Medieval, Renaissance, and Early Baroque Musical Instruments

The Wind Instruments

• Recorders
  

  (Ger. blockflote; It. flauto; Fr. flute douce): Recorders were popular in Europe from the 12th to the mid-18th centuries because of their pleasant sound and ease of playing. They are essentially like simple whistles, with the bore tapering gradually toward the bottom. Recorders were made in "families" or "consorts" (matched sets) of up to 8 sizes, including great bass, bass, tenor, alto, soprano and sopranino.

• Transverse Flutes
  
    (Ger. querflote, It. fiffaro): The transverse flute was used in Germany from the 12th century, and became popular throughout western Europe in the 14th century. Surviving examples of Renaissance flutes have a perfectly cylindrical bore, with six fingerholes and a mouthhole. Several sizes were commonly played together as a consort, but the larger sizes were more useful because of their wide range (2 1/2--3 octaves)

• Capped Double-Reed Instruments
    The following instruments are all characterized by a double reed enclosed by a wind-cap through which the player blows. The closest modern example is the bagpipe practice chanter.
  
  Illustration of a double reed.
  
  • Crumhorn
    

    (Ger. krummhorn): The name of this instrument translates, logically enough, as "curved horn." It has a cylindrical bore and produces a soft buzzing sound. Crumhorns were commonly made in families of 4 and were popular in the 16th and early 17th centuries.

  • Rauschpfeife
      (also Ger. schreierpfeife? schryari?): This instrument owes its extreme loudness to its expanding bore, and its name translates literally as "roaring" or "screaming pipe." It is essentially like a shawm (see below) to which a cap has been added. It was made in several sizes between about 1500 and 1650.

  • Kortholt
    

    The cylindrical bore of the kortholt goes down one side of the instrument, turns and comes back up the other side, so the bore is really twice as long as the instrument itself. This is the meaning of the name "kortholt," which translates as "short wood." This instrument is like a doubled-up crumhorn, making it possible to achieve very low notes because of the longer bore. It was used in the 16th and 17th centuries, and is characterized by a muffled, buzzing sound.

• Exposed Double Reeds
  
  • Shawm
    
      (Ger. pommer, bombard; It. piffaro; Fr. hautbois): Introduced into Europe in the 12th century by Crusaders returning from the Middle East, the shawm family enjoyed widespread popularity for many centuries. Because of the expanding conical bore, these instruments can be extremely loud. The largest members of the family have a bulbous addition, the "fontanelle," which protects the key mechanism of the lowest note. The higher voiced shawms evolved into the modern oboe and English horn in the late 17th century.

  • Dulcian
    

    (also Eng. curtal; It. fagotto): This instrument has a doubled-back bore (cf. kortholt) which is conical in shape. It was developed in the mid-16th century, and was made in several sizes. The bass was the most popular, and it evolved into the modern bassoon. The instrument's name refers to its mellow ("dulcet") tone.

  • Rackett
    

    A deceivingly small woodwind instrument that plays exceedingly low notes. Its deep notes are the result of a clever internal construction in which the instrument's bore bends back and forth many times inside the relatively short and stubby form. The rackett produces an unusual buzzing tone produced by a double reed -- somewhat like a contrabass comb-and-tissue-paper, if such a thing existed.

• Lip-Vibrated Instruments
  
  • Sackbut
    
      (Ger. posaune; Fr. saqueboute) : Developed about 1400 from the S-shaped medieval trumpet, this instrument is almost identical to the modern slider trombone. It differs mainly in the more restrained flare of the bell and in the smaller size of the bore. Sackbuts were originally made in 4 standard sizes, but only the tenor and bass have survived in modern forms.

  • Cornett
    
    curved cornetts

      (Ger. zink; It. cornetto): This completely extinct wooden instrument is lip-vibrated like the modern trumpet or cornet, but is fingered like a recorder and is normally played from the side of the mouth. The curved cornett is covered wit black leather and has a separate mouthpiece, whereas the softer-sounding straight version, the mute cornett is made entirely from a single piece of unadorned wood. Cornetts were used from the 10th to the 18th centuries.