By Andrew Nwacha

Just under two miles from Jackson Square you can still hear the sounds of medieval France, if you know where to look. While New Orleans is already a city famous for its French influence, a local man’s passion for music introduced him to a sound that is becoming increasingly difficult to find. The curious, the thrifty, those looking to get a broken instrument fixed, or the occasional lucky tourist can catch wind of these melodies if they stop into the charming music and vintage clothing store in the St. Claude area of the Bywater known as Musica.

When asked about the instrument, Robert Cauldwell, Musica’s resident hurdy-gurdy expert and store owner said “I’m pretty sure that [the name] hurdy-gurdy is derogatory, like some terrible noise.” The hurdy-gurdy—or ‘vielle à roue’— is a drone instrument that utilizes a hand cranked wheel to produce its sound. Robert compared its sound to that of a cello, citing their similar soundbox. In terms of instrument taxonomy, the hurdy-gurdy is a bit of a musical platypus, containing a hodgepodge of familiar features from several different types of instruments all in one unfamiliar, but masterfully refined package.

Much like the hurdy-gurdy, Musica itself is a unique blend. The store is a continuous combination of passion, commerce, and craft, with a curated array of vintage clothing and an ensemble of eclectic instruments, the crowning jewel of which being the hurdy-gurdy. Just the same, Cauldwell does more than just sell or repair the hurdy-gurdy; he plays it. “I’m the only one in town [who does].” Cauldwell is the only publicly practicing hurdy-gurdy player currently in New Orleans, and while it’s easy to focus on the rarity of the sounds he can produce, the craftsman’s skills are rarer still. Robert is the only person within over seven hundred miles who is capable of servicing these instruments. “A gal from Asheville played for a while, but two years ago she left.” His regional monopolies on both the services of hurdy-gurdy repair as well as maintenance provide him with a precise, up to date picture of who the other players in the area are, as well as when they come and go.

He didn’t learn to play the instrument here, though. In fact, his relationship with the ‘vielle à roue’ began while he was abroad above northern France, in the small town of Parike, Belgium. He found himself completely immersed in a world where morning, noon, and sometimes night could be spent crafting, studying, playing, and even dancing to the tune of the hurdy-gurdy. He came back several weeks later, having finally obtained both his own hurdy-gurdy as well as the knowledge of how to fix them. 

“I’ve built a lot of other instruments,” Cauldwell said. While he has been fixing the instruments for years, but despite all that Robert maintains that he ‘still hasn’t learned how’. “Each one is different.” He promptly characterized the variability of the instrument, from the soundbox itself, to the wheel and crank, to the difference between an hourglass shaped exterior and the more triangular exterior of his own hurdy-gurdy. In many ways, his words spoke life and soul into the instrument, displaying not only his attention to detail, but also his ability to see them as more than commodities or tools capable of helping the right person create beautiful music. He saw them as artistic creations in and of themselves. 

There’s hardly a better place to make a living doing this, in a city where life is punctuated with live music, from weddings to funerals, where the second line marches rain or shine, the beat goes on. Cauldwell and his store serve as a treasured cornerstone of this musical ecosystem, providing a space where the oral tradition of musicianship can freely flow from one artist to another—a space for New Orleanian musicians both young and old to discover new instruments, interests, passions, and above all else, a sense of belonging. Whether you find yourself curious about the sound of the hurdy-gurdy, have an instrument in need of a deft touch and some restorative care, need a new obscure percussive instrument for a live gig you’re playing this week, or even if you’re hunting for the perfect vintage denim, Musica is a novel gem of the Bywater that might be exactly the place for you. Just remember—the front door sticks.