(Rom. taragot, torogoată).
A woodwind instrument generally associated with Hungarian music. A variant of the Eastern oboe, it may have been introduced to central Europe in its original form in the 16th century during the Turkish invasion and occupation. The first known appearance of the name was in 1533. The tárogató was generally between 30 and 40 cm in length. It had a slightly tapered body with a conical bore, six to eight finger-holes and a thumb-hole, and a bell with seven vent holes. The double reed rested on a conical brass staple, 6–7 cm in length, which ended in a fork and was, in turn, inserted in a cylindrical wooden mouthpiece. The reed was placed in the mouth and, following Eastern practice, the player’s lips were supported by a small disc, or pirouette, at the end of the mouthpiece. The tone of the instrument was harsh and shrieking. Though principally a military instrument, it was also employed at funerals, weddings and other outdoor ceremonies, often together with drums and trumpets. During the Rákóczi uprising at the beginning of the 18th century the tárogató was popular with adherents of the cause, but when the movement was defeated the instrument, having become a symbol of freedom to the Hungarians, was prohibited. It reappeared in the early 1850s, after the war of independence against Habsburg rule was lost. At that time several old instruments were given to the Hungarian National Museum; a number of reconstructions were made and were used in concerts (see illustration). In 1860 Albert Skripsky (d Ofen, 1864), a woodwind instrument maker in Pest, constructed a type of tárogató with 13 keys, but the sound of his instruments was not in accord with 19th-century ideals.
At
the end of the century Wenzel Josef [Vencel József] Schunda (1845–1923), a
successful musical instrument manufacturer in Budapest, made some new
double-reed instruments, larger than the historical tárogató but similar in
form. After several years of experiment with the aim of constructing a tárogató
suited to orchestral use, in 1897 Schunda was granted a patent for a
single-reed woodwind instrument, the modern tárogató. It resembles a soprano
saxophone made of wood, with a conical bore, Keywork based on the German simple
system, and vent holes in the bell. It was made in three pitches: B
(range b–c''), A (a–b'') and E. Because of its woody, mellow tone it became a
popular ‘national’ instrument. As well as being played as a solo instrument it
appeared in ensembles with cimbalom and viols, and in tárogató bands with 15 or
more members, including also tenor and bass instruments.
The first known use of the tárogató in symphonic music was in Károly Thern’s incidental music to Szvatopluk (1839). Soon after the development of Schunda’s instrument it was used for the shepherd’s solo in Tristan und Isolde at the Budapest Opera, the Vienna Hofoper and at Bayreuth. Today it is used by folk musicians in Hungary and Romania.
GroveI (J.S. Weissmann)
W.J. Schunda: ‘Preiscourant’ (Budapest, ?1900; H-Bl, T-8113/73), 27 only
H. Welsh: ‘The Tárogató: its History and Details’, ‘Leading Note’, i/2 (1928–32), 46 only
A. Baines: Woodwind Instruments and their History (London, 1957, 3/1967/R)
B. Sárosi: Die Volksmusikinstrumente Ungarns (Leipzig, 1967)
G. Gábry: ‘Le “tárogató”, ancien chalumeau hongrois’, SMH, xiii (1971), 61–72
Z. Falvy and B.Habla, eds.: Das Tárogató: Geschichte, Akustische Merkmale, Repertoire und Instrumentebauer (Budapest and Oberschützen, 1998)
ESZTER FONTANA