Description
In the Lißberg district of Ortenberg in the Wetteraukreis of Hesse, the Musikinstrumentenmuseum Lißberg preserves an extensive collection of historical musical instruments with a special emphasis on drone instruments.
The museum is housed in a former school building next to the church and arranges the objects by instrument family. The developmental stages on display are intended to convey the instruments’ technical and tonal history; sound examples support the explanations, and exhibits can be tried at a reconstructed Renaissance music table.
A distinctive part of the collection comprises around 170 hurdy-gurdies and bagpipes from various countries. The hurdy-gurdies originate, among other places, from Sweden and parts of Eastern Europe; the bagpipes come from regions such as Scotland, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain and North Africa, including Egypt. Noteworthy is a Musette de cour by the French composer Nicolas Chédeville (1705–1782).
Among the outstanding pieces is the 1575 "Nürnbergisch Geigenwerk" (streichklavier) by Hans Heyden, a harpsichord-like instrument with five internally driven hurdy-gurdies that are played via a keyboard. Other valuable exhibits include a bassanello from 1600, already described in the works of Michael Praetorius, a Spanish dulzaina, a tartölt from the German Renaissance, an organistrum, and an anthropologically notable Tibetan flute made from human bone.
The museum was founded in 1990 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of a Frankfurt hurdy-gurdy maker.
Thematic focus is on the development of musical instruments since the time of Michael Praetorius and his work Syntagma musicum (1619).
