It is possible that instruments from both traditions were combined into one entity. The tárogató has a Persian origin, and it appeared in Hungary during the Turkish wars.[2] Up to about the 18th century, the tárogató was a type of shawm, with a double reed, conical bore, and no keys.
Being a very loud and raucous instrument, the tárogató was used as a signaling instrument in battle (like the bugle or the bagpipe).[1]
Because the tárogató was an iconic instrument of the Rákóczi’s War for Independence (1703–1711). Its use was suppressed in the 18th century by the Habsburg monarchy.[1][2] The instrument was eventually abandoned being considered too loud for a concert hall.[2]
Modern usage
Dumitru Dobrican, a taragot folk musician from Dăntăuşii din Groşi, Romania.
In the 1890s a modern version was invented by Vencel József Schunda, a Budapest instrument maker.[2] It uses a single reed, like a clarinet or saxophone, and has a conical bore, similar to the saxophone. The instrument is made of wood, usually black grenadilla wood like a clarinet. The most common size, the soprano tárogató in B♭, is about 29 inches (74 cm) in length and has a mournful sound similar to a cross between an English horn and a soprano saxophone. Other sizes exist; one maker, János Stowasser, advertised a family of seven sizes of which the largest was a contrabass tárogató in E♭.[1] The new tárogató bears very little resemblance with the historical tárogató and the two instruments should not be confused.[1][3] It has been suggested that the name schundaphone would have been more accurate, but tárogató was used because of the nationalistic image that the original instrument had.[4]
This instrument was a symbol of Hungarian aristocracy, and the favorite woodwind instrument of Governor Miklós Horthy.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taragot)
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