Evening star., 1939-05-07

silence. The doctors soft eyes sought
| the mothers face. Let him play,
she whispered. Sonny loved 1t so. ,
In a few moments the child stirred
and a faint smile played upon his
lips. Ebbing life was slowly return
ing. The music, so plaintive, so dis
tant, grew louder. Its harsh discord
turned to melody that seemed celes-
tial. And a wave of happiness burst
upon the small chamber of gloom.
A mere coincidence. of course, but
that organ grinder had chosen an
inspired moment to ply his joyous
trade"
Although the world has become
very wise in demanding artistry in
every form of music, nothing will
ever replace the charm Of the
hurdy gurdy, even though it
wheezed in the thrilling melody of
the "Miserere" and gave rather a
bold picture of Sally in Our Alley"
1t was part Of the life of the peo-
pie. not in the fine, big houses, but
those out on the streets, friendly,
lloIHldl, Happy people.
And this Is what the hurdy-gurdy
has represented for ages. its origin
lost in antiquity. To be sure, the
first models of the hurdy-gurdy
differed considerably from that of
our times, and there is no record
of the appealing little monkey as
part of the picture, but the prin-
ciple of the instrument. was the
same. The earliest known form of
the hurdy-gurdy was the organis-
trum, although in records from the
pagan era can be found pictures of
a still earlier ancestor. The organ
istrum of the Middle Ages was a
stringed instrument that was both
played and cranked by hand.
1t might have remained in its
lowly status did not royal lady
take to it in the 11th century and
become proficient in performance on
it. Suffering the fate of many
things that suddenly acquire popu-
larity, makers began to experiment
on it and give new name to each
of the results. Thus the organistrum
became in turn the symphonic, the
chifonia, the phonphOgne and
finally, in France, the vielle. BY this
time a wind instrument had been
added to the string instrument,
which was also known as the violin
a clavier. a name more pleasing, evil
IDENTIFY, to the nobility, which were
its chief exponents. From this
period comes down the name Of
Pierre LoWet, who was called lie
Stradivarius des vielles"
So popular had the instrument be-
come that composers of note were
writing music for it. among them
Haydn, who once fulfilled COM
mission from the King of Naples, an
ardent, if not very skilled player.
While it may seem a far cry from
this complicated instrument to the
hurdy-gurdy of today, the principal
on which the music is turned out
remains the same, the recording
function being added with the advent
of the player piano and the gramo-
phone.
There exists today in lower New
York City a man who still takes
pride in the manufacture of the
hurdy-gurdy He keeps also library
Of records, the most popular works
from every nationality. There, too,
he has list of hymn tunes that are
used sometimes at special religious
meetings in the backwoods of the
country where organs and choirs are
not to be found. But most of all can
be found such songs as 20 Sole Mio''
and the airs from "Cavalleria Rus
ticana' or III Trovatore." beloved of
citizens of that sunny land of music
Italy.
Each new season may mark the
disappearance of the hurdy-gurdy
completely from the streets. Many
will rejoice that one more bit OF
noise is eliminated from our sur
roundings, but others will feel the
regret of the passing of childhood
joys and the memories that are ever
associated with the music Of the
hurdy-gurdy.