This post will provide some historical context as well as familiarize one to the different kinds of Hurdy Gurdys that have existed throughout the history of the instrument. Though some of the material will be gone over again in more detail, covering basic background will help for reference as we delve deeper into the anthropological aspects of the Hurdy Gurdy and it’s uses by different cultures, as well as the transformation of it’s use within the same cultures over time.
The Hurdy Gurdy is the first stringed instrument to work in conjunction with a keyboard. This has great historical relevance in that though pipe organs existed before hand, the Hurdy Gurdy can be seen as a precursor to the Piano, which is in some ways the end result of all the different experimentations that went on with pipe organs, hammered dulcimers, and the Hurdy Gurdy. It’s first known use is during the 10th century, when it was known as an Organistrum. This instrument was guitar shaped and much larger then the modern Hurdy Gurdy, but contained the same 3 string setup common to Hurdy Gurdys today. Because of it’s size, this instrument required two people to be played, one who turned the crank and one who played the keyboard. The keys on the keyboard where pulled up rather then pressed which contributed to the need for two players and also made the instrument limited to slower musical compositions. This made the instrument suitable for churches and monasteries who used it to accompany choral music. The earliest visual representation of the instrument can be found at the Cathedral at Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, Spain. A sculpture known as Portico de la Gloria depicts two men playing the instruments, as seen below.
The instrument evolved, getting smaller and it’s keys replaced with more modern ones that made it more practical for faster tempo’s. Use of this instrument, known then as the Solo Organistum, continued on until it was ultimately replaced in the church setting with the Symphonia. The instrument gained in popularity however, and by the Renaissance was used in other different forms of music often along with bagpipes. Also around this time the buzzing bridge was added and two distinct forms emerged, the guitar shape more common today and a lute shape. Both are depicted below.
Lute shaped Hurdy Gurdy.
As interest in more complex forms of music became more popular, the Hurdy Gurdy became a more “lower class” instrument, though it’s popularity did not necessarily decrease. It also made it’s way East at this time, different forms cropping up in Germanic and Slavic cultures on through Russia and the Ukraine. It was still seen as a lower class instrument and Stalin made attempts to purge the instrument from Russia entirely, though he was not successful. Since then revivals of the instrument have continuously popped up around the world, most notably due to the song from Donovan called “Hurdy Gurdy Man”, which though not in reference to the instrument discussed in this article did nonetheless serve to revive interest in the instrument in folk and rock music in the west. Today the instrument enjoys worldwide use.
Below are a few more models of the Hurdy Gurdy from different regions of the world.
A Swedish form, bowed instead of wheeled but derived from the Hurdy Gurdy.
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