Wiktionary
n. (context music English) A type of concert hammered dulcimer found primarily in the music of Eastern Europe
Wikipedia
The cimbalom is a concert hammered dulcimer: a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box with metal strings stretched across its top. It is a musical instrument commonly found in Hungary and throughout the group of Central-Eastern European nations and cultures which composed Austria-Hungary (1867–1918), namely contemporary Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is also popular in Greece. The cimbalom is (typically) played by striking two beaters against the strings. The steel treble strings are arranged in groups of 4 and are tuned in unison. The bass strings which are over-spun with copper, are arranged in groups of 3 and are also tuned in unison. The Hornbostel-Sachs musical instrument classification system registers the cimbalom with the number 314.122-4,5. Moreover, the instrument name “cimbalom” also denotes earlier, smaller versions of the cimbalom, and folk cimbaloms, of different tone groupings, string arrangements, and box types. In English, the cimbalom spelling is the most common, followed by the variants, derived from Austria-Hungary’s languages, cimbál, cymbalom, cymbalum, ţambal, tsymbaly and tsimbl etc. Santur, Santouri, sandouri and a number of other non Austro-Hungarian names are sometimes applied to this instrument in regions beyond Austria-Hungary which have their own names for related instruments of the hammer dulcimer family.
Usage examples of "cimbalom".
But the day after my arrival, Jaroslav, a school friend who had played in the cimbalom band with me, dropped by and was delighted to find me at home: it turned out he was getting married in two days and immediately asked me to be his best man.
I could feel a heady conviviality taking hold of me, a sense of companionship I had not experienced since the last time I played with Jaroslav and the other fellows in the cimbalom band.
All of a sudden the musicians donned feathered hats like the ones we wear with our folk costumes, and did a takeoff on a cimbalom ensemble.
I went on about what we were doing, what was new in the ensemble, about the new cimbalom player, about our latest adventures.
What did it matter that the cimbalom, second violin, and clarinet had been taken over by different musicians and I was the only one left of the old crowd?
I saw a large sign leaning against a wall and announcing in red letters that today at four in the afternoon a cimbalom band would be giving a concert in the garden of a certain restaurant.
What had suddenly destroyed the old barriers that for fifteen years had stopped me from looking back happily on my young days in the cimbalom band, stopped me from returning to my hometown with affection?
Jaroslav was ill and were still caught up in the spell of the music, now without the first fiddle and clarinet, whose silence gave the cimbalom player a chance to excel, accompanied only by the second fiddle and bass.
But the cimbalom was no meek and modest dulcimer, to be overwhelmed by the rest of the band.
When the Enchanted Globe reached the platform at the top, the whole band joined the cimbalom to blare a rousing climax and bring the audience out of its stupefaction to a clamor of applause.
The bandstand had collapsed into an untidy heap of boards, and the cimbalom stood on its legs, but they were slowly sinking into the mud.
Under the watchful eyes of the Party, the cimbalom ensemble he organizes to play songs ancient and new soon catapults him to national fame.
Romantic orchestra for the small ensemble, using pianos, cimbaloms and percussion instruments to create a simpler, more mechanistic sound.