ThePersian geographerIbn Khurradadhbih (d. 911) was the first to describe the Byzantine lyra as a typical Byzantine instrument (Margaret J. Kartomi, 1990).
Variations of the instrument (sharing the same form and method of playing) exist through a vast area of theMediterranean and theBalkans. Examples are the BulgarianGadulka, theCalabrian Lira in Italy, thelyra ofCrete and theDodecanese, theLijerica of the Croatian Adriatic.
The Persian word for bow is kaman, and kamancheh is the diminutive form.
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