Full chromatic scale from g’ to g” (except the highest 4 keys: d/e-flat/f/g)
Schaller banjo pegs
Wheel: Polyoximethilene
The shaft is fixed with pivot bearings.
Extras: Black nylon case, Black leather belt.
Shipping is free in the EU.
Waiting time is around 4-6 months only.
For prices and more details please write me a message privately *
"A wonderful meeting with the Pierre Louvet vielle we documented in 1981. Thomas Norwood and I made the exact copy! On Friday I visited the Cité de la Musique, and made this "historical" selfie!"
– Robert Mandel
Pierre Louvet, 1740, at Cité de la Musique, Paris, France
Robert Mandel on 10.07.2016 at Kiscell Museum, Budapest, Hungary
"I was basically inspired by Gaudenzio Ferrari’s monumental fresco. Among the 116 angels he depicted there is one hurdy-gurdy player with a very rare form of the instrument. This “ghironda angelico” looks like a small organistrum with a renaissance keyboard. My aim was to make a perfect renaissance hurdy-gurdy ornamented with the authentic period patterns and build with the best playable components…"
RENAISSANCE HURDY GURDY
Renaissance hurdy gurdy inspired by Jacques Callot’s drawing of the “Capitano di Baroni” (captain of the barony) from 1622. mmmm
The ENSEMBLE MANDEL, founded in Vienna in 2014, aims to introduce diverse periods of music history and musical instruments and compare them. It also aims to create a new, contemporary music. The group varies from 3 to 10 members. They combine electronic instruments with unique and rarely heard medieval instruments, such as the organistrum, viéle, clavisimbalum and recorders.
The ENSEMBLE MANDEL is unique not only in sound but also in appearance. It juxtaposes magnificent old, original musical instruments on stage with exciting-sounding electronic musical instruments. They look at how to combine the spectrum of historical musical instruments with a range of electronic instruments. They want to square the circle by playing electronically with acoustic media and vice versa.
The performance of the ENSEMBLE MANDEL is exciting addition even to world-class music festivals and staged historical music events. In such environments a real contrast is created by performing contemporary music on original historical instruments in addition to authentic, historical music performances.
The music of the ENSEMBLE MANDEL could also be a highlight of both traditional and contemporary chamber music events. They are happy to perform in concert halls, museums, and churches, in short, anywhere where an audience is open to experimental and creative music.
Here you will find information about the hurdy gurdies by Robert Mandel, specially we will gather information and unbiased opinion about his medieval style symphonia,We'll check with the owners and the hurdy gurdy comunity people, start your research here and buy it if you like what you see here.
This are the characteristics of the instrument set on Mandel website, with some extra personal comments, that I will mark with "⦾".
Wood (Timbre):
All body made of german maple and selfmade plywood (maple)
⦾⦾ Author comments: It's plywood, which is nothing particularly bad for this price range, I really don't apreciate the misdirection using the words "german maple" "selfmade" and "timber" to sweaten the word "Plywood", this being said, Plywood is not a bad factor in this price range ⦾⦾
⦾⦾ Author comments: I like the string configuration, you can also retune the trompette and drone up to D if needed. ⦾⦾
Thomastik Dominant overspun strings Carbon nylon strings for the others
⦾⦾Author comments: The melody string and the trompette are nylon, I would like to know which string he uses for drone, we have to ask and update the article, I assume Viola C, the use of dominant is a good point ⦾⦾
Keys Full chromatic scale from g' to g'' (except the highest 4 keys: d/e-flat/f/g)
⦾⦾Author comments: the instrument has 22 Keys, ⦾⦾
This instrument is particularly bought by beginners and hence their first impresions about the instrument are certainly uninformed, so I took the time to find people that started with one of this gurdies and now are intermediate or experienced hurdy gurdy players.
but first let's have a look at the promotional video recorded by Robert Mandel.
To me, in this video it sounds pretty decent and responsive, Robert is a good player and makes it sound certainly cool, now lets see what people want to say.
Here are some anonymous reviews that intermediate and advanced players that owned a Robert Mandel chifonie or symphonie gaved me:
Robert Mandel Opinion 1:
"Hi Sergio! Great to hear from you. We’ve never met, but I really enjoy and appreciate all of the info you have shared here online and on the podcast with Ryan. Great stuff!
As for the Mandel symphonia, here are some thoughts: I bought it when I first got interested in the HG a couple of years ago at the beginning of the pandemic, and I don’t regret it.
It cost less than most other entry level instruments, it came within 6 months, and with just one chanter, 1 drone, and 1 trompette, it was easy to get set up to play.
