Hi Felicia Yes, I just skimmed Captains Courageous on the Gutenberg website, and there is this slight mention of it: "Manuel drew out a tiny guitar- like thing with metal strings which he called a machette." Hollywood turned it into a hurdy gurdy and killed off Manuel (Spencer Tracey) so the boy could inherit it at the end, which didn't happen in the book. There are several scenes of Spencer Tracey playing the HG; don't know who was really playing it. Well, that's Hollywood! I have searched 'machette' without success; don't know what Kipling had in mind. Yes I know about the Couth Buzzard and have been meaning to go. I look forward to seeing you there.
On Apr 8, 1:08 pm, Felicia Dale <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, Jon, > I've read Captains Courageous a number of times but I can't remember > the exact instrument in the book. However, it doesn't play that big a > role in the story which may be part of why I don't remember it. I > didn't care for the movie as it departed so strongly from the book > which I read first. I imagine Kipling knew about gurdies but frankly, > taking one on even a steel ship would be troublesome for everyone let > alone the instrument! I have read of a French sailor carrying one > with him on board of a sailing ship but when he took it out to play > (on land after a long sea voyage) it had essentially fallen apart due > to dampness during the trip. I've played on board of a variety of > boats from permanently moored "exhibit" ships such as the ones at > Mystic or San Francisco and on boats under sail. Neither situation > was easy despite having a very stable Volksgurdy. > > Not to pry, but if you live near Seattle you aren't so far from me and > a lot of other players. Come out to the jam at the Couth Buzzard if > you get the chance! We'd love to meet you and your instrument. The > Couth Buzzard is a very nice bookstore/coffee house in Greenwood and a > great place to play. > > Hope to see you there! > > Felicia. > > On Apr 7, 2011, at 2:18 PM, Jon Lucas wrote: > > > > > Just received my instrument (finally!) so this seemed a good time to > > introduce myself to the forum. I'm a retired Master Mariner living in > > a small town near Seattle. I'm especially interested in old Scottish > > songs and transcribing themes from classical music and adapting them > > to the HG. I've wanted a hurdy gurdy for a long time but it wasn't > > practical taking it on ship board. Now I'm retired, maybe I can learn > > to play the beast. BTW, I chanced to see the old movie Captains > > Courageous the other day and was intrigued to see a hurdy gurdy as a > > main plot device. Does anyone know of other movies which feature the > > instrument as part of the story, rather than just a walk-on > > appearance? > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > Groups "hurdygurdy" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected] > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy > > > The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be > > found athttp://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce > > spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the > > webmaster.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster.
