Hello,
my two cents:
the making
In the times when symphonies and organistrums were state of art in
music - the organistrum players preside the musicans of the Pórtico
de la Gloria - wood was the central cultural techinque.
Craftmensship was enourmous, in wood and in all others of natures
materials. Just look at the cathedral in Santiago as a whole.
Ther was a higher general knowledge on woods and woodwork than today,
and the level of skills were *at least* compareable to today for at
least some specialized individuals conected with the courts.
The same applies to craftmanship in woodworking tools. Where we miss
certain tools we today think are inevitable they simply had other
methods to achive the same or a better effect. Much of these ancient
expertise is lost today. We simply do not know as much as they did.
This musical instruments were not the primitive ancestry of todays,
they were top of the pops. Medieval hurdy-gurdies had their place at
the court, surrounded by cathedals, silken gold woven purple cloth,
perotinus, and people who were specialized in ilumination of codices
- things we can't afford to make today.
The peasants strain of gurdyism came later - or at least there is no
evidence for it in this period. And even thouse later instruments
were madye by people who were very skilled in wood. Much more than
any do-it-yourself person of today ever will be.
Simplicity is a quality as long as its high quality materials and
craftmanship come together to a simple solution.
Most do-it-yourself efforts in hurdygurdy today kits or selfmade lack
both.
This is because most Europeans and North Americans of today do not
grow up with wood and woodworking as first cultural techniques, cant
sharpen a knive, cant split a block of wood into a plank, cant make a
simple chipwood box - and how can you dream of making a simple hurdy
gurdy if you cannot make a chipwood box of similar dimensions (which
is made without a saw)?
the sound
We do not know about the sound of any music before about 1900. And
even then we do not know the effect the music had to listeners now dead.
We can try as hard as we like to put us as musicans back into the
circumstances of earlier times. Live in an Medieval castle without
modern medical or other facilities. We might then be able (not for
sure) to produce music as it was.
But the listeners never ever will undergo the same treatment and
therfore will not hear this music right.
All we can do is finding out about the spirit in which a music was
intended and translate to the modern audiences language. And
therefore we need to play instruments which give the same feeling to
a modern listener as the old instruments did to the former. This is
not a just copy. Its a translation. But the just copy might be very
educational to the maker and player - and maybe no good for public
performance.
sorry for the plain words.
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have a look at:
http://hurdygurdywiki.wiki-site.com
http://drehleierwiki.wiki-site.com
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my site:
http://simonwascher.info
