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Kettledrums (timpani), which produce sounds
of definite pitch, are the most important percussion instruments
of the orchestra. They consist of a calf-skin or plastic sheet
mounted on a hoop that is fitted over a hemispherical shell
of brass or copper with a hole in the bottom to relieve the
stress of concussion. The skin is tightened by screws, formed
with T-shaped handles for efficiency. The player uses two
sticks with heads ranging from hard (wooden) to soft (felt)
that, along with the positioning of the stroke, can produce
a gentle roll, a harsh, explosive effect, or any shade between.
Kettledrums come in two basic sizes: one with a 28-in (71-cm)
diameter head and the other with a 25-in (63.5-cm) diameter
head. Both larger and smaller sizes are sometimes used.
Kettledrums originated in the Near East before AD 600. Crusaders
brought small drums to Europe in the mid-13th century; the
large size did not arrive before the mid-15th century. After
about a century and a half of use together with trumpeters
limited to music of military pomp and display, kettledrums
entered the opera and church orchestras of Jean Baptiste LULLY
and others. Two kettledrums were standard in the 18th-century
orchestra, three by the mid-19th century. Only rarely did
their number exceed five. Hector BERLIOZ, however, used ten
pairs in his Requiem, 1837. Following early failures in quick
tuning devices, a satisfactory pedal was finally developed
in the 20th century, making possible chromatic passages and
even glissandi (rapid "sliding" up and down the
scale).
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