HURDY-GURDY
The video above is a short excerpt from the 8th century epic tale of BEOWULF. The instrument I am using to accompany myself is called a “hurdy-gurdy”, a popular instrument of medieval Europe. The hurdy-gurdy in this video was made for me by Alden and Cali Hackmann of Olympic Musical Instruments in Indianola, Washington, and is a fully equipped electro-acoustic, lute-back, chromatic instrument with a built-in sound console. You can see some closeup photos of it below.
When videos are uploaded to YouTube their audio is compressed beyond recognition and converted from stereo to mono. Here is the original mp3 stereo track exactly as it was recorded.
Hurdy-gurdy players, like bagpipe players, cannot control the volume of their
instruments which makes it difficult to use for accompanying the human voice
but the intensity and sheer volume of the instrument also made it ideal for
great halls and public places in ancient times. One advantage that it has
is that it is a complete instrument, able to play melody, harmony and rhythm.
The hurdy-gurdy in the video is plugged into an RSP Technologies Intelliverb
processor which I control with a MIDI Ground Control foot switch. The only
other instrument used in this video is a Moog Ethervox theremin.
The original Beowulf epic was written in Old English which is no longer spoken
and cannot be understood by English speakers today. I used a modern adaptation
of the words for this video. Here is the text for anyone who is interested:
And Beowulf came into the place
Where giant Grendel stood, of twisted face.
And strewn upon a beach as black as coal
The whitened bones of warriors of old.
Many had come, and many here had died,
Still, “I am Beowulf of the Goths!” he cried.
But poisoned silence filled the air with dread
Where shadow-walkers feasted on the dead.
And Beowulf slew the fiend with mighty hand
And cast its severed head upon the sand.
A mournful cry came up from caverns deep,
The demon’s mother wakened from her sleep.
The Queen of Darkness, mistress of the night,
Beguiler of men and enemy of light,
She sang a song of sorrow in her den
And swore revenge on all the sons of men.
These are the volume and tone controls for each individual string.