Crumhorn
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The
crumhorn gets its name from the German word meaning "curved
hornand"; the instrument is a wooden curved horn with a
wind cap and a reed and comes in an alto, soprano, and bass version.
The shape of the Crumhorn resembles the modern letter "J".
It is a double reed instrument where the reed is blown through
a reed cap and therefore does not vibrate in the player's mouth.
Producing a very high sound, from a gentle hum to a rich buzz,
the pitch is based on how hard a player blows, not on the length
of the pipe. The curve is merely decorative and does not affect
the sound.
- Used mainly in ensembles and at festivals
throughout Europe, it peaked in popularity in 1550 and 1650 and
often played a part in pictures and literature. The crumhorn
is probably the ancestor of your saxophone. I can play you a
little on the bass crumhorn and the tenor crumhorn so you can
hear what they sound like:
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-
-
-
- Sol on the Tenor Crumhorn
For the Mac (AIFF) 103K or
(SND) 103K
For the PC (WAV) 103K
For the Unix (AU) 103K
RealAudio (RA) 28K
Sol on the Bass Crumhorn
For the Mac (AIFF) 100K or
(SND) 100K
For the PC (WAV) 100K
For the Unix (AU) 100K
RealAudio (RA) 25K
(Photo courtesy of Jim Hill at
website Lark in the Morning
- see credits)
- (Original sound files courtesy
ofYasuhiko Higaki's website Renaissance
Consort http://www.hike.te.chiba-u.ac.jp/cons1/)
- You may want to visit the following outside
of Virtual Renaissance:
Crumhorn
Home Page
http://www.iinet.net.au/~nickl/crumhorn.html
This page on the Renaissance instrument, the crumhorn, contains
modern reconstructions, how to make a crumhorn, music of the
curmhorn, MIDI files, and further reading.
-
References:
- Buchner, Dr. Alexander (translated by Iris
Urwin). Musical Instruments Through the Ages. Batchworth
Press Limited, London, England, 1961.
- Hindley, Geoffrey (ed.). The Larousse
Encyclopedia of Music. Excalibur Books, New York, 1982.
Authors: The VirRen Team led by C.S.Marszalek & B.Panagakis
Created: 8 August 1996; Modified: 23 August 2004
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