Some of you have seen my this picture on facebook and Instagram and wondered what is this in my hand that I am so excited about. So let me explain.
§ The Bandoneon, is a type
of concertina. It was invented by German instrument maker Heinrich Band in
1850’s. Its name, Bandoneon comes from its maker’s sirname, Band, which is also
German word for accordion. The
player holds the instrument between both hands, and then uses pushing and
pulling motions to force air through its bellows
§ Notes and chords are chosen by pressing 71
buttons - 38 with the right hand, and 33 with the left
§ It is considered to be one of the hardest
instruments to learn.
It is an essential instrument in most tango ensembles from the traditional orquesta
típica of the 1910s
onwards, and in folk music ensembles of Lithuania.
Around 1870, German and Italian emigrants and sailors
brought the instrument to Argentina, where it was adopted into the nascent
genre of tango music, a descendant of the earlier milonga.
By 1910 bandoneons were being produced expressly for the
Argentine and Uruguayan markets, with 25,000 shipping to Argentina in 1930
alone. However, declining popularity and the disruption of German manufacturing
in World War II led to an end of bandoneon mass-production.
Original instruments are displayed in German museums,
such as the Bandoneon Museum der Familie Preuss in Lichtenberg and the collection of the family
Steinhart in Kirchzarten, Freiburg.
Bandoneons were historically produced primarily in
Germany, and were never produced in Argentina itself despite their popularity.
As a result, by the 2000s, vintage bandoneons had become rare and expensive
(US$4,000), limiting prospective bandeonists.
As
with other members of the concertina family, the bandoneon is held between both
hands, with pushing and pulling motions forcing air through its bellows, which
is routed through reeds by pressing its buttons. A bandoneon button produces
different notes on the push and the pull ("bisonoric"). This means
that each keyboard actually has two layouts: one for opening notes, and one for
closing notes. Since the right and left hand layouts are also different, a
musician must learn four different keyboard layouts to play the instrument.
The
Argentinian bandleader, composer, arranger, and tango performer Aníbal Troilo was a
leading 20th century proponent of the bandoneon. Ástor Piazzolla played
and arranged in Troilo's orquesta from 1939 to 1944.
Nowadays, there are
still bandoneón makers working on this kind of instrument. But many people
still want to find an old instrument which is usually known as the
"pre-war bandoneón"(those bandoneón produced between WWI
and WWII) . Most of professional tango musicians believe that only those
instruments have the bandoneón tone for Argentine tango. Although
the contemporary made bandoneón have the same system and functions,
how every, reeds are different. Even the most famous Double A(Alfred
Arnold) bandoneón made after 1945 are mediocre.
If you wants to have an old bandoneón, it is better
choice. An old bandoneón, especially the pre-war made bandoneón, is not
only musical instruments, but also antique for collectors,although it can not
afford to be. If you do not get it right now, who knows what gonna happen later
on? In the year 2009, the congress of Argentina had established the
Bandoneón Law to ban export of any bandoneón older than 40
years. There still is a possibility to bring one out from
Argentina, but it is immoral. In addition, this law has created a mad rush
on instruments and inflated the price.
Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay, is another choice beside Buenos Aires for those who wants to buy an old bandoneón. Always remember, besides these two place, it is hard to find pre-war bandoneón . And it is almost impossible to find a tuner near you if you do not live in these two cities. Meanwhile, most of the Pre-war bandoneóns are in their age of 70's or more, and need repair to bring them back to ready to play condition.
Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay, is another choice beside Buenos Aires for those who wants to buy an old bandoneón. Always remember, besides these two place, it is hard to find pre-war bandoneón . And it is almost impossible to find a tuner near you if you do not live in these two cities. Meanwhile, most of the Pre-war bandoneóns are in their age of 70's or more, and need repair to bring them back to ready to play condition.
Argentina
may be the nation that gave tango to the world but the dance has been at risk
of a quiet future in its homeland.
The threat has come not due to any decline in
interest among Argentines, because - by contrast - the popularity of dancing
the tango is now at its highest level in the country since its so-called golden
age in the 1940s and 1950s.
Instead, the problem has been caused by a
growing shortage of the musical instrument that provides the key soundtrack to
any serious tango performance - the bandoneon.
As production of bandoneons came to an end in
Germany after World War Two due to limited domestic demand, the instrument
quickly became a collectors' item in Argentina.
As a result, few vintage bandoneons ever come
up for sale, and those that do cost more than 40,000 pesos ($4,700; £3,000) -
unaffordable for most Argentines.
Thankfully, efforts are now continuing to
solve the shortage by producing the first ever Argentine-made bandoneon, and at
a much cheaper price.
The instrument is being developed by staff and
students at the department of industrial design at the National University of
Lanus in Buenos Aires.
They have called it the "pichuco",
which in English means "cry baby", and was the nickname of Anibal
Troilo, Argentina's most famous bandoneon player.
To ensure the pichuco sounds as good as
possible, several bandoneon players were brought in to help, and to test the
prototypes.
And
while new German-made bandoneons have been available again since the 1990s,
they cost more than $6,000 - even more than vintage models. So the pichuco
should have a significant price advantage.
wow...what a beautiful world of Art .... _/\_
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