View source for Kamancheh

{{Short description|Iranian bowed string instrument}}
{{About|the Iranian kamancheh|the related but different Pontian Greek, Turkish or Armenian instrument|Kemenche}}
{{Infobox instrument
| name           = Kamancheh
| names          = Kamancha, Kamanche, Kemancheh, Kamanjah, Kabak kemane
| image          = 2 Kamānches, Persia, ca. 1880.jpg
| image_capt     = Persian Kamānches, ca. 1880
| background     = string
| classification = Bowed strings
| developed      = [[Iran]]
| range          = g3-e7
| related        =
* [[Kemancheh Tarhu]]
* [[Shahkaman]]
* [[Ghaychak]]
* [[Rebab]]
* [[Sorahi]]
* [[Kemenche]]
| musicians      =
* [[Sayat Nova]]
* [[Ali-Asghar Bahari]]
* [[Kayhan Kalhor]]
* [[Ardeshir Kamkar]]
* [[Saeed Farajpouri]]
* [[Habil Aliev]]
* [[Mehdi Bagheri]]
| builders       = 
* [[Ebrahim Ghanbari Mehr]]
* [[Bayyaz Amir-Ataaie]]
* [[Saeed Maleki]]
* [[Qodratollah Kurdi]]
* [[Emad Kosari]]
| sound sample= {{Listen
| embed    = yes
| filename = Kamancheh Improvisation Played by Kayhan Kalhor.ogg
| title = Kamancheh music
| description = Kamancheh Improvisation Played by Kayhan Kalhor – Silk Road Project}}
}}
{{Infobox intangible heritage
| Image       = 
| Caption     = 
| ICH         = Art of crafting and playing with Kamantcheh/Kamancha, a bowed string musical instrument
| Domains     = 
| Countries   = [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Iran]]
| ID          = 01286
| Region      = 
| Year        = 2017
| Session     = 13th
| List        = Representative
}}
[[File:Kamancheh.jpg|thumb|upright|Kamancheh]]
The '''kamancheh''' (also '''kamānche''' or '''kamāncha''') ({{langx|fa|کمانچه}}, {{langx|az|kamança}}, {{langx|hy|քամանչա}}, {{langx|ku|کەمانچە  ,kemançe}}) is an Iranian [[bowed string instrument]] used in [[Persian traditional music|Persian]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Global Minstrels: Voices of World Music |date=2012 |publisher=Elijah Wald |isbn=9781135863685 |page=227}}</ref> [[Azerbaijani music|Azerbaijani]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://unesco.preslib.az/en/page/FWdGKng1R2 |title=Kamancha |author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=UNESCO |quote=In the Republic of Azerbaijan it constitutes a major element of classical and folkloric music, and performances occupy a central place in a wide number of social and cultural gatherings.}}</ref> [[Armenian music|Armenian]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Dowsett|first=Charles|title=Sayatʻ-Nova: an 18th-century troubadour: a biographical and literary study|year=1997|publisher=[[Peeters (publishing company)|Peeters Publishers]]|location=Leuven|isbn=90-6831-795-4|authorlink=Charles Dowsett|page= 4}}</ref> [[Kurdish music|Kurdish]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Iranian Kurdish musician wins prestigious award |url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/46dfb901-1ecd-40d3-b8c7-1c872fe622d4 |access-date=24 March 2020 |agency=Kurdistan24 |date=19 August 2019}}</ref> [[Music of Georgia (country)|Georgian]], [[Music of Turkmenistan|Turkmen]], and [[Music of Uzbekistan|Uzbek music]] with slight variations in the structure of the instrument.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pastimes of Central Asians. Musicians. A Man Practising the Kamancha, a Long-necked Stringed Instrument|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/10824/#time_periods=1850-1899&page=8|work=[[World Digital Library]]| year=1865 |access-date=14 May 2014}}</ref><ref name=abc/> 

The kamancheh is related to the [[rebab]] which is the historical ancestor of the kamancheh and the bowed [[Byzantine lyra]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.mehrnews.com/detail/News/106573|title=Iranian string instrument 'Kamancheh' to be inscribed on UNESCO list|date=11 April 2015|access-date=1 May 2015}}</ref> The strings are played with a variable-tension [[Bow (music)|bow]].

