Decig Pondar

The tool has a wooden body, hollowed out from one piece of wood, of an elongated shape with a flat upper and curved lower deck, and was traditionally made of walnut .

The pondar neck has frets, the rope or vein transverse bandages on the neck served as the frets of the frets on old instruments. The strings consisted of skillfully dried animal veins, which was reflected in its name - from the words "phan" - vein / vein and "gift" - action, that is, made from a vein. Sounds on the pondar are extracted by the fingers of the right hand, by hitting the strings from top to bottom or from bottom to top, tremolo, rattling and pinching. Its sound has a soft timbre of a rustling character. Pondar sizes range from 750-900 mm. The melodies are complex, rhythmically peculiar, and instead of the generally accepted major or minor, it is characterized by Dorian and Phrygian modes . To his sounds, ancient Chechen illanchs performed illi .

Build

Build a 3-string pondar: cdg Build a 6-string pondar: cc-dd-gg

Varieties

The ancient pondar, retaining its shape, was improved in the late 30s of the XX century ^[1] . In particular, mediators began to be used to enhance his sound, and the pondar was able to participate in the orchestra as piccolo, prima, alt, tenor and bass. This ancient instrument owes much to the composer Georgy Mepurnov. A Georgian national who was educated at the Moscow Conservatory , G. Mepurnov linked his creative destiny with Chechnya and worked there fruitfully in the thirties. A diversified musician, a gifted composer, he was a good organizer, a true social activist and teacher. At the initiative of G. Mepurnov in 1936, an orchestra of folk instruments was created, which he led. He conceived and carried out the reconstruction of folk instruments.

It was necessary to create an orchestra group based on a few traditional Chechen musical instruments. Professor M. Belyaev, professor at the Moscow State Conservatoire, M. M. Khalebsky, head of the educational department of the Grozny Music College, and P. A. Shoshin, music master designer, who has successfully done similar work in several republics of the USSR, were involved in the reconstruction of the famous pondars.

The shape of the old three-stringed pondars has been preserved. After the reconstruction, prima and altos appeared in the group of chondargs (a musical instrument of the Chechens as a violin ). Replenished with original Chechen instruments: harmonics, zurna, percussion - the orchestra made it possible for G. Mepurnov to introduce many works into his repertoire.

Throughout his life, G. Mepurnov collected and processed Chechen folk melodies. He is the author of a number of artistic adaptations and original works on themes of musical folklore of Chechnya.

Prevalence

Pondar is one of the most common musical instruments of the Caucasus, which is studied in musical educational institutions of Chechnya and Ingushetia. .

Pondar was also taken over from the Vainakhs by Caucasian neighbors.

So, for example, the Vainakh name was preserved in the Georgian way - Panduri , but the Panduri was nevertheless subsequently modified. Nowadays, it differs in form and sound from the pondar, and now these are related, but different instruments.

Related Pondar tools are also:

• Avar Pandur ;
• Ossetian Dala Fandir .

The etymology of the word has a translation from Chechen “Phon” and “Gift”, which literally means “Lived Action”, corresponding to the device arrangement - artificially dried veins on the bow of a wooden case .

• Panduri

• Chechen and Ingush music
• Umar Yarichev. The legend of dechig pondur
• Mountain balalaika