“Hurdy-gurdy – Instrument of Romantic Myth” Project
In 2023, the Museum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydłowiec is undertaking an extensive exhibition-artistic-scientific project dedicated to the hurdy-gurdy – a unique instrument of medieval origin, belonging to the group of so-called bowed chordophones, and the role it played in the social and artistic sphere in the Polish lands in the 19th and 20th centuries. The specific mythologization of the hurdy-gurdy, arising from the high status of the hurdy-gurdy player in traditional societies of that time and the musical practices associated with it, allowed this instrument to play not only a musical but also an important social role, and thus an...