Folio 93r of the Codex Atlanticus is
devoted to the study of a very complex musical
instrument that has never seen the light of day until now.
While there’s no record of whether or not Leonardo
ever made a physical version of it, the detailed
nature of these drawings implies that he may very well
have built a prototype. The small drawing in the lower part of
folio 93r in the Codex Atlanticus gives an
extremely clear idea of the instrument and how it would be
used. A belt would allow the player to wear it and
play while walking in processions. However, the most
interesting and innovative aspects are to be found
in the details, which portray Leonardo’s
extraordinary intentions (a polyphonic, dynamic sound) and
convey what an exceptional inventor he was, even in
the sphere of designing musical instruments. Our reconstruction has been baptized
the Harpsichord- Viola: “harpsichord” after the
polyphonic, though not dynamic, keyboard
instrument, and “viola” after the primarily monophonic string
instrument. The Harpsichord-Viola is played as a
keyboard instrument though it emits a sound similar to
that of a viola. In fact, the sound is
produced thanks to a long horsehair that, when the keys of
the keyboard are pressed, graze the strings in a
way to similar to that of bowed instruments. But while
on the latter, a musician alternately moves the bow
back and forth,in the Harpsichord-Viola, the
horsehair moves continuously, propelled by a complex motor apparatus activated by the musician’s leg as
he walks. Unlike a viola, which is mainly a
monophonic instrument in that the bow can only “graze”
one string at a time, or two at the most, with
the Harpsichord- Viola one can play more than one note
at the same time, like on a piano, which didn’t
exist in Leonardo’s time.
Machines
Harpsichord-Viola
Codex Atlanticus, folio 93r (1478-1482)