Iberian drums

Abstract

As one would expect, this excellent book is strongly based on the medieval iconography of the area. Not only does it describe the two types of frame drum—the circular form, the pandero or panderete, which became widespread throughout Europe and is still with us as our tambourine, and the square form, the adufe, peculiar to Iberia and the Mahgrib—but it goes much further than that. Mauricio Molina goes into considerable detail of the historical use of the two instruments and the social status and gender of the players, and, as a practical musician, he also goes into the ideal construction of the drums and their performance practice today. This last aspect is one on which I believe we should be careful. I have written much on this subject myself, in books and articles, the latter going back to the second issue of Early Music, and while I am wholly in agreement with the author so far as medieval Iberian music is concerned, we should remember that the music of that peninsula—with its strong links to North Africa, and its multi-cultural life in its days of racial and religious tolerance over much of the Middle Ages—was very different from the music of the rest of Europe, with the possible exception of Italy. The variety of strokes and techniques, well described and illustrated here, still characteristic of Arabic music today, should not be applied in the carefree way which we too often hear in performances of the northern European estampies and ductias, without very serious study of their suitability to the musical customs and styles of their cultural area and era.