Leonardo da Vinci. and the “Viola Organista.” A New Instrument from the 1480's.

[Peter Poyser]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv3py3Ap8_Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS9c76V4RDE&list=RDsv3py3Ap8_Y

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/10469887/Th...

 

There have been previous attempts to realise and create Leonardo's Design Concept.

Such as the impressive The Geigenwerk built by by Hans Heyden in 1575.

Also a number of Instruments were built by Akio Obuchi  in the early 90's,

And now this new iteration built by Sławomir Zubrzyck from Poland.

 

Let's hope no one here gets the call for a Repair.

 

 

 

P

[Andrew]

I saw this a little while ago. Things pretty mind blowing in concept, execution, and sound. Id love to see up close shots of the innards, mainly the wheel-bow mechanism.

[Ned Knepp]

That's very cool. I hope others will adopt this so it continues development. I can't help but wonder how well the strings stay in tune. It would be a major PITA if it need to be tuned very often.

[Peter Poyser]

I've tried to understand the Evolution of Ideas, contained within this Instrument.

It's just my own theory, based upon nothing better than a broad grasp of these things, so believe it or ignore it as you will.

But during the latter years of the 10th Century, so around the late 900's A.D. an Instrument appeared that used ideas first developed and practised by a Monk and Musical Theorist, called Hucbald.  

It used a quite basic form of Harmony consisting of, octaves with fourths and fifths. Hucbald called it an Organistrum. Which is a contraction, (Historically lots of People Names and certain American words are contractions, where two words are compressed together into one new word) so the words Organum and Instrumentum became Organistrum. And thus it was introduced into some European Monasteries, where two people were require to Play it. One to Wind the Crank and the Other to Finger the Instrument. All this is completely provable.

This is rather like the two people that would have been required to Play an old Pump Organ or Early Harmonium in a Church or Religious Meeting House. One to Pump the Bellows to Supply Wind, and the other to Finger the Instrument. So although those Keyboard Instruments would come along very many Centuries later indeed. In such a Religious Setting having an Instrument that required Two People to make it work, already had Precedent and was already Established as Tradition, the best part of 1,000 years earlier.

Typical Stringed Instruments of the Period (the Fiddle being one of several depending on the Sound and Volume Required) were combined with a Rear End Mechanism that utilised a heavily rosined, rotating leather wheel which was located through a narrow slit in the Instruments Soundboard or Top. A Bridge Supported the Strings at the same height as the Wheel to make Three Strings Sound at Once. And Wooden Tangents (which replaced the fingers on the neck) acted like Keyboard Keys on all Strings at Once to produce the Basic Harmony described earlier.

The name of this form of Sustaining Harmony was called "Organum" by Hucbald. Can you see? It was an Instrument, so Organum and Instrumentum, became condensed into "Organistrum" the name of the Instrument.

 

 

This was the Forerunner of the Popular Hurdy Gurdy everyone will probably be much more familiar with.

And as is the way of things, the Instrument was developed in many respects, not the least of which, enabled it to be Performed by a Single Player.

And although the Sound of that Instrument, the Hurdy Gurdy, is rather different to Hucbalds Organistrum and of course Leonardo's Very Refined Orchestral Invention. I can't help feeling that it's the "Missing Link" between them, as so many of the underlying concepts that facilitate and enable them, are so very similar, in many respects.

 

 

 

So in my mind, I see Hucbalds Organistrum.

Eventually spawning the widespread Hurdy Gurdy.  

And Leonardo's Visionary Invention conceived  in the 1480's,

And then within a Century Hans Heydens "The Geigenwerk" in 1575.

But now, Fast Forward to the 1970's and here's Godly and Creme of the Popular 10CC Pop Group introducing the same underlying concept to the World of Electric Guitars.

Although their idea uses 48 Plectrums per wheel to create Continuous  Sustain, instead of a Rosined Smooth Wheel. The members in the 10CC Group were very clever, and innovative, and very helpful to the guys in my Group, when Recording at Abbey Rd Studios.

 

Follow the History of the Rotating Wheel Concept for Electric Guitar in these Movies.

See and Hear it used in a Pop Music Context.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyT6o3aT1a8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkzzBoDnWfM

 

 

The important thing about Godly and Creme.

Is not simply that they applied a Similar Underlying Concept to the Guitar.

But to my mind at least, in an Historical Sense, they Kept the Idea Alive, and moved it Forward in Development.

 

 

The Instruments built byAkio Obuchi.

Returned the Concept to the Keyboard close to Leonardo's Vision in the 1990's twenty years later.

And Finally. Sławomir Zubrzyck from Poland has successfully implemented this new iteration, Fully Realising, Leonardo's Vision.

 

 

One of the people I most admire in the Music Business is the Inventor of the Modern Recording Console, Rupert Neve.

Rupert would say, "Implementation is Everything." And I think that just about sums it all up.

It's not enough to have a Good Idea or to Conceive a Revolutionary Concept.

You have to Successfully, Implement the Design, Practically.

As Instrument Designers, Builders and Repairmen.

And even Corporate Manufacturers.

There's a Big Lesson.

There!

 

 

P

[Ned Knepp]

That's interesting, Peter.

I've never been a great fan of drones in music and the Hurdy Gurdy isn't something I can listen to for too long so I found the Viola Organista quite a surprise. Your comments about implementation seem correct to me.

I was watching the CA guitar video posted in another thread this morning and followed it to some "printed" instrument videos. I think the promise of printing hard goods is important but I don't think this is an implementation of the technology that will replace mid and high end instruments anytime soon.

I think our society places a bit too much stock in "quick and easy" and, in our ignorance, we are often willing to settle for inferior  products/performance in the process. I also believe there are a lot of people who come to prize craftsmanship and will pay for it if they can find a way to afford it.

One of the videos I watch about printing guitars, mentioned designing a custom bridge and sending the file to a 3D printer. I understand the process he outlined but I couldn't help wondering where and how he thought the expertise to design a bridge developed? I believe 3D printing technology is improving pretty quickly and will become a game changer in the not too distant future but some things will still need to be made by hand for the foreseeable future.

Ultimately, I think the greatest thing about this Viola Organista is that Sławomir Zubrzyck was able to design and build such a remarkably functional instrument from such a simple sketch. It might have stemmed from one of Leonardo's ideas but it was Zubrzyck who brought it to life and that's not something that I could see the common person sketching up and printing off any time soon.  As you said, it is in the implementation. Ideas are wonder but somebody has to make it work.