The Surprising History of Timpani
Across Continents and Centuries
The timpani, a type of kettledrum, are membranophones which are formed when a skin or membrane is stretched across a large bowl, commonly made of copper. Based on their simple appearance, many people might not expect these drums to have a long, complex and nuanced history, but from their role, from in the military to modern-day rock bands, timpani drums represent the remarkable evolution of percussion instruments across continents and centuries.
Brought to Europe by returning crusaders from the Middle East in the thirteenth century, Arabian nakers or naqareh drums are the ancestor of timpani and one of the oldest known kettledrums in the world (Figure 1). These drums were initially implemented for military purposes, alongside trumpets to signal the cavalry.1 The name “timpani” originates from the Latin word “tympanum” and from the Ancient Greek “τύμπανον,” meaning drum (OED).
Figure 1: The Moon of Pejeng in Bali is the largest bronze kettledrum in the world. From the Iranian Naqqara, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The nuanced history of timpani starts in marches, battles and even on horseback, as the drum arises from military origins, but in the seventeenth century composers gradually began to incorporate it into their ensemble music. One of the earliest examples of timpani in Western orchestral music can be heard in Matthew Locke’s semi-opera “Psyche”, which was written in 1673 and first performed in 1675 in London. Another example of early timpani use in orchestral music is Jean Baptiste Lully’s “Thésée,” a French opera, which was first performed in the same year in Paris. In these earlier works, the timpani served as a bass instrument to the brass, often supplementing the trumpets in grandiose sections of the piece.2
However, in such pieces from the Baroque and Classical periods, only one pair of timpani were used, which were smaller and made with calfskin heads, producing a lighter sound. It was only in the nineteenth century that composers further developed the role of these membranophones in orchestras and more timpani were needed. One of the most significant examples of the changing role of timpani is highlighted by their bold use by Beethoven, who made an important contribution to their musical evolution. In particular, he expanded the range of the instrument and challenged its limitations. We can hear this in the eighteenth bar of the fourth movement in Symphony No. 8; here, he wrote for the timpani to be tuned and played in Fs that are an octave apart, which had never been done before (see 16:50 in Video 1).
Figure 2: Section from the timpani part of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 8 in F major, Op. 93, New York Philharmonic Digital Archives.
Similarly, his innovative composition can also be heard in his final symphony, Symphony No. 9. In the second movement, Beethoven creates a juxtaposition between the buoyancy of the strings and wind instruments and the momentous solidity of the timpani, which have a slightly ominous feeling (see Video 2).
From the medieval Middle East to nineteenth century Europe, the timpani drums illustrate a long and nuanced history across continents and centuries. What is particularly fascinating is their unique evolution through time: from their use in military bands to becoming crucial components of the symphonic orchestra, the timpani reveal an unexpected but rich historical background.
David McNamee, “Hey, what’s that sound: Timpani,” The Guardian, April 27 2009, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/apr/27/whats-that-sound-timpani#:~:text=Where%20does%20it%20come%20from,accompany%20trumpets%20heralding%20the%20cavalry, Accessed July 19 2024
“Timpani,” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/art/timpani, Accessed July 23 2024