The Cimbál (Cimbalom) and Folk Music in Moravian Slovakia and Valachia

Abstract

This article presents an English-language introduction to the cimbalom, known in Czech as cimbál, as it is played in the Czech Republic. The article presents a holistic perspective on the cimbalom in Moravia, beginning with a descriptive organography, which covers Moravian organology evidence, historical iconography, and ethnographic evidence, with particular attention to the nineteenth-century ethnographic expeditions of Leos Janácek and folkloric nationalism. The article also proceeds to discuss musical style and the cimbalom's role in traditional ensemble music. The article concludes that, while the cimbalom's significance in Moravia has changed over time, the instrument has over the twentieth century become central to Moravian traditional music.