Hurdy-gurdy-talks

Below I do use information from two sources:

A) Karl Schumann, writing the textbook that comes with the
record "Winterreise" (Philips 6747033),  Hermann Prey (baritone)
and Wolfgang Sawallisch (piano). This is, by the way,
one of the best recordings of these songs you may find.

Wo do read:

In 1824, the Dessau (Germany) resident Wilhelm Mueller published
a second volume of his "Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren
eines reisenden Waldhornisten" (Poems found among the Papers of a
Travelling Horn Player.

Franz Schubert found Mueller's verses in one of then widely popular
almanacs. He did choose twenty-four of these songs for his famous
work "Winterreise".

As you will know, these songs tell us about a wanderer, who is
overwhelmed by his frustrated feelings and driven into the solitary,
frosty world of winter where he staggers toward nothingness. In a way,
these songs can be seen as an autobiography and self-portrait of
Schubert. The figure of this wanderer bears the traits, the loneliness
of the ""anti-social" composer who has no backing by society, the
certainty of his near death, the early frustrations of his love affairs,
and the conviction to be a stranger in a time of superficial feelings.

In  the last song,  "Der Leiermann", our wanderer meets a person who is,
like himself, a derelict. Over heavy bass fifths in A minor and in
"rather slow"  time, the old begging street minstrel turns his cracked
instrument, a hurdy-gurdy, as it was formerly played in Hungary.
(It is not to be confounded with the street piano or the barrel-organ
which also are played by the turning of a handle which operates,
however, a barrel-and-pin mechanism).

B) In the German "Bible of Music", the "Musik-Lexikon" by Brockhaus and
Riemann, both hurdy-gurdy and barrel-organ can be found, on the same
page, because "Drehleier" is alphabetically followed immediately by
"Drehorgel".  I'll try to translate the German text, adding some explanation
if needed.

DREHLEIER, RADLEIER, BAUERNLEIER, BETTLERLEIER. Four words for the same
instrument: a hurdy-gurdy. The word Drehleier says: a lyra operated by
turning (a crank), Radleier is more explicit: a lyra with a wheel
(inside the chest), Bauernleier is more or less indicating the social
status of the instrument: lyra (often) used by farmers (which can be
seen at many 17-th century paintings), and even clearer is Bettlerleier: a
lyra used by street beggars (which also has been painted many times). It is
this use, we must keep in mind, when it comes to Schubert's Winterreise,
as we will see below.

The naming of the instrument goes back to the Latin, where it's called
Organistrum or Symphonia. Many street-wise names were used, like Cifonie
or Chifonie. The French did use "vielle a roue", which says Violin with
a wheel (just like Radleier), in the 17th century also shortened to
Veille.  The Italians do speak of Lira Tedesca, The Spanish call it a
Zanfonia, while the English will use the name Hurdy-Gurdy.

The instrument as such is a string-instrument, build like a guitar, lyra
or violin, in which several strings inside the body are stroken at the
same time by a revolving wheel. This wheel is operated with a crank. With
tangential keys it is possible to shorten all the strings at the same
time, causing chords to sound, or just one string is played by a key, while
the others continue to sound like a bourdon.

Neither the size of the body notr the number of strings and keys are
standardized. The earliest European picture (1150 -San Domingo at Soria, Spain)
is showing a hurdy-gurdy so big that it has to be operated by two men. For
larger instruments it is common (11th-13th century) to use the name
Organistrum, while since the 12th. century the smaller ones are called
Symphonia.

In Schuberts song "Der Leiermann" it is the piano, that is playing
"like a hurdy-gurdy", in order to express the poorness of the player
(i.e. a bettler), and underlining the sadness of the wanderer.

Up to the 15th. century the hurdy-gurdy was very common, both inside and
outside the church.  After that time the instrument did loose its popularity.
However, in the 18th century we do see a revival, especially in France,
where builders like Baton and Louvet, as well as composers like Aubert,
Corette and the Chedeville-brothers brought back on stage the hurdy-gurdy.

Compositions by Gyrowetz, Pleyel, Sterkel and Haydn are known for a
special form of the hurdy-gurdy: "Veille organisee" or "Lyra organizatta", which
is a hurdy gurdy with organ pipes.

DREHORGEL, LEIERKASTEN (fr: Orgue de Barbarie; ital: organino)

This is an organ with stopped- or reedpipes, operated by a crank. A
turning pinned barrel or a disc with holes is opening the valves of the
pipes.(For more information the text is pointing at the M for Mechanical
Instruments).  It has been used, at least since the 17th. century, as
an instrument used by street-musicians. It has been used  in the 19th
century) as barrel-organ in smaller churches in England.

I do attach two pictures (Windws-bitmap *.BMP) scanned from this
Musik-Lexikon.

So far these two sources.

The scientific terms also may help since it may be clear that a hurdy-gurdy
is a string-instrument, a chordophone like a violin, while an organ is
an air-operated instrument, an aerophone like a flute.

Nowadays the hurdy-gurdy is still be played. It is often used in to
accompany folkdances, and is, like the bag-pipe, a beloved instrument
to express the identity of a (part of a bigger) country. It is even
possible to buy a manual "how to buy a hurdy-gurdy", while special
parts, difficult to make, can be ordered.

To end with: here is the poem "Der Leiermann" that ends "Winterreise",
and a translation:

        DER LEIERMANN

        Drueben hinterm Dorfe steht ein Leiermann
        Und mit starrem Fingern dreht er was er kann.

        Barfuss auf dem Eise wankt er hin und her
        Und sein kleiner Teller bleibt in immer leer.

        Keiner mag ihn hoeren, keiner sieht ihn an,
        Und die Hunde knurren um den alten Mann.

        Und er laesst es gehen, alles wie es will,
        Dreht, und seine Leier steht ihm nimmer still.

        Wunderlicher Alter, soll ich mit dit gehn?
        Willst zu meinen Liedern deine Leier dreh'n?

        THE HURDY-GURDY MAN

        Over there beyond the village stands a hurdy-gurdy man
        With numb fingers he grinds as best he can.

        He staggers barefoot to and from on the ice,
        and his little plate stays ever empty.

        No one wants to hear him, no one looks at him,
        And the dogs snarl around the old man.

        And he lets it all go as it will,
        he grinds, and his hurdy-gurdy is never still.

        Strange old man, shall I go with you?
        Will you grind your hurdy-gurdy to my songs?

It's obvious that the hurdy-gurdy man stands for Death.
Nobody wants to see him, dogs do not like him, but it does not
interest him: he keeps on turning, just like death is always active and
calling us. Our wanderer, in the end (last song, last sentences), has
accepted the end of his wanderings, the end of his life, and is just
asking two questions, of which he already knows the answers.

Highly romantic, it's true. And superb music.

Well, that's it for now!