Donati in his workshop making ocarinas.
Introduction[]
The ocarina is an instrument family that is loosely defined and thousands of years old. Along with this, the history is complex and under-researched, so much of its history is spread through word of mouth (or webpages) by ocarina enthusiasts. The history of the ocarina, like that of most musical instruments, is also very expansive, so this article is not comprehensive.
Origin[]
Ocarinas first originated in South America approximately 12,000 years ago. These ocarina were very varied in appearance, but they were typically made from clay and often shaped like birds or other animals. Despite the diversity in appearance, they all functioned in the same way, with finger holes to change the pitch, and a fipple-type mouth piece that produces sound when blown into. These were often played along with percussion instrument and were mainly used rhythmically. Ocarinas like this were prominent in many South American, Central American, and MesoAmerican cultures, and other similar instruments such as the Aztec death whistle and the Incan Water Whistle also existed.
While the ocarina did originate in South America, because of its simplistic design, several similar instruments have developed in many different parts of the world, such as gemshorn ocarinas which developed among sheepherders in Northern Europe. Another notable instrument is the Chinese Xun, which is another hollow clay instrument, though instead of using a fipple it has an opening that is blown across like a bottle. Similar instruments have also been found in a few parts of India.
Mexico Colonization and the Ocarina in Europe[]
In 1527, Hernán Cortez, returned from Mesoamerica to Spain. In his expeditions to the Mayan and Aztecs civilizations, he and his crewmates gathered many things they considered to be new, different, or strange and brought them to Spain. They brought unknown animals, plants, tools, crafts; among other things they brought Aztecs and Mayan musicians to perform at the royal court. The performance was repeated in different locations across Europe. It was then that according to legend, a baker in Rome saw such a performance and was so impressed with the ocarina that he decided to make his own. Soon after, many replicas were created and spread around the region. However, because South American ocarinas are untuned and have a limited range, it did not fit in with the music popular at the time and was considered a toy noisemaker and nothing more.
The Birth of the Budrio Ocarina[]
The classical ocarina originated in Budrio Italy when Giuseppe Donati revised the the form of the ocarina in 1853. His changes to the instrument elongated the instrument so that it could be held sideways, with eight finger holes in the front and two thumb holes on the back. Most importantly, however, was that he managed to extend the range to an octave or more and tune it, creating a fully chromatic C major ocarina. He also was first to introduce the word ocarina which means "little goose." There is no record of why he called it that, many believe it is because it resembles a headless goose or because of its sound. It is also unclear what inspired Giuseppe Donati and whether his works were a refinement of clay ocarinas of South America or local clay whistles or birdcalls.
Giuseppe Donati first introduced the ocarina to his friends at 17 years old, but, realizing that the ocarina had a very limited range, they insisted that Giuseppe make more. So, he created four more ocarinas of different ranges so that they could could perform classical pieces together. Eventually the ocarina caught steam and a group of ocarina player began touring Europe. These choir-like ensembles are now traditionally composed of seven players and known as ocarina septets.
There are now many styles of classical ocarinas, but Budrio ocarinas, manufactured with same methods that Donati used, are still made today. These are mostly distinguishable by their simplistic, geometric appearance and a lack of glazing or subholes. Today, Fabio Megnalio is one craftsmen keeping this tradition alive through his ocarinas. There is also the Grouppo Ocarinists de Budrio, which is an ocarina septet in that town. There is also a semiannual ocarina festival held in Budrio that welcomes ocarina makers and performers from all over the world. Some notable makers that have attended this festival in recent years (as of 2023) are Satoshi Osawa-Japan, Oberon Ocarinas- USA, and Giorgi Pacchioni-Italy.
Modern Days[]
In now more modern times the ocarina rises and lowers in popularity. For example in WWII, servicemen were provided of a little ocarina to boost morale, but the recorder became more popular and it shadowed the ocarina. More recently in 1998 the video game “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” in which it was the main point of the game, the popularity raised and the Ocarina makers were requested of replicas, which increased the ocarina’s market. Yes.
precursors[]
References[]
The ocarina history page on ocarinaforest.com has a very complete overview on the subject.