 (ex. 33). Chédeville did not put any limits to the virtuosity of the hurdy-gurdy player. Thus the quick sixteenth and thirty-second runs are kept and even, in few places, added (ex. 34).
The Vivaldi concerti arranged for the hurdy-gurdy belong to the most demanding pieces which were played on the instrument. In the eyes of Chédeville's contemporaries the concerti lost in no way their charm by being performed on the hurdy-gurdy: "Si Vivaldi n'etoit pas mort, combien ne seroit-il flatté d'entendre la Vielle exécuter son primtems? L'accord perpétuel et harmonieux qui l'accompagne, sa Trompette et son Bourdon son plus que suffisans, pour déterminer en sa faveur les Partisans de la véritable harmonie" [translation JW: "If Vivaldi weren't dead, how flattered he would be to hear his 'Spring" played on the hurdy-gurdy. The perpetual and harmonious chord that accompanies it, its Trompette and its Drone are more than enough to win over the Champions of true harmony"][fn]. And in all other compositions, just the melody line was written for the hurdy-gurdy in the Vivaldi concerti, and this leads to the opinion that the drone strings were removed (see page 70 note 1). Therefore Ancelet's remarks are not just the testimony of an enthused contemporary, but at the same time proof that the drone were not removed even in a group of other instruments.
The use of the drone strings must then also be assumed for those compositions which Vivaldi himself wrote for the hurdy-gurdy. Around 1737 there appeared at the printer Boivin's in Paris for the first time six sonatas with the title:
"Il Pastor Fido, Sonates, pour la Musette, Vièle, Flûte, Hautbois, Violon, Avec la Basse Continüe. Del Sigr. Antonio Vivaldi, Opera XIIIa". [translation JW: "Il Pastor Fido (the faithful shepherd), Sonatas for Musette, Hurdy-gurdy, Flute, Oboe, Violin with Basso Continuo of Mr. Antonio Vivaldi, opus XIII"]. These sonatas, written in the keys of C major (3), G major (1), g minor (1), and A major (1), mostly have simple melodic lines (ex. 35, ex. 36), which only present problems for the hurdy-gurdy player when triplets or staccato notes appear (exs. 37, 38, 39).
In the 18th century numerous composers wrote for the hurdy-gurdy, and many lute makers made efforts to beautify the construction of the instrument. Next to the various forms which emerged in this period, a novel combination of wind and string instrument was developed with the 'vielle organisée', the organized hurdy-gurdy (see page 163). The 'vielle organisée', although difficult to handle and very imperfect with regards to its technical aspects, found a great number of admirers, even beyond the French borders. The Austrian Norber Hadrava, himself an accomplished player of this instrument, taught King Ferdinand IV of Naples how to play it. The king liked the instrument so much that he commissioned several composers to write concerti and divertimenti for him to be played on the vielle organisée. Adalbert Gyrowetz (1763-1850) composed some serenades for the ' lira organizzata' for him [fn], as did Ignaz Joseph Pleyel [fn] and Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel, who probably first received the commission in 1783 to write several concerti for the 'organisierte Leyer' [fn]. After the success of these first compositions in 1785 he was again requested to write several more pieces for this instrument. Again the middleman was the imperial legation secretary Norbert Hadrava, who in a letter asked him to compose "drei Concerte für zwei organisierte Leyren für Sr.M. den König von Neapel ... das eine aus dem Ton C, das zweite aus dem F und das dritte aus dem G. Sind Sie bedacht die Ritornello kürzer als in Ihren
ersteren Concerten zu schreiben, übrigens richten Sie gänzlich den
Gesang deren Leyern oder die Melodie nach der Art der Oboen ohne vieler Beschaulichkeit
deren Passagen einzuleiten, die übrigen Erinnerungen wegen diesen Instrument
werden Ihnen ohnehin noch bekannt sein, da Sie mehrere
Stücke von dieser Art geschrieben haben." [fn] ["three concerti for two 'organisierte Leyern' for Sr. M the King of Naples, One in the s