The Bizarre Instrumentarium Pt 5: The Black Sea Kemençe

Staying at the crossroads of Western Europe and the East, this week’s video focuses on the Black Sea kemençe, another bowed stringed instrument also known as the Pontic lyra. As the name tells, it is played around the Black Sea region by many cultures: Pontic Greeks, Turkish and Laz people. It has the particularity to use a lot doubles notes (both open strings and two fingered notes at a time, like “chords“), and in the manner of many traditional instruments is caracterised by the generous use of ornements such as trills. The repertoire of the Black Sea kemençe is based on scales and notes that are not tempered, like most of Eastern cultures. _________________ Restons au carrefour de l’Europe occidentale et de l’Orient avec le kemençe de la Mer Noire, un autre instrument à cordes frottées aussi appelé lyre pontique. Comme son nom l’indique, il est utilisé dans la région de la Mer Noire par différents peuples: les grecs