Small Cymbals tuned to a definite pitch. Probably dating from the middle of the 1st millennium bce, bronze crotales (probably cast) have been found in Egypt, Rome and Greece; these generally have a large central boss and upturned rim, producing well-defined bell-like notes of high pitch (the ‘well-tuned cymbals’ of Psalm cl). Modern crotales do not have the upturned rim; they are rather heavier than Finger cymbals (which are unpitched and may also be classified as metal Clappers or castanets). The term ‘antique cymbals’ (Fr. cymbales antiques) may refer to pitched or unpitched instruments. As a rule, if no pitch is indicated the intended sound is that of finger cymbals. Berlioz, Debussy and Ravel all scored for antique cymbals with definite pitches: their intention was that two crotales of the same pitch should be struck together, resulting in a better sound than when they are struck with hard xylophone mallets, which is the more common technique.
In modern crotales the rim is about 5 mm thick, and the diameter ranges from about 6 cm to 14 cm. They are now used extensively by composers; most often a range of two octaves, c'''–c''''' is required, although Kolberg produces a five-octave set, g–g'''''. Some sets are made with a built in damper pedal, which is a great advantage given the resonance of the crotales. As with the glockenspiel, crotales sound two octaves higher than written.
The term has also been applied to ancient clappers (see Crotala) crotal bells (‘crotals’) are small closed bells (see Bell (i)).
JAMES BLADES/JAMES HOLLAND