The Provençal drum – David Valdés

The Provençal drum.

Today´s article deals with a traditional instrument that has made its way into the symphony orchestra. Common to different drumming traditions from several countries and around five centuries old, its name in French is very similar to the way that other completely different instruments are named in other nations, which has caused great confusion. Many percussionists, not knowing the original instrument, have made wrong decisions. Today we are dealing with the tambour de Provençe.

The Provençal drum (also tambourin, tambourin provençal, tambourin de Provençe, tambour provençal o tambour de Provençe) is a very old kind of drum, already in use during the Middle Ages. It was described by Marin Mersenne in book VII of his Harmonie Universelle (1636). Its depth tends to be double its diameter, it features two heads, a single gut-snare and, depending on the period that it was built, it may feature or not counterhoops. Sometimes the snare is not present but, in a popular context, it is indeed, as its “buzz” creates a drone, which is very characteristic of this type of music.

The singularity of this instruments resides in that a single performer (the tambourinaire) plays on both the drum and the galoubet (a small three-holed flute).

This tradition of playing simultaneously a drum and an aerophone is popular in many Spanish regions: Andalucía, Extremadura, Cataluña, País Vasco, Baleares, Castilla y León… It also exists in the United Kingdom, Portugal, France (obviously) and Hispanic America.

Maybe the most famous work in which the tambourin is featured is “L´Arlesienne“, by Bizet, of which two suites were selected. Nº 2 includes the Pastorale and the Farandole, both featuring the Provençal drum. Bizet assigned the two instruments (flute and tambourin) to two different players (quite logical when going from a popular context to an orchestral one), but they still keep a tight relationship, as they both always play together.

The problem is that Bizet´s “tambourin” (obviously in French) is very similar to the English “tambourine” (a frame drum featuring disc jingles), which has made many non French speaking percussionists and conductors think that both terms indicate the same instrument, but no. There is also a Brazilian instrument named “tamborim”, but its origin and use is so clear that, fortunately, no version of this work features this samba instrument.

Three very similar names for three very different drums.

The Provençal drum is always played with the right hand, as the left one is busy playing the galoubet. I like keeping this traditional technique in an orchestral context. We can even hang our drum from the elbow.

Here you have a French orchestra (the Orchestre National de France) using the proper instrument and technique:

On this other video you can see that even the greatests make mistakes:

On the next one you can see me playing the part using my own Provençal drum. Do not hesitate to contact me should you need this instrument:

The Provençal drum is also featured in the following works: “Carmen”, by Bizet (numbers 25b and 25c, but they are almost always cut out); “Suite Français”, “Suite Provençale”, “Suite Concertante pour Piano et Orchestre”, “Suite Campagnarde”, “Scaramouche”, “Promenade Concert”, “Piano Concerto nº 1”, “La Creation du Monde”, “Le boeuf sur le Toit”, “Concert pour Marimba, Vibraphone et Orchestre”, “Ouverture Philharmonique”, “Paris”, “Ouverture Mediterraneenne”, “Musique pour Prague”, “Musique pour la Nouvell-Orleans”, “Musique pour l´Indiane”, “La Mort d´un Tyrant”, “L´Homme et son Desir”, “La Cuillete des Citrons”, “Cello Concerto nº 1”, “Le Carnaval d´Aix Fantaisie”, “Cantata de Psaumes”, “Aubade”, “Concert pour Percussion et petite Orchestre” and the twelve symphonies by Darius Milhaud. “Turangalila Symphony” by Messiaen; “Fra Diavola” and “Concert à la cour” by Daniel François Auber. “Arianne et Barbe-Bleu” by Paul Dukas, “Rapsodie Dionysienne” by Henry Barraud, “Apollo and the Seaman” by Joseph Holbrooke, “The Song of Saint Francis” by Howard Blake, Symphony nº 4 by Kurt Striegler, “Le Visage Nuptial” by Pierre Boulez, “Trois Dances” by Maurice Duruflé, “Ronde de Printemps” by Debussy, etc. If we think of the Proveçal drum as a “long drum”, then we can also include “Appalachian Spring”, “El Salón Mexico” and “The Tender Land”, by Aaron Copland.

Today we have delt with an unusual instrument in the symphony orchestra and many of the works that it is featured in. Please, play this repertoire with the proper drum. If you are working with a conductor complains about your decisions or shows lack of knowledge, lead him/her to my blog. They will be for ever grateful!

…et in Arcadia ego.