Zurna (Zourna)

It is similar to the Mizmar. The Zurna is an instrument made from the fruit tree Apricot ( Prunus Armeniaca ). Zurnas are also used in the folk music of the countries in the region, especially Armenia, Republic of Macedonia , Azerbaijan, Croatia, Turkey, Iraq, Greece, Assyria, Iran, Albania,Bosnia and the other Caucasian countries., and has now spread throughout China, and Eastern Europe.

The Zurna is most likely the immediate predecessor of the European Shawm as well as related to the Chinese Suona still used today in temple and funeral music. The Japanese charumera, or charamera, traditionally associated with itinerant noodle vendors is a small zurna, its name deriving from the Portuguese chirimiya. Few, if any noodle vendors continue this tradition and, if any, would undoubtedly use a loudspeaker playing a recorded charumera.

There are several types of zurnas. They all share one and the same sound inductor - the so called kalem - which is actually a very tight (and short) double reed, sometimes made out of wheat leaves. The longest (and lowest) is the Kaba zurna, used in northern Turkey and Bulgaria. As a rule of thumb, a zurna is conical and made of wood.

Customer Reviews: