The ''cobza'' (also ''cobsa'', ''cobuz'', ''koboz'') is a multi-

stringed instrument String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...

of the lute family of folk origin popular in the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n folklore from both

and

Republic of Moldova A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

(it is considered the oldest accompaniment instrument in the region). It is also used in the Hungarian Táncház movement (end of the 20th Century). It is distinct from the Ukrainian

Kobza The kobza ( uk , кобза), also called bandurka ( uk , бандурка) is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family ( Hornbostel-Sachs classification number 321.321-5+6), a relative of the Central European mandora. The term ''kob ...

, an instrument of different construction and origin.

Overview

The Romanian Cobza is metal-strung (although modern nylon-strung models exist, mostly in Hungary), and has a very short neck without frets (although a newer fretted cobza can be found in the Republic of Moldova), with a bent-back

pegbox A variety of methods are used to tune different stringed instruments. Most change the pitch produced when the string is played by adjusting the tension of the strings. A tuning peg in a pegbox is perhaps the most common system. A peg has ...

. The back is ribbed. It is usually double or triple strung, and often has a characteristic flat end clasp. Dusepocobza

The Cobza is played with a

plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harps ...

(traditionally, a goose feather) in elaborate and florid melodic passagework, and has a pick-guard similar to that of an

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...

. Its strings are widely spaced at the bridge to facilitate this technique. It has a soft tone, most often tuned to D-A-D-G (although tuning depends on style, region and player). The origins of the Romanian Cobza are thought to be a local adaptation of the Persian barbat or Turkish

, probably brought to the area by itinerant

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

musicians in the 15th century (a Rom/Romani musician is called lăutar, literally lute-player). A Cobza player specifically is called a "cobzar". Notable Cobza players were Ion Păturică, Ion Zlotea, Marin Cotoanță, Grigore Kiazim (from

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

), Nicolae Păsnicuțu and Constantin Negel (from

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

). It is said that the Cobza was also played in the 19th Century by Jewish musicians from

region. It seems that Cobza was also used in various music ensembles in the Bukovina region in the mid-war periods, being replaced totally by the mandolin and 4 stringed

domra The ''domra'' (Cyrillic: до́мра, ) is a long-necked Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian folk string instrument of the lute family with a round body and three or four metal strings. History The first known mention of domra is in ''Admonit ...

when the north of this area became incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR. The name of the instrument may come from the Turkic "

kopuz The komuz or qomuz ( ky, комуз , az, Qopuz, tr, Kopuz) is an ancient fretless string instrument used in Central Asian music, related to certain other Turkic string instruments, the Mongolian tovshuur, and the lute. The instrument can ...

References

External links

Cobza solo - Marin CotoanțăCountryside built Cobza recording"Datina" folk ensemble from Botoșani
* ttp://carmentis.kmkg-mrah.be/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&lang=nl&objectId=117867 A Romanian Cobza in Museum Collectionsbr>Romanian Cobza in Museum CollectionsRomanian Cobza from Horniman Museum - on the left
* http://www.koboziskola.hu/ {{Lute Necked bowl lutes Romanian musical instruments Moldovan musical instruments Hungarian musical instruments