The Collection

The Collection:

In 1956 some items from the Spencer Collection of Musical Instruments were displayed at Worthing Museum & Art Gallery. The collection was formally purchased by Brighton Museum & Art Gallery in 1960, when Mr. Spencer stated in a letter, ‘There is no other museum where I should like them to be more than the Brighton Museum’.

The collection contains over 140 brass, reed, and string instruments, originating from the entire European continent (mainly the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Austria). The collection includes not only beautiful traditional instruments such as the violin, harp, piano, clarinet, flute and recorder but also fascinating, unusual instruments such as the serpent, the hurdy-gurdy and the bumbass (also known as the bladder fiddle) which is a folk instrument made out of the bladder of a pig.

The Serpent:
There are six different serpents in Spencer’s collection. The serpent, which looks much like the reptile after which it is named, is said to have been invented in the late 14th century in France and was used until the 19th century. It is a bass wind instrument with a mouthpiece characteristic of a brass instrument but with side holes like a woodwind.

The Hurdy-Gurdy (also known as a wheel-fiddle):
The Hurdy-Gurdy is believed to have been invented in the Middle East, originating from the fiddle. Like the fiddle, it is a stringed musical instrument but instead of a bow being used to create sound on a violin or fiddle, the Hurdy-Gurdy produces sound by a wheel rubbing against the strings. Spencer’s Hurdy-Gurdy was made by Tixier of Jenzat (near Vichy in France) and dates to the 19th century. It can currently be seen in the Performance Gallery at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery.