Re:Leonardo da Vinci's forgotten musical invention
by telesilla on Monday June 17, 2019 @08:00AM
(#20202032)
The music he is playing, of Marin Marais and St. Colombe, would have been written a century after da Vinci's death in 1519 as St. Colombe and Marais were born in the 1600s. However, the instrument suits the music naturally well as some kind of viola da gamba would have been around during da Vinci's time. What has morphed into the modern day violin, viola and cello but has lost the breathy sorrowful voice of the gamba in exchange for virtuosity and loudness.
Savall's own wife died in 2011 and when I watch this movie since then, I feel his (pre-widower) outpouring of the deepest expression of grief. It's stunning.
Re:Leonardo da Vinci's forgotten musical invention
by YeGoblynQueenne on Monday June 17, 2019 @05:06PM
(#20207381)
I was wondering about that too. Wikipedia has a nice explanation of how the two are different:
In the first model the friction of the strings was achieved by a mechanical bow traveling sideways. The second model featured a single rotating wheel, similar to that of the earlier hurdy-gurdy, to play strings. It differs in that a hurdy-gurdy has a small number of strings that are constantly in contact with the wheel, rather than a larger number of strings that can be lowered onto the wheel. A hurdy-gurdy has a keybox with tangents that change the pitches of the strings, rather like placing fingers on violin strings. Leonardo's innovation of a keyboard with a lowering mechanism allowed individual notes to be played, alone or in specific desired chords over a large range of pitches.
In terms of sound, the instrument in the video in the posted article is not at all like a hurdy-gurdy. I find it sounds like a string quarted. Perhaps it's more the kind of pieces that are normally played on a hurdy-gurdy that tend to have a very folk-y sound, whereas the gentleman in the video above is playing a classical piece. But I don't think I'd really mistake this for a hurdy-gurdy.
All of which reminds me- man, I'd love to learn to play the hurdy gurdy. Damn expensive instrument though.
Re:Leonardo da Vinci's forgotten musical invention
by taneq on Monday June 17, 2019 @10:01PM
(#20209186)
Huh, thanks for that. :)
> Damn expensive instrument though.
I seem to remember having (way back when I was a kid) one of those "101 do-it-yourself projects" type books that had instructions for actually building one. I'm pretty sure it's where I learned about them. Seems like a lot of work though.
People on the internets say he makes perfectly serviceable, no-frills hurdy-gurdies, which explains the price.
So hey, taneq, if you're reading- thanks for the heads up, which started me on the search for an affordable hurdy-gurdy. I'll let my neighbours know it's all the fault of someone on the internet :P
Re:Leonardo da Vinci's forgotten musical invention
by cousin_it on Monday June 17, 2019 @07:37AM
(#20201904)
Thanks, I didn't know about this device, really cool! Do you know if it's possible to have a sharper attack? Like, pluck the note normally and then sustain it with the device.
Re:Leonardo da Vinci's forgotten musical invention
by leoc on Monday June 17, 2019 @11:57AM
(#20204267)
It should be possible: at https://youtu.be/i-CODgpHuPY?t=59 you can see Randolph using a thumb-pick as well as the Gizmo, though it requires some careful positioning. (I've never used a Gizmotron myself.)
Music more representative of da Vinci's time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD_wZLpaVPg
For more of the beautiful music of Marais and St. Colombe see Jordi Savall, the living maestro on the viola da gamba:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylpOO-7cyt0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fXQ7Su4KZ8
and the beautiful film made about the two composers, about grief and love, about the viola da gamba:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF41CDD78BE4BF6C8
Savall's own wife died in 2011 and when I watch this movie since then, I feel his (pre-widower) outpouring of the deepest expression of grief. It's stunning.
It looks to me more akin to a hurdy-gurdy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurdy-gurdy
In the first model the friction of the strings was achieved by a mechanical bow traveling sideways. The second model featured a single rotating wheel, similar to that of the earlier hurdy-gurdy, to play strings. It differs in that a hurdy-gurdy has a small number of strings that are constantly in contact with the wheel, rather than a larger number of strings that can be lowered onto the wheel. A hurdy-gurdy has a keybox with tangents that change the pitches of the strings, rather like placing fingers on violin strings. Leonardo's innovation of a keyboard with a lowering mechanism allowed individual notes to be played, alone or in specific desired chords over a large range of pitches.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_organista#Description
In terms of sound, the instrument in the video in the posted article is not at all like a hurdy-gurdy. I find it sounds like a string quarted. Perhaps it's more the kind of pieces that are normally played on a hurdy-gurdy that tend to have a very folk-y sound, whereas the gentleman in the video above is playing a classical piece. But I don't think I'd really mistake this for a hurdy-gurdy.
All of which reminds me- man, I'd love to learn to play the hurdy gurdy. Damn expensive instrument though.
> Damn expensive instrument though.
I seem to remember having (way back when I was a kid) one of those "101 do-it-yourself projects" type books that had instructions for actually building one. I'm pretty sure it's where I learned about them. Seems like a lot of work though.
These guys (https://www.cbgitty.com/kits-instruments-amps-more/diy-hurdy...) have a laser-cut kit for a toy quality one which might be good enough to learn on.
Thanks for pointing it out, I think I might actually give it a try. Cheers! :D
And so I just went and bought a proper one from this gentleman:
http://www.vrabelhurdygurdy.com/instrument/
People on the internets say he makes perfectly serviceable, no-frills hurdy-gurdies, which explains the price.
So hey, taneq, if you're reading- thanks for the heads up, which started me on the search for an affordable hurdy-gurdy. I'll let my neighbours know it's all the fault of someone on the internet :P
https://youtu.be/e7sK5OiJHHQ
Which kinda inverts all this in an entirely different way. Well, except for the wheelharp, the two sound very similar yet distinct.
Otherwise, quite an interesting sound, perfect for baroque music.
Several have survived, but only one in complete working order, this 1625 specimen:
https://www.europeana.eu/portal/en/exhibitions/explore-the-w...