Builders

Chris Allen (S. Wales, UK) Site available in English.
Neil Brook (Lancashire, England).
Claire Dugué (Kent, England). Site available in English and French.
Chris Eaton (Worcestershire, England).
Leif Eriksson (Leksand, Sweden). Site available in English and Swedish.
Mike Gilpin (Cambs, UK) Site available in English.
Helmut Gotschy (Wain, Germany). Site has pages in German and English.
Billy Horne (Turku, Finland). Site has pages in Finnish and English.
Olympic Musical Instruments (Indianola, Washington, USA).
Jesús Reolid (Spain). Site is in Spanish, with many photos of the many different instruments he builds, including the zanfona (hurdy-gurdy). No address or phone are listed, but the site does have an e-mail link.
Matthew Szostak (Camden, Maine, USA).
Wolfgang Weichselbaumer (Vienna, Austria). Site has pages in German and English.

Email List

Join Alden and Cali Hackmann’s hurdy-gurdy mailing list to discuss hurdy-gurdy “music, players, maintenance, recordings, events, construction, and anything else that seems pertinent”.

Events & Festivals

Cours de vielle à Bruxelles — Page in French describing hurdy-gurdy classes in Brussels (Belgium)
Over the Water Hurdy-Gurdy Festival — Hurdy-gurdy instruction and dance festival in Washington state (USA)
Saint Chartier — Bilingual (English and French) site for the enormous French folk festival

Information

Alden & Cali Hackmann’s Hurdy-Gurdy Site — The Hackmanns build hurdy-gurdies as Olympic Musical Instruments, play them and other instruments in various bands, and maintain a very comprehensive web site.
Flying With Your Hurdy-Gurdy — A page of tips from Alden and Cali Hackmann’s hurdy-gurdy site (see above).
Jon Hall’s Hurdy-Gurdy Pages — Very nice photos, links, and a reference section.
Die Drehleier-Seite — Uwe Jendricke's hurdy-gurdy site (in German)
La pagina della GHIRONDA — Marcello Bono’s site is mostly in Italian, with some English translations, and focuses on baroque hurdy-gurdies and music.
Vielleux in Thailand — Otake Keiji’s site contains material in Japanese and English, including links and a very nice page explaining how the hurdy-gurdy works.
Vielle à Roue — Petite Encyclopédie de l’Instrument — Hosted by Xavier Aimé, this site is in French and contains a course on how to play the hurdy-gurdy, a glossary, a page of hurdy-gurdy jokes, and more.
We’re Talking About ... Hurdy-Gurdy — This site resides on the server of the Laboratory of Molecular Electrochemistry, a cooperation between two universities in Italy. It includes an article on hurdy-gurdy setup by Nigel Eaton (in English) and lots of links.
The Hurdy Gurdy Explained — Part of “The Universe of Bagpipes” site by Oliver Seeler.

Miscellaneous

How to make a hurdy-gurdy for under $20 — Dennis Havlena’s site features detailed instructions, diagrams, photos, and even a sound sample of his instrument.
Hurdy-Gurdy-Girls — This site is in German, but Kurt Reichmann’s photos are definitely worth a look. For an explanation of the images in English, see Oliver Seeler’s Hurdy-Gurdy Girls page.
The Songs of the French Sailors — An article about the rediscovery of the French sea shanty tradition, with a great photo showing an early 20th-century sailor holding his vielle and some information about him in the text.

Organizations

Asociación Ibérica de la Zanfona (Spain). Site is in Spanish, and has links to one builder and two players in Spain.
Stichting Draailier en Doedelzak (Foundation for the Hurdy-Gurdy and Bagpipes) (Netherlands). Most of the site is in Dutch, and the “welcome” page is also available in French and English. The organization holds courses in the spring and fall.

Last update: July 06, 2005 (AP)

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