urdies at the beginning of the 18th century the almost square shape of the beggar and country instruments [fn]. In this form however the hurdy-gurdy did not yet possess the fullness of sound of the later "vielle en guitare" and "vielle en luth". Also, Louis XIV's favorite instrument was the guitar, and he could never come to like the hurdy-gurdy, and it was forbidden for a court member to have a taste different from that of the king [fn].
During the regency the Versailles lute-maker Bâton began to convert guitar (1716) and lute bodies (1720) into hurdy-gurdies (see page 158), giving the instrument a more pleasing tone. Bâton further improved the exactitude of the keys so that the notes sounded even clearer in playing melodies [fn] and beautified the instruments with carved heads which finished off the pegheads and by decorations on the hurdy-gurdy's body. In the course of the years the hurdy-gurdy received even further improvements, but in form and tonal range it remained essentially as Bâton introduced it.
[rest of page 309, all of p. 310 missing.]
B. The Hurdy-gurdy Compositions Which Have Been Preserved
The hurdy-gurdy found itself quite quickly in the hands of many ladies and gentlemen of polite society. This society however was not familiar with the usual folk music for the hurdy-gurdy and could therefore not turn to an already available repertoire. If the instrument was to really serve for their entertainment, new music was to be written. The teachers from whom the aristocrats learned to play the hurdy-gurdy usually composed for this instrument as well. Johan Friedrich Agricola, the royal composer to the Prussian Court, expressed his amazement in a remark about the vielle in France: "Es gibt dort sogar Compositionen dafür." [fn] [" There are for this even compositions there".]
In their compositions the authors catered to the instrument and their pupils, in that they limited themselves mostly to very simple melodies and at the same time acknowledged the taste of the period, which called for short dance movements.
Thus there arose in the 18th century a great quantity of compositions for the hurdy-gurdy, and they all are almost completely uniform. Except for a few examples these compositions have no individual style or particular characteristics. One characteristic however is their ability to be played on different instruments. The pieces were written not only for the hurdy-gurdy or the musette; the composer mentioned in the titles almost always an entire row of different instruments which could be used as well: like transverse flute, the recorder, the violin, and the oboe.
Although the number of instruments for this music varied, this had no particular influence on the shaping of the melody. The preferred devices of alternating notes, short runs (ex. 2) and dotted rhythms (ex. 3) always remained the same. In the use of the individual types of rhythm an especial preference for triple rhythm is apparent, for which the reason is
that the accentuation and the uneven crank movements are easier in 3/4, 6/8, or 12/8 time and with the frequently occurring triplets (ex. 4).
Two pieces for the hurdy-gurdy which are unique in their technique are given by Francois Bouin in his method "La Vielleuse habile" with directions for playing these pieces. It is concerned with playing in chords. The pieces are so written as if thirds were to sound at the same time, and this, insofar as the melody strings are not tuned in thirds, is not possible on a hurdy-gurdy. The chords are supposed to be played by constantly alternating both notes. The key of the lower note is kept pressed in and that of the hurdy-gurdy the note is alternately pressed in and release again, so that a type of trill in thirds occurs [fn] (ex. 5).
Aside from the compositions for a single hurdy-gurdy there arose also works for the hurdy-gurdy and a figured bass. One example of this is a piece called "Fuga" from a collection of sonatas for hurdy-gurdy and figured bass by Bouin (ex. 6). The long dotted notes of the melody line are shortened in the bass, whereby an imitation 