Women Playing the Vielle in 18th-Century France: Perspectives on Instrument Improvements and Fingering Method

Abstract

The vielle à roue, a stringed instrument tended to be played by women in 18th-century France, had been played by people of various classes across Europe since the Middle Ages, but in the 17th century it was popularly viewed as an instrument played by peasants, beggars, and other socially vulnerable groups. In this paper, we explore how the vielle, an instrument long played in the countryside, came to be played by upper class women, focusing on two points: improvements of the instrument and the establishment of the fingering method. First, we explore the actual improvements of the musical instrument in the 18th century. In particular, the expansion of the range of the instrument led to a significant change in the arrangement of the keyboard, leading in turn to the establishment of the fingering method. The fingering method of the vielle is then discussed on the basis of published methods and shown to approximate the fingering methods of the clavecin, which was popular among the upper class at that time. In summary, we suggest that the improvement of these instruments and the establishment of the fingering method might have been related to women’s performance.