Tárkány-Kovács’ Cimbalom Treasures

Tárkány Trió – A cimbalomprímás (Fonó, 2022)

The album “A cimbalomprímás” by virtuoso musician Tárkány-Kovács Bálint celebrates the Hungarian hammered dulcimer known as cimbalom. Tárkány-Kovács Bálint treats the listener to a set of dazzling instrumental performances that highlight the versatility of the cimbalom. The finely crafted, varied pieces are rooted in Hungarian traditional music, featuring cimbalom accompanied by viola and double bass on the rhythm section.

Bálint Tárkány-Kovács provides fascinating details abut the album and the history of the Hungarian cimbalom: “When I have created my trio, my goal was to do what no one has ever done before: play traditional Hungarian cimbalom music. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Where is the trouvaille? Let me explain. There are a few cimbalom bands in Hungary, but they all play some sort of fusion of Balkan and pop or jazz, although cimbalom is an original Hungarian instrument. Indeed, Hungary is not part of the Balkan region. This simple idea to play traditional Hungarian cimbalom music, turned out to be a significant task, which assumed a lot of learning and much work to be done.

“I was fortunate to meet the last tradition bearers in rural villages of Pannonia, the Carpathians, the Great Hungarian plain and Transylvania, speak to them, see them perform, learn from them, and just be with them. And I am grateful for the field researchers like Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, László Lajtha and many others, who recorded music in the last century, preserving and passing on old traditions to the younger generations. I studied the music archives to find the gems– pieces of cimbalom music– that define my own work. This record that you hold in your hand is my treasury, a collection of my most beautiful findings.

“Cimbalom has a wide instrument family, it has local versions from China to Ireland. These are all small instruments that one can hold in one’s lap. The instrument family probably originates from the Middle East, arrived to Hungary cc. five centuries ago. But in the 1870s an inventor called József V. Schunda developed the cimbalom made it chromatic, added bass strings and sustain pedal for it. It became huge and heavy, so he put it on legs: with that, the great Hungarian concert cimbalom was born. It became very popular in Hungary, later in the Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, Moldavia and many other countries.

“Sometimes when I play the cimbalom, I have a feeling of history. Tradition means to pass on knowledge from one person to another through time. I see a chain of musicians holding hands and finally holding my hand. This music is my tradition.”

The lineup on ‘A cimbalomprímás” includes Tárkány-Kovács Bálint on cimbalom; Fekete Márton on viola; and és Molnár Péter on double bass.

Buy A cimbalomprímás

Author: Angel Romero

Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.