A Jewish dance tune from Maramures, Romania, played on a tsimbl (cymbalom, a type of wooden dulcimer).
Originating from sixteenth century Hungary, the instrument became all over Eastern Europe an essential component of the klezmer band. The (singular) Hungarian word cimbalom and the Yiddish tsimbl became the plural forms cymbaly in Polish, tsymbaly in Ukrainian and Belorussian, and tambal in Romanian. The old Romanian word tambelar for a performer derives directly from Yiddish. Likewise, the appearance of the tambal mic (little cymbal) in Roma tarafs (ensembles) was a reflection of a Jewish klezmer presence in the early to mid-nineteenth century. The tsimbl is still regarded as a Jewish instrument in Poland, and as a Jewish-derived home instrument among the former Polish gentry of Belarus. The association of Jews with the instrument is found even as far west as Holland and Ireland.
