Cimbaloms - Hammered Dulcimer and Aeolian Harp Shop
I should make it clear that the instrument on the Portishead track is an sample of a Cimbalom taken from a Lalo Schifrin soundtrack.
Cimbaloms are Eastern European dulcimer family instruments. They tend to fall into 2 main catagories, the folk instruments, which are smaller, more dulcimer sized and often damped by felt or similar entwined in the strings, and Grand Cimbaloms which are much larger needing two or 3 people to carry them comfortably. These large instruments are the ones that composers write for. Stravinski, Henri Dutilleux and a fair few others have created works the utilise a Cimbalom.
My cimbaloms are not so far in any way traditional. They have all been a bit experemental. Below is one I improvised on for a day or two before it went.