The keys are smooth, the synthetic wheel was fairly easy to get rosined up with some liquid rosin, and mine at least plays as in tune as any other gurdy I’ve played, that said, it is the instrument I play the least today.
It is very quiet, the simplicity of 3 strings also means you really can only olay in C or G. The original 3D-printed chien wasn’t very responsive, though that was easy to replace with a new wood one.
There also were some “cheap” looking and functioning parts. The large friction tuners are less than ideal when compared to geared pegs on almost all other modern instruments, and the cheap plywood it is made out of was REALLY evident on mine, as the lumber yard green marks were left in and not sanded out, on the lid of the keybox where it is really visible!
So like I said, it worked well for me to get started on the instrument, but it is not likely I will ever play it much again now that I have other instruments to turn to."
Robert Mandel opinion 2:
My personal experience with the Robert Mandel Symphonia. I start by saying that the first thing you notice as soon as you pick it up from the box is that it is solid and well built.
A pity for the Polyoximethilene wheel which destroys the medieval aesthetics of the instrument. but it can be hidden by putting the lid on.
The wheel always needed a lot of liquid rosin. I personally had to apply Liquid rosin every 3 songs to get the right sound. I think Robert should go back to the wooden wheel with a maple rim so customers can choose whether to use liquid or solid rosin. (I don't use liquid rosin).
Despite 3 strings I found the sound very pleasant. I advise everyone not to use natural cotton but rayon fiber so as to highlight the C drone and to have a good and sparkling trumpet and a loud melody. The instrument isnt very responsive using natural cotton.
Overall the istrument is easy to set up therefore making it very beginner friendly. The tuning pegs looks good and sturdy but they get stuck often making it difficult to tune the symphonia when required.
I have used the specific product to unlock them but, after a few days, the problem reappeared. this was a bit frustrating because, although I play in a room with the deahumidifier and humidifier to keep the humidity at 50%, the problem always reappeared.
other owners of the same Symphonia have expressed the same frustation. But this could happen on expensive instruments as well. The wood of the symphonia is left as it is and is not varnished/finished at all and therefore, after a few months, the parts that I touched the most such as keys and lid absorbed the sweat of my hand leaving a halo on the instrument. Tangents are working ok and are easy to tune.
Crank and knob are ok. Nothing wrong with it.
Pros:
.Affordable
.Good for newbie
.Stays in tune
Cons:
.Wood unfinished
.Tuning pegs get stuck easely
.only 3 strings.
If I was Robert I would use wooden wheel, mechanical pegs, and I would finish the wood. And maybe create a version with 2 melody strings.
I'll add some more informed opinions to the article soon ;)
In this next video, minute 8:09, you can see Sanne Van Gend giving you a breafly description of the Mandel Symphony
here's another video that I found in Youtube by Daddy Long Les, you can check his experience owning it for a couple of months
I hope this unbiased article helps you in your decision of buying your new hurdy gurdy, if you red until here, you are doing a great job on your research and I'm sure you will find the perfect instrument for your needs.
• Monday 8 May 2017, 7pm (see below) Hungarian Cultural Centre London
• 10 May in Scarborough eventbrite.co.uk Radio Scarborough
• Transylvanian Hungarian Festival Góbéfest on 13 May in Manchester gobefest.com
••••
Hurdy-Gurdy concert by Robert Mandel The Hungarian Cultural Centre is delighted to present the famous Hungarian hurdy-gurdy player in a London concert Monday 8 May 2017, 7pm Hungarian Cultural Centre London 10 Maiden Lane, London WC2E 7NA
Before appearing live at the UK's first Transylvanian Hungarian Festival Góbéfest on 13 May in Manchester, Robert Mandel will give an exclusive live performance in the Hungarian Cultural Centre in Covent Garden London on 8 May.
A truly unique instrument will be presented on stage by the award-winning musician offering a vast range of music from medieval dances through baroque sonatas to arrangements of traditional Hungarian and Romanian folk dances.
After earning his degree in musical instrument making he received a scholarship from the German Music Council to study musical instrument restoration under Dr. John Henry van der Meer and Dr. Freidemann Hellwig in Nürnberg in the German National Museum (Germanisches Nationalmuseum). Mandel had the chance to spend a time in the famous musical instrument collection of the Paris Conservatory of Music (today in the Cité de la Musique) to study the original 18th century vielles.
In 1988 he became the chief manager of the Interconcert's "Musica Antiqua" department. In 1992 he founded his own company the Mandel Productions Limited Co.
His main fields of research are the 16-17th century renaissance instrumental music, the 18th century French chamber music, the 19th century musical instrument inventions and instrument marvels and the 20th century electrophones.
