Vox Nostra’s listeners have been introduced to a number of unique instruments over the years, including some of Vlad’s own quirky favourites. Top of the list is the hurdy-gurdy, that mechanical violin with a wheel whose history goes back over a thousand years to the middle ages. The Baroque descendant of this medieval wooden synthesiser was called the ‘vielle a roue’, quite literally a ‘wheeled fiddle’ and on this morning’s programme, Vlad features one of today’s most virtuosic players of the instrument, Tobie Miller. We’ll get to hear selections from her three most recent recordings, including two collections of French Baroque music with the group which she founded and leads, Ensemble Danguy. We’ll also hear how the instrument has been transformed in the last century and get a taster from her recent project of Bach solo works.
RTÉ lyric fm, Sunday 18th July, 7am-10am