Hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy is the only string instrument within La Danserye’s instrumentarium. It is known by various names: zanfoña, cinfonia, wheel fiddle, etc. It is a unique instrument that combines bowed strings, via a wheel, with a mechanism for pressing frets. It originated in the Middle Ages, as it is iconographically represented in emblematic places such as the miniatures of the Cantigas of Alfonso X el Sabio or in the form of a sculpture on the Portico of Glory of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, along with other instruments, which was constructed at the end of the 12th century.
There are many types of hurdy-gurdies depending on the period, and it has always been a popular instrument, not used in sacred music. It has had several splendid periods, one of which was the 17th century, where some of its varieties were used with “cultured” instruments, participating in concerts. La Danserye has a reconstruction of the hurdy-gurdy painted by the Baroque French painter Georges de La Tour, who painted a blind man playing the hurdy-gurdy on several occasions with an exquisite level of detail.
Manufacturers and instruments
- Jesus Reolid
- Hurdy-gurdy based on the illustration by Georges de La Tour (17th century), 440 Hz, Pelayos de la Presa (Madrid, Spain) ***** 2011
