Frame Drums in the Medieval Iberian Peninsula

¡2012 Nicholas Bessaraboff Prize! ("The American Musical Instrument Society")

Iconographic and literary sources reveal the widespread use of two different types of handheld frame drums on the medieval Iberian Peninsula: a round frame drum with parchment stretched only on one side of its shell, and a frame drum of square shape with parchment covering both sides of its body. The names tympanum in Latin, pandero and adufe in Castilian, and bandair and duff in Iberian Arabic were commonly used to refer to these instruments. A significant number and variety of sources demonstrate that these instruments were not only played to provide rhythmic accompaniment to recreational, civic, and paraliturgical music, but were also thought of as symbols that stood for something else not intrinsically connected to them. A comparison of medieval information with data about contemporary music traditions reveals that medieval Iberian frame drums have continued to exist without major variations in rural areas of Iberia and the culturally- and historically-related Maghreb and Latin America. This continuity allows us to corroborate and complement conclusions developed from the study of the primary sources with observations of live traditions.
In this book Dr. Mauricio Molina examines the medieval Iberian frame drum from four different perspectives. The first is organological, employed to study the construction of frame drums and to trace their historical materials in an attempt to resurrect their medieval timbres. The second is socio-anthropological, utilized to place frame drums in their historical social context. The third is symbolic, used to decipher how the instruments were transformed into symbolic objects that emphasized cultural concerns. The fourth is performative, employed to reconstruct playing technique and other aspects of frame drum performance practice. On the basis of his multidisciplinary research, Dr. Molina presents a comprehensive study of medieval Iberian frame drums and demonstrates that the unique combination of musical function and symbolic significance made the frame drum both well known and ubiquitous throughout medieval Iberia.

CONTENIDO:

Foreword
Acknowledgements

Introduction: Of Skin Stretched On a Frame or Hoop

I.- FRAME DRUMS IN MEDIEVAL IBERIAN ICONOGRAPHICAL SOURCES
1. The Reemergence of Frame Drums in Medieval Iberian Christian Art
2. Approaching the Iconographical Sources
2. I Style and Realism
3. The Sources

II.- TERMINOLOGY OF THE MEDIEVAL IBERIAN FRAME DRUMS .
1. The Generic "Tympanum"
2. The Double Character of the Arabic "Duff"
3. The Term "Pandero"
4· The Romance "adufe" and its Connection with the Square Type
5· Tarr, Mizhar, Mazhar and Ghirbal: Other Names Associated with Frame Drums in Medieval Iberia

III.- FRAME DRUM PLAYERS AND THE INSTRUMENTS' SOCIAL CONTEXT
1. Identifying Frame Drum Players in the Sources
2. Female Frame Drum Players
3· Male Frame Drum Players
4. The Differing Status of Female and Male Players
5. Social Functions and Performance Context of Frame Drums

IV.- THE SYMBOLISM OF THE IBERIAN FRAME DRUM
1. The Frame Drum as Symbol
2. Decoding the Message
3. The Ambivalent Frame Drum
4. Negative Symbolism
5. Positive Symbolism of the Frame Drum

V.- RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SOUND COLOR OF MEDIEVAL IBERIAN FRAME DRUMS: A STUDY OF THEIR STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS
1. The Basic Elements and Historical Materials of Frame Drums
2. Implications of the Structure of Frame Drums for Sound Production
3· Finding Specific Historical Materials

VI.- RECONSTRUCTING THE PERfORMANCE PRACTICE OF MEDIEVAL IBERIAN FRAME DRUMS
1. Learning Historical Performance Practice from Medieval Sources and Live Traditions
2. Playing Techniques of the Medieval Pandero/Panderete
3. Playing Techniques of the Medieval Adufe
4. Frame Drums and Voices
5· The Combination of the Pandero and Adufe in Performance
6. Frame Drums in Combination with Other Percussion Instruments
7. Frame Drums and Melodic Instruments
8. The Repertoire of Frame Drums

Bibliography
Index