In 2017, the art of crafting and playing with Kamantcheh/Kamancha was included into the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists]] of Azerbaijan and Iran.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/art-of-crafting-and-playing-with-kamantcheh-kamancha-a-bowed-string-musical-instrument-01286 |title=Art of crafting and playing with Kamantcheh/Kamancha, a bowed string musical instrument |author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=UNESCO }}</ref>

== Name and etymology ==
The word "kamancheh" means "little bow" in Persian (''kæman'', bow, and ''-cheh'', diminutive).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.loghatnaameh.com/dehkhodaworddetail-517f91e26c9a482aa5447c3e20c4aff8-fa.html|title=کمانچه – پارسی ویکی|website=loghatnaameh.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017181107/http://www.loghatnaameh.com/dehkhodaworddetail-517f91e26c9a482aa5447c3e20c4aff8-fa.html|archive-date=2008-10-17}}</ref> The Turkish word [[kemenche|kemençe]] is borrowed from Persian, with the pronunciation adapted to Turkish [[phonology]]. 

It also denotes a bowed string instrument, but the Turkish version differs significantly in structure and [[sound]] from the Persian kamancheh. 

There is also an instrument called [[:tr:Kabak kemane|''kabak kemane'']] literally "pumpkin-shaped bow instrument" used in [[Turkish music]] which is only slightly different from the Iranian kamancheh.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.frmtr.com/muzik-enstrumanlari/5496809-kabak-kemane-ve-kemancha-hakkinda-rehber.html|title=Kabak kemane ve Kemancha hakkında rehber|access-date=2014-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214014210/https://www.frmtr.com/muzik-enstrumanlari/5496809-kabak-kemane-ve-kemancha-hakkinda-rehber.html|archive-date=2017-12-14|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Structure ==
The kamancheh has a long [[Neck (music)|neck]] including the [[fingerboard]], which the kamancheh maker shapes as a truncated inverse cone for easy bow movement in the down section, [[Tuning mechanisms for stringed instruments|pegbox]] in both sides of which four pegs are placed, and finial<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://saxonianfolkways.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/the-masters-of-kamanche/|title=The Masters of Kamanche|last1=Chandrakausika|first1=R.A.M.|date=2013-03-08|website=A World Heritage Of Native Music|access-date=2017-05-16}}</ref> Traditionally kamanchehs had three silk [[strings (music)|strings]], but modern instruments have four metal strings. 

Kamanchehs may have highly ornate inlays and elaborately [[Ivory carving|carved ivory]] [[tuning peg]]s. 

The body has a long upper neck and a lower bowl-shaped [[Sound board (music)|resonating chamber]] made from a [[gourd]] or wood, usually covered with a [[membrane]] made from the skin of a lamb, goat or sometimes a fish, on which the bridge is set.

From the bottom protrudes a spike to support the kamancheh while it is being played, hence in English, the instrument is sometimes called the ''spiked fiddle''. 

It is played sitting down held like a [[cello]] though it is about the length of a [[viola|viol]]. The end-pin can rest on the knee or thigh while the player is seated in a chair.<ref name="abc">{{cite encyclopedia|title= Music Around the World: A Global Encyclopedia [3 Volumes]|editor1-last= Martin|editor1-first= Andrew R.|editor2-last= Mihalka|editor2-first= Matthew Ph.D.|year= 2020|publisher= [[ABC-CLIO]]|page=442|isbn= 9781610694995|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wvb2DwAAQBAJ}}</ref>

Kamancheh is usually tuned like an ordinary [[violin]] (G, D, A, E).