The Hungarian hurdy-gurdy player has gained worldwide acclaim appearing at festivals, gigs and on prestigious TV shows in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, London, Tel Aviv, Hamburg, Vienna and Sydney. He has recently been decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Hungarian Republic and the Hungaroton Classic Award.
For more information please visit the Facebook page of the Hungarian Cultural Centre.
Further live dates and instrument workshops are also in the pipeline. Keep up to date at the Website Gobefest.com
The GENEAMUS Association, founded in Vienna in 2014, aims to introduce diverse periods of music history and musical instruments and compare them. It also aims to create a new, contemporary music. Organologist and early music artist Robert Mandel with harpist Zsuzsanna Aba-Nagy are committed to writing new music, organising contests for composers, and publishing books and audio discs. The Association’s most important activity so far has been the establishment of the ENSEMBLE GENEAMUS. The group varies from four to ten members. They combine analogue modular synthesizers with unique and rarely heard 19th-century instruments, such as the serpent, glass harmonica, harp, hurdy-gurdy, ophicléide, and the viol. On occasion, the band includes special features such as the nail-violin, the musical saw and the trombula. It performs medieval, renaissance and baroque compositions and original 18th- and 19th-century works, as well as works specifically composed for the ensemble that mix contemporary music with old and new musical elements that enhance each other to create a new musical "sound direction". The ENSEMBLE GENEAMUS is unique not only in sound but also in appearance. It juxtaposes magnificent old, original musical instruments on stage with exciting-sounding modular, electronic musical instruments. We look at how to combine the spectrum of historical musical instruments with a range of electronic instruments. We want to square the circle by playing electronically with acoustic media and vice versa. The performance of the ENSEMBLE GENEAMUS is an exciting addition even to world-class music festivals and staged historical musical events. In such environments a real contrast is created by performing contemporary music on original historical instruments in addition to authentic, historical music performances. The music of the ENSEMBLE GENEAMUS could also be a highlight of both traditional and contemporary chamber music events. We are happy to perform in clubs, concert halls, museums, and churches, in short, anywhere where an audience is open to experimental and creative music.
Sound is recorded by Mihály Kádár Soundwork
Video made by Eszter Vörös, Daniel Eszter and Gabriella Dohi.
"Gurdy-in-the-bag" (480 X 160 X 180 mm) symphony hurdy-gurdy for safe flights. You can order one, can be ready in 3-4 weeks
'The first "gurdy-in-the-bag" is sold! Please order one if you want to take your instrument on board! This is a full-value hurdy-gurdy with one chanterelle (360 mm in vibrating length!), one trompette and one bass bourdon. Tuning is C-g-c, but anything is possible!'
also this –
a very special flemish renaissance model made after Jacques Callot's drawing (1620 !) A very special price, 2.250.- US $
Robert Mandel at the Alpen-Adria International jazz Festival in 1993. He plays on his first Electrotary made in 1985..... Full MIDI and analogue in real time! Opto-array instrument. For music* please visitwww.mandelrobert.comand click MUSIC on the upper left part of the page. Click for Electrotary music "Roots and routes" ** recorded with Markus Stockhausen, Hossam Ramzy, Okuta Percussion Nigeria and Kalman Balogh.
▶ Mandel Quartet, Claude Gervaise: dances - YouTube: ROBERT MANDEL and the Mandel Quartet - French renaissance dances composed by the editor and arranger Claude Gervaise. Gervaise was an assistant to Pierre Attaingnant too, and also the editor on the title pages for several of Attaingnant's books of instrumental dances.
(english below)** A Magyar Reneszánsz Együttes akár napjaink "régizenei supergroup"-ja is lehetne, hiszen tagjai külön-külön mind igen népszerű együttesek vezetői, irányítói évtizedek óta. A Musica Profana, a Tercina, az Ex Canto és a Camerata Hungarica, valamint a Mandel Quartet tapasztalata, ötletei és tudása egyesül a Magyar Reneszánsz Együttesben. A különleges zenei formáció ebben a felállásban immár közel egy éve dolgozik együtt, a világ egyik legrangosabb régizenei fesztiválján, a Stockholm Early Music Festival-on mutatkoztak be óriási sikerrel.
** The Hungarian Renaissance Ensemble from today's "old music supergroup" yeah well be, as members of separate bands are very popular leaders, managers for decades. Musica Profana, Tercina, Ex Canto and Camerata Hungarica, and Mandel Quartet experience, ideas and knowledge unite the Hungarian Renaissance Ensemble. A special musical formation in this lineup has been working together for almost a year, one of the world's most prestigious early music festivals in Stockholm Early Music Festival were introduced with great success. (google translate)
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