The tambourin () is a low-pitched

tenor drum A tenor drum is a membranophone without a snare. There are several types of tenor drums. Early music Early music tenor drums, or long drums, are cylindrical membranophone without snare used in Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. They cons ...

of the French region of

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

, which has also lent its name to a Provençal dance accompanied by lively

duple meter Duple metre (or Am. duple meter, also known as duple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 2 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 2 and multiples (simple) or 6 and multiples ( compound) in the upper figure of the ti ...

music. The dance is so named because the music imitates the drum (''tambour'' being a generic French term for "drum"), usually as a repetitive not-very-melodic figure in the bass.

Description

A deep, two-headed drum of Arabic origin, called the ''tambourin e Provence', is mentioned as early as the 1080s and noted as the "tabor" in the

Chanson de Roland The ''Song of Roland'' () is an 11th-century based on the deeds of the Frankish kingdom, Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in AD 778, during the reign of the Charlemagne, Emperor Charlemagne. It is the oldest surv ...

. This type of instrument, commonly found in the Provence region of France, is played by a musician who wears the drum on a strap hanging from the player's left arm and elbow. The player strikes the drum head with a beater held in the right hand, and plays a little pipe with their left hand. The combination of the tambourin, played together with a small flute, known as the galoubet or flaviol, forms a Provençal

pipe and tabor Pipe and tabor is a pair of instruments played by a single player, consisting of a three-hole pipe played with one hand, and a small drum played with the other. The tabor hangs on the performer's left arm or around the neck, leaving the hands ...

Dance

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; ; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of ...

included tambourins in many of his operas, such as ''

Platée ''Platée'' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Adrien-Joseph Le Valois d'Orville. Rameau bought the rights to the libretto ''Platée ou Junon jalouse'' (''Plataea, or Juno Jealous'') by Jacques Autr ...

'', ''

Les Indes galantes is a ''ballet héroïque'', a type of Baroque music#Late baroque music (1680–1750), French Baroque opera-ballet, by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Louis Fuzelier. In its final form it comprised an allegory, allegorical prologue and fou ...

'', and ''

Les fêtes d'Hébé ''Les fêtes d'Hébé, ou Les talens lyriques '' (''The Festivities of Hebe, or The Lyric Talents'') is an '' opéra-ballet'' in a prologue and three ''entrées'' (acts) by the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. The libretto was written by Ant ...

''. The last gained more fame in a keyboard arrangement from the E minor suite of his ''

Pièces de Clavecin The French Baroque composer Jean-Philippe Rameau wrote three books of ' for the harpsichord. The first, ', was published in 1706; the second, ', in 1724; and the third, ', in 1726 or 1727. They were followed in 1741 by ', in which the harpsicho ...

''. The tambourin was popular throughout the 18th century and can be found in

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

's ''

Alcina ''Alcina'' (Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis, HWV 34) is a 1735 opera by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of ''L'isola di Alcina'', a work set to music in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he had acquired a year later during his t ...

'' and

Gluck Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...

's ''

Iphigénie en Aulide ''Iphigénie en Aulide'' (''Iphigeneia in Aulis (ancient Greece), Aulis'') is an opera in three acts by Christoph Willibald Gluck, the first work he wrote for the Paris stage. The libretto was written by François-Louis Gand Le Bland Du Roullet ...

'', among others.

Instrumental Music

Jean-Marie Leclair Jean-Marie Leclair l'aîné (Jean-Marie Leclair the Elder) (10 May 1697 – 22 October 1764) was a French Baroque violinist and composer. He is considered to have founded the French violin school. His brothers, the lesser-known Jean-Marie ...

used a tambourin as the last movement of hi
Sonata for Violin, Op. 9, No. 3
This sonata is often mistakenly referred to as " Le Tombeau," which is actually his violin sonata in C minor, Op. 5, No. 6.

Gallery

File:2023 Fête des Gardians007.jpg, Modern tambourin players in 2023 File:Cylindrical drum (tambourin), Provence region, France, early 1800s, walnut, maple, calfskin - Casadesus Collection of Historic Musical Instruments - Boston Symphony Orchestra - 20180113 192027.jpg, Early 1800s tambourin in color

References

Baroque dance European folk dances Drums Dance forms in classical music Provence {{Music-genre-stub