The BIRTH of SOUND

HOW TO PRESERVE THE HISTORICAL MEMORY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE DURING THE TRANSFORMATION by Mrs. Olga Mamonova, co-founder of Russian Travel Digest

Musical instruments may be seen as universal elements of human cultural life since Paleolithic period. It may be argued that music means civilization. Music had to be the part of rituals and spiritual development, although the first instruments may have been produced from cooking pots and hunting bows. The sounds were extracted by observing natural phenomena, like the sound of the harp whose strings are touched by the wind. The development of musical instruments led to the appearance of stringed and plucked instruments or a combination of both.

Popular Greek musical instruments in ancient times were the lira and cithara - stringed plucked instruments made in the form of a curved frame and strings. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance many varieties of plucked instruments were found across Europe. The idea of playing a stringed instrument with a bow may have originated with the horse cultures of Central Asia, possibly in the IX century. Some of them including domra were later adopted in the Slavic territories and later – in Russia when the traditions of creating musical instruments were mixed with the Eastern ideas and approaches.

The history of domra, its development and evolution may be seen as one of the most intricate and dramatic. For the first time, a musical instrument named domra was mentioned in documents of the 16th century although earlier in Russia the tanbur-shaped instruments were used. Some references may be found in the church books and manuscripts. Medieval professional artists called buffoons played domra, horns and harps and during the kingdom of Tsar Ivan the Terrible in 16th century, an Amusement chamber was created, where musicians played domra, etc.

Domra became a part of the cultural code of the country and it was most widely used in Russia in the 16-17th centuries. The church did not welcome the folk festivities as the satirical scenes with a social agenda and “pagan” music became the opposition to the church service. Unfortunately 70 years later during the kingdom of Tsar Alexey Romanov a decree in 1648 announced the prohibition of playing domra. It is unlikely any other musical instrument in the history of humanity has been subjected to such tragic extermination; it looks like the musical inquisition. It is hard to believe that not only the playing of, but even the mentioning of domra was withdrawn; the instruments were collected by carts, then burned, broken and destroyed.

Forgotten for more than 200 years until the end of 19th century when the talented musical researcher and musician V. Andreev reconstructed a musical instrument accidentally found in 1896 in the Vyatka province of Russia. In 1948 the first department of folk instruments was opened in Moscow at the Gnesin State Musical and Pedagogical Institute (now The Gnesin Russian Academy of Music). With the help of higher professional musical education, the folk domra passed worked its way onto the academic stage which had taken centuries for the violin to do.

Musical researchers assume that balalaika which became the obvious symbol of Russia, appeared historically not as an independent musical instrument but as a simplified version of domra. It was first mentioned in 1688. The very first balalaikas were quite similar to domra, with semicircular body, not a triangular one. 200 years later, in 1888 the first performance of the ‘Circle of Balalaika Lovers’ took place in St.Petersburg, which appeared to be the birthday of the orchestra of Russian folk instruments. It was mentioned in Russian literature, and since the 20th century – in cinematography (for example, Balalaika, Doctor Zhivago, etc.) and even in rock-ballads (Scorpions).

Balalaika was lucky in that it prolonged the historical dialogue which domra had started with the audience and has since brought the beauty and drive of plucked instruments into the modern world. In 2022 the preservation and popular craft of manufacturing the balalaika and domra appears to be important for the historians, musicians, photographers and experts in local tourism.

Shikhovo was famous for its musical factory producing balalaikas, domra and guitars in the 20th century where during its heyday over 300,000 guitars were produced annually.

At the beginning of the 20th century more than 10 crews worked in Shikhovo, where hundreds of craftsmen passed on their art from father to son. There are now just 12 craftsmen left who can still continue the tradition of creating domras, however, the factory has now closed. As a result the tradition may be lost for good as an apprentice needs up to 6-7 years to master this craft. The possibility of loss appeared to be the opportunity to save the art and craft in Shikhovo village.

The old town of Zvenigorod, not far from Moscow, unites the lovers of music, folk instruments, arts and those who try to cherish the historical memory of Zvenigorod region and Shikhovo village. “We all could hardly imagine that Paganini and Vivaldi can be played on three strings of domra and balalaika”, the audience shared the impressions of the concert dedicated to Shikhov's masters in Zvenigorod.

The photo-exhibition ‘The birth of Sound’ by photographer Zaur Karamyzov, the director of Novator (the Union of Photographers and Cinematographers), presents the historical path of domra and balalaikas, created manually by the descendants of these craft founders. The Shikhov craftsmen whose great-grandfathers and fathers lived in one village, who were taught how to create and play these typical Russian instruments, were deeply touched by the concert, when soloists of famous ensembles played old instruments, made by their ancestors, Shikhov masters Igor Yemelyanov and Viktor Pavlov.

The preservation and popularization of the craft is of interest for the public movement ‘Shikhov Strings’, Zvenigorod Vector and ‘The Foundation of Small Historical Towns Development’. Local historians and volunteers have highlighted the necessity to preserve the craft of folk instruments. A series of concerts and exhibitions will be hold in different museums and open locations of Moscow and Zvenigorod in order to expose the craft and preserve the cultural heritage. Hopefully the Shikhov trade will be included in the official register of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia which will help to develop the training programmes for young craftsmen.

Photos by Zaur Karamyzov Special thanks to Inna Borisova and Sergey Kryachkov, Shikhov Strings

Ms. Olga N. Mamonova, graduated from Moscow State Social University in 1999 (specialisation - sociology), has Ph.D. in sociology (Moscow State University, Russia, 2002) and M.Phil. in Sociology and Health Care (De Montfort University, UK, 2004). She is a member of International and European Sociological Associations as well as a member of the Russian Society of Sociologists. Olga is the author of more than 60 scientific and popular science publications, including a scientific monograph. For several years she worked on a radio station and in scientific journals as a scientific editor, and then she came to market research and tourism industry. Olga has experience in MICE industry and special projects, including the cooperation with federal organisations as well.