Città:
---
Year:
1900
Liutaio:
Anonymous
From “
Il Museo della Musica” by Artemio Versari
Barrel-organs, with the strings, belong to the category of strings instruments that produce sound by friction. It differs by having a wooden wheel, instead of the bow. The barrel-organ, which in ancient times was called organistrum, and as of XV century viella or else lira mendicorum, is formed of a belly that can be made similar to the belly of the old viol or the lute; it has a fingerboard with a set of at least seven and at most twenty four frets, and a variable number of strings, which, instead of spanning the usual bridge, are stretched on wheel. The barrel-organ is played held on the lap or around the neck. The player with his right hand grasps the handle that turns the wheel, while with his left hand fingers he presses the keys. In the Middle ages it was a widely-used instrument; later, in the XVII and XVIII centuries, under the name vielle it became the favorite instrument of the Parisian ladies.
The strings, depending on the type and the disposition of the instrument, are thus classified, going from high to low: "
chanterelle", "
le trombette", "
le monche", "
petit bourdon" and "
grand bourdon". "
Le petit " and "
le grand bourdon" are turned in fifths and always produce the same sound as in the bagpipe, while the other strings produce the melody.