Funny as it may sound, I was introduced to balalaika, an interesting stringed musical instrument that has its origin in Russia, while watching the film Doctor Zhivago.
Struck by curiosity, I researched about this stringed instrument, only to learn that it has a history dating back to the 17th century. Now, doesn’t it make it the grandfather of stringed instruments? Well, let me share a few nuggets about this guitar of sorts.
Balalaika has a triangular body and three strings, and comes in various sizes. While the pitch varies according to the size of the instrument, the variety itself is mind-boggling — piccolo, prima, secunda, alto, bass and contrabass balalaika. While prima balalaika is the most common of all, piccolo balalaika is the rarest.
Generally played with fingers or using a plectrum, these instruments are made of fir, spruce, maple or evergreen wood. The strings were originally made of gut, however, today, nylon strings have replaced gut, I was told.
The specifics of the instrument’s origin are unclear. However, the common belief is that it is a take on an instrument from the Caucasus region of Russia, named Domra.
Its similarity to the Kazakh domra and Mongolian topshur also gives some indications of its origin.
The credit for making balalaikas popular is always given to professional violinist Vasily Vasilievich Andreyev, who worked with violin maker V Ivanov to develop the standard form of balalaika. He also made it a point to play it in all his concerts, accounting for its popularity. Further research even brought up the name Alexey Arkhipovsky, known better as the ‘modern-day balalaika player’, as the solo performer of balalaika.
That balalaika is famous outside Russia is evident from the fact that our very own A R Rahman has used it while composing music for the Tamil film Sivaji!
The music for last year’s Oscar-winner The Grand Budapest Hotel is also filled with balalaikas.
Well, that’s balalaika for you.