The Hungarian duda, also called tömlősíp and bőrduda, is the traditional bagpipe of Hungary. It belongs to a group of bagpipes known as Medio-Carpathian bagpipes.
There are different opinions about the exact shape and structure of the Hungarian bagpipe. Cocks describes it as similar to the Bulgarian bagpipe, which has a chanter and a bass drone but no tenor drone. Baines (pp. 77–79) lists Hungary as a country where the duda is found, describing it as having a chanter with two separate openings (a diple chanter), one of which produces a variable drone, along with a bass drone. Robert Bright, in Travels through Lower Hungary (1818), as noted by Flood (p. 79), describes the Hungarian bagpipe as having two drones and a chanter with a square cross-section (also called the Dudelsack). Fraser (p. 243) includes a picture of a Hungarian bagpipe with one chanter and one drone of medium length, likely a bass drone. It may be that all these different versions of the instrument are still in use today.
Features
The most unique part of the magyar duda is its double-bored chanter. One bore, called the dallamsíp ("melody pipe"), plays the melody within an octave range. The second bore, the kontrasíp or kontra ("contra pipe"), has one finger hole and can play either the lowest note of the melody pipe or a note called the dominant (for example, on a pipe in A, it plays either A or E).
Hungarian piping uses the kontra to create rhythm and change the drone sound. The melody pipe has a "flea hole," a common feature in Eastern bagpipes. This is a very small hole at the top of the chanter. When opened, it raises the pitch of other notes by about a semitone, allowing the Hungarian pipe to play many different notes (except for the major seventh). In some older examples, the magyar duda had neutral notes (between major and minor in pitch) for the third and sixth, and the flea hole was sealed with wax.
The magyar duda varies in appearance, but the most common version has a chanter shaped like an animal’s head (often a goat-like animal) and a cow horn bell on both the kontra and the drone. Historically, the bag was often made from dog skin, which inspired a song joking that aspiring bagpipers had to "go to hell because that’s where the big dogs are from which good bagpipes can be made." Today, goat skin is more commonly used.
Other variations
Other types of the duda, especially those played near the borders of Slovakia and Croatia, can have up to four chanter pipes. In these versions, one hand plays higher notes across an octave on one pipe, while the other hand plays lower notes on a different pipe. On this second pipe, the range from the tonic to the subdominant cannot produce certain notes except by using half-holing, as the flea hole is on a separate pipe. If a fourth pipe is added, it is a closed pipe with a thumb hole that produces the octave when uncovered. These designs reflect the influence of traditional pipes from Slovakia and Croatia, which often include up to four separate chanter bores.
Hungarian bagpiping
Hungarian bagpiping is defined by a musical style that includes short, quick sounds, the use of high notes to help play lower notes clearly, and a rhythmic, squeaking sound when the instrument is played. This style had a big impact on certain types of fiddle music in Hungary. It also played an important role in early church music before organs were introduced: the duda, a type of bagpipe, was used to accompany hymns in churches before organs became available.
History
Until the 1920s, the duda was the most common instrument used during celebrations in many parts of Hungary. As Hungary’s economy improved and rural life became less important, the single musician who played the duda at country weddings and dances was gradually replaced by professional Gypsy bands (cigányzenekar) that played music from cities using more advanced instruments. By the 1950s, the Hungarian bagpipe, or duda, was nearly gone except in a few small areas. However, it was revived during a movement to celebrate traditional Hungarian folk music and is now widely used by folk bands and their fans.
Béla Bartók’s piano piece “Bagpipe,” from Volume 5 of Mikrokosmos, copies the sound of the duda.
In Hungary, as in much of Europe, bagpipes were linked to shepherds and rural life. They were often played during Christmas to remind people of the shepherds in the story of Jesus’ birth. At the same time, the duda was connected to the older, non-Christian traditions of the countryside. In addition to a song that joked about bagpipers going to hell, János Manga’s article “Hungarian Bagpipers” (Acta ethnographica Academiæ Scientiarum Hungaricæ xiv(1–2):1–97) mentions many stories about the duda, such as pipes that played music by themselves when hung on a wall or pipers called to Witches’ meetings to perform for evil groups. Despite these stories, the duda was not officially criticized in Catholic Hungary as bagpipes were in many Protestant countries.
There are many high-quality recordings of the magyar duda, including CDs by the groups Téka and Muzsikás, the soloist Balázs Istvánfi, and the Magyar Dudazenekar.