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About the Hurdy-gurdy

The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that is characterized by a wooden wheel which sets the strings in motion, and by keys that are used to change the pitch of the strings. The first graphical depictions date from the 12th century. There are more than one hundred fifty sculptures and illustrations that survive. A significant number of these are from 12th century Spain. Other examples come from France, England, Germany, and Italy. It was used throughout Europe for several hundred years. The hurdy-gurdy continued to be depicted in artwork through the eighteenth century. From these works, and from extant instruments we see that its size and shape have changed substantially over time.

The hurdy-gurdy was first known as the organistrum. The first reference to the instrument is in the treatise "Quomodo organistrum construatur" that was previously attributed to Odo of Cluny, who lived in the 10th century. The text is very short by modern standards, being only a few paragraphs in length. Its topic is the appropriate placement of the keys so that the string will produce the desired pitches. Very little about the instrument itself can be gleaned from the text apart from the fact that it was tuned in Pythagorean temperament. (The text survives in a copy made by he 17th century historian Martin Gerbert in his "Scriptores Ecclisiastices")

The next major references to the instrument come from the mid to late 12th century. One of the most famous is the relief in the Portal of Glory at Santiago de Compostela which dates from the last third of the twelfth century. It is remarkably detailed, including such features as the instrument's three strings. From this depiction we see that the instrument was quite large, measuring more than four feet in length. The instrument consisted of two parts; the body, and the neck. The body was slightly less than half the length of the instrument. It took the form of the letter 8, with a band like bulge in between the upper and lower portions of the number. The neck extended from the top of the letter. It was rectangular and roughly half as wide as the body. The instrument had a tail piece, something like that of a violin, and the strings ran upwards parallel to the neck. Just prior to the waist of the instrument, the strings rested on the wheel was perpendicular to them. They then continued to the top of the neck. Unlike a violin, the neck was hollow and the strings were contained inside it. This was to allow tangents connected to the keys to press against the string and thus change the pitch. At the bottom of the 8 there was an L shaped crank to turn the wooden wheel. The instrument was so large that more than one person was used to play it. The performers would sit side by side, and lay the instrument across their laps. One person would turn the wheel with a crank, while the other would activate the keys to play the melody. The keys themselves seem to be pulled rather than depressed. The relief from the Cathedral of Ourense clearly shows the back of one of the tangents being pulled upward. Their action on the string is unknown.

The textual and iconographic depictions of the organistrum do not clearly define its use. Many of the statues depict scenes from the Book of Revelations. The old men 'play a new song' on the organistrum. It has been suggested that the instrument was used in teaching music. Some believe that it was used in church services.

The next major form of the instrument is depicted in texts of the 13th and 14th centuries, such as códice de los músicos, Biblioteca de El Escorial MS B.I.2. This form of the instrument is commonly called the symphonie, or chifonie as it was known in French. The instrument is now much smaller than the organistrum, measuring less than two feet long, and is played by a single person. There was significant variation in the design of the body. Some instruments maintained the figure eight shape, while others adopted an oval shape. Still others were made in the shape of a box and disposed with the neck entirely. There was also variation in the action of the keys. There is a symphonie pictured in a manuscript from the central library in Zurich. It dates from 1340 and is a chronicle of the world by Rudolf von Ems. The instrument has two strings and an open neck with five keys on the upper side of the neck. The open neck allows us to better visualize the action of the keys. On this instrument they appear to be activated by rotation. Another instrument is depicted in a statue above the door of Sarmental, at the Catedral de Burgos. Its neck is covered. The keys are on the bottom of the neck. This position was adopted in all later instruments.

In thirteenth and fourteenth century manuscripts we see that the symphony was used in secular music for the court. We also see it being played by peasants.

The form of the instrument continued to evolve in the Renaissance. An instrument is pictured in the Garden of Earthly Delights by Heironimous Bosch. The bottom end of the instrument near the crank has three bouts. Such ornamental bouts are found on instruments of this period such as the viols of John Rose. The sides of the body are roughly parallel, and the top end of the body is rounded. The neck is placed on top of the body and only extends a short distance past the body itself. The wheel is covered by a curved piece of wood. The instrument has 10 keys and 5 or 6 tuning pegs.

There were also very significant musical changes to the instrument which are evident in Renaissance depictions. One of these is the buzzing bridge. Unlike the bridge of a violin which has two feet that firmly contact the instrument, a buzzing bridge only has one stable foot. The bridge pivots on this foot when the string vibrates. This motion causes a second smaller foot to strike the soundboard, creating a buzzing sound. The sound caused by the buzzing bridge was likened to that of a trumpet, and thus the string that rested on the buzzing bridge was known as the trompette. A second change was the use of string to allow a player to pull the drone strings away from the wheel. Thus the drones could be turned on or off at will.

The earliest extant hurdy-gurdies are from the sixteenth century. An instrument by Jean-Nicolas Lambert resides in the Musee de Conservatoire in Paris. Other important makers of that era included Henri Bâton, who lived in Versailles, Francois Feury (1740), and Pierre and Jean Louvet (1750).

In the seventeenth century two more styles of bodies became popular: one which is akin to the body of a small guitar; and one which is like the body of a lute. The former style body can be seen in paintings by Giacomo Francesco Cipper and ones by Jan Albertsz Rotius. The instrument is also featured in the works of David Vinckboons, a dutch painter who lived during the latter half of the 16th century.

Several variants of hurdy-gurdies developed by the early seventeenth century. All of these lack one of defining aspects of the instrument, the wooden wheel, or the keys that are used to change the pitch of the strings. The famous text Syntagma Musicum depicts a hurdy-gurdy that is played with a bow rather than by turning a wheel. It is called a schlusselfiedel. The instrument is related to the nyckelharpa of Sweden. Another variant depicted in Syntagma Musicum is called the geigenwerk. It is a large keyboard instrument, like a harpsichord. Rather than plucking the strings, they are set into motion by one of several wheels. The keys are used to pull the strings down into contact with one of the wheels. The only known historical geigenwerk was created in 1575 by Hans Heyden. His instrument was based on the drawings of the viola organista by Leonardo da Vinci. Some modern luthiers have undertaken the complex task of recreating the instrument. Two of them of note are Akio Abuchi and Tygodnik Powszechny.

By the seventeenth century the role of the hurdy-gurdy in society had changed. This is evident in the writings of several famous music theorists, as well as in depictions of the instrument by artists. Michael Praetorius in Syntagma Musicum writes: "Bawren vnnd vmblauffenden Weiber Leyre", which is translated as "lyre for peasants and traipsing women" Mersenne in Harmonie Universelle (1636) indicates that it is played only by the poor. In particular it is the instrument of blind men. This marks a drastic change in use and status from its depiction of being played by an angel in the Sforza Book of Hours of 1490. However, its status continued to change in the late seventeenth century. King Louis the XIV of France brought into vogue a rustic aesthetic. This included the use of instruments such as the hurdy-gurdy. Thus, although the instrument was associated with a rustic lifestyle, it was adopted by the aristocracy.

The names of the instrument also continued to change. In addition to being called a lyre, it was known as a vielle or vielle a roue, which is translated as wheel fiddle. The English term hurdy-gurdy came into use in the eighteenth century.

Several works include the hurdy-gurdy in their score. These include the concertos for 'lyra organizzate' strings and horn by Haydn, Minuets and Dances K601 and 602 by Mozart, the opera Linda di Chamounix by Donizetti.

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