η τραγουδούσα βροχή

The σαντούρι, pronounced “sandoúri”—actually the “n” is practically silent—is the Greek variant of the hammered dulcimer. The name represnts a Hellenization of “santur,” which is a corruption of the Babylo-Persian “pisanterin,” which itself is a corruption of the ancient Greek “psalterion.” I am told, however, that the psalterion was not an indigenous Greek instrument, like the lyre or kithara, but was an import from the east, probably Phoenicia.

The Greek sandouri in its current form can most likely be traced to its older cousins in Romania and Hungary, which were introduced to Greece and the Greek communities in Asia Minor by traveling musicians from the northern Balkans sometime during the 18th century. Prior to that, a more eastern version of the hammered dulcimer derived from the Persian santur existed in the Ottoman world. The Ottoman santur and the newer Greek sandouri coexisted for some time, with the santur being featured mostly in Ottoman court music, while the sandouri became a popular instrument in the ensembles that performed in the music cafés of Smyrna and Constantinople.