THE ROLE OF TURKISH PERCUSSION IN THE HISTORY AND ...

the Turkish word for “cymbalsmith.” These became the cymbals used in the Turkish bands
that spread throughout Europe and eventually captured the interest of European composers. 8
Cymbals were made of copper, bronze, brass, and occasionally silver. As seen in
Figure 2 and Figure 3, eighteenth-century European cymbals were generally smaller and
denser than cymbals used today, though larger and thinner than those used in the Middle
Ages. 9 In the Classical era, cymbals were between 15 inches and 20 inches in diameter. 10
The center of the cymbal has a drilled circular hole through which a leather loop is drawn
allowing each hand to hold one cymbal, and the two to be struck together. The center of the
Turkish cymbal, known as either the bell or the cup, was noticeably raised and proportionally
large in comparison to modern models. The earliest Turkish cymbals sounded a distinct
attack with little sustain, perhaps because of the repeated frenzy of crashes customary in
music composed alla turka. 11
8 Gangware, The History and Use of Percussion Instruments in Orchestration, 20-21, 113; Ben F. Miller, “A
Brief History of the Cymbal from Antiquity to the Renaissance,” Percussive Notes (1974): 46, 50; Walter C.
Schneider, “Percussion Instruments of the Middle Ages,” Percussive Notes (1978): 111; The New Grove
Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001), s.v. “Cymbals.“
9 Medieval cymbals appear to be quite thick, approximately 5 to 10 inches in size.
10 Peinkofer and Tannigel, Handbook of Percussion Instruments, 120.
11 Bayard, “Timpani Clinic: The Neo-Janizaries,” 36; David Levine, “Percussion Instruments and Performance
Practices in Beethoven’s Music,” Percussive Notes (1977): 1.
13