The history of the konservnaya banka

The history of the konservnaya banka is almost as interesting as Yorgi’s own story. This distinctive instrument is thought to have been invented by peasants in the Russian province of Smolensk in the early 1800s, when Napoleon’s army left countless empty glass jars and rusting, tin-plated iron cans in its wake. The basic design of the instrument – a can, a stick, and one string, variously made of gut or wire – remains unchanged to this day.

The konservnaya banka spread from Russia to neighboring areas, making its way as far south as Turkey and as far west as Romania. But in most regions it remained a little-known novelty until the early 20th century, when an unknown Berdyansk cannery employee with a musical flair resurrected the instrument. Thanks to the town’s thriving fishing and canning trades, the basic materials of the konservnaya banka were readily available – and before long, the instrument’s plangent tones echoed throughout the region.

Traditional konservnaya banka music relies on a series of semi-improvised melodic figures that vary from player to player. Master players claim particular note sequences as their own. If another player appropriates the melodic signature of an established master, a musical duel ensues, usually culminating in the public humiliation of the upstart who dared challenge the master.

These melodic motifs are passed from generation to generation, with each master selecting a single descendant as the new keeper of the family riffs. In cases of sudden or accidental death, when the family’s musical legacy remains unassigned, a public contest is held and the community’s most revered masters select a new recipient, whether related to the deceased master or not.

By the time Yorgi was born in 1946, the konservnaya banka had undergone various technological improvements. Fixed-position frets were added to the wooden fingerboard, though rust would continue to be a problem until aluminum cans became available in the early ’60s. But despite intermittent attempts to expand the instrument’s range, it has remained a one-stringed affair.

LISTEN: A 1919 field recording of konservnaya banka master Symon Drushevsky, onetime usurper of Yorgi’s musical birthright.

1919 Konservnaya Banka Field Recording