<gallery>
File:Group of Musicians,, XVIth or XVIIth century.jpg|Kamancha in an [[Armenian illuminated manuscripts|Armenian miniature]], XVI or XVII century.
File:Qajar Miniature (1800 - 1850) by unknown Georgian State Museum of Theatre, Music, Film and Choreography - Art Palace.jpg|[[Qajar Iran]] miniature of a woman playing the kamancheh.
File:A court musician playing the kemanche, painting by Abul Qasim, Qajar Iran.jpg|A woman playing the kamancheh. Detail from a wall painting in which [[Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar]] is surrounded by musicians and dancers. Painted by Abuʾl-Qasim, dated 1816.<ref>[[Jonathan M. Bloom]], [[Sheila S. Blair]] (Ed.): ''The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture.'' Volume 1. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2009, p. 8 </ref>
File:Kamancheh player, harem, Qajar Iran, ca 1820.jpg|Woman playing kamancheh, ca. 1820.
File:Sayat-Nova 1964.jpg|The Armenian ashugh [[Sayat-Nova]] playing a kamanacheh, ca. 1964.
File:Malik Mansurov Mugam Quartet (Azerbaijan) (2).jpg|Azerbaijani kamancheh player Malik Mansurov.
File:Kayhan Kalhor performance in Vahdat Hall - 2016 (7).jpg|[[Kayhan Kalhor]] performance in [[Vahdat Hall]], [[Tehran]], 2016.
File:Kamanche.jpg|Kamancheh player, [[Kermanshah]], Iran, 2008.
File:Kamancha in Yerevan.jpg|Kamancha player, [[Yerevan]].
</gallery>

== Notable kamancheh players ==

*[[Habil Aliyev]]
*[[Mehdi Bagheri]]
*[[Ali-Asghar Bahari]]
*[[Mark Eliyahu]]
*[[Kayhan Kalhor]]
*[[Ardeshir Kamkar]]
*[https://www.kamancheh.com Kourosh Babaei]
*[[Sayat-Nova]]
*[[Mostafa Taleb]]
*Yaara Beeri
*[https://mehrnamrastegari.com/ Mehrnam Rastegari]

== See also ==
*[[List of string instruments#Bowed instruments|List of bowed stringed instruments]]
*[[Music of Armenia]]
*[[Music of Iran]]
*[[Music of Azerbaijan]]
*[[Byzantine lira]]
*[[Haegeum]]
*[[Rebab]]
*[[Silk Road Ensemble]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Encyclopaedia Iranica| title = KAMĀNČA | last = Blum | first = Stephen | url = https://iranicaonline.org/articles/kamanca | volume = 15 | fascicle = 4 | pages = 434–437 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia|editor-last=Libin|editor-first=Laurence|title=Kamāncheh [k'aman, kamanche, kemence] (Pers. 'little bow')|encyclopedia=The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments |edition=2|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199743391.001.0001/acref-9780199743391-e-3636?rskey=Bc2f6s&result=4}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Kamancheh}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060411025557/http://nay-nava.blogfa.com/ ''Nay-Nava'': The Encyclopedia of Persian Music Instruments]
* [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/500952 Kamanche, Iran, ca. 1869]
* [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/503503 Kamanche, Iran, ca. 1880]

{{Iranian musical instruments}}
{{Armenian musical instruments}}
{{Azerbaijani musical instruments}}
{{Turkish musical instruments}}
{{Intangible Heritage Iran}}
{{Intangible Heritage Azerbaijan}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Armenian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Azerbaijani musical instruments]]
[[Category:Kurdish musical instruments]]
[[Category:Persian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Spike lutes]]
[[Category:Drumhead lutes]]
[[Category:Bowed instruments]]
[[Category:String instruments]]
[[Category:Iranian inventions]]
[[Category:Intangible Cultural Heritage of Iran]]