Crumhorn
Crumhorns are called windcap instruments because they have a
double reed inside a chamber into which the player blows. They are fingered like
recorders and have a curl like a cow's horn at the end. The history of the
crumhorn goes back to the 15th century. My crumhorn is a tenor crumhorn and was
made by the Early Music Shop in Bradford.
Rebec
The Rebec is an early stringed instrument whose history can
be traced back to the Middle Ages. Most rebecs are depicted with 3 strings. Mine
is a tenor rebec and has 4 strings and is tuned like a viola. It was made by
Goerge of Salzburg. The bow was made by the late Bernard Ellis. The original
rebecs were brought to Europe by the Crusaders from Arabic countries where they
are still played to this day.
The front of my rebec is made of pine whilst the back is made of chestnut.
Bass Viola Da Gamba
The Bass Viol is a member of the Viola Da Gamba family, which
was very popular in England and France in Renaissance and Baroque times until it
was superseded by the cello . The viol developed from an early guitar called a
Vihuela. It has frets and 6 strings like a guitar, and is played between the
knees with a bow. The player holds the bow
with their palm uppermost unlike a cellist who has their palm downwards. Even
the Treble Viol (which is the size of a violin and has six strings and frets) is
also played between the knees. My viol was made by Northern Renaissance
Instruments.
The Pipe & Tabor
The history of the Pipe and Tabor goes
back to the 12th century. One player, rather like a one-man band, plays the two
instruments at the same time. The player blows a three-holed pipe in one hand
and with the other hand hits a drum. It was very popular for dance music.
Richard Tarleton, the jester of Queen Elizabeth I played the pipe and tabor and
some examples of the pipe were found on King Henry VIII's ship "The Mary Rose".
My high D and low G pipes are made of Rosewood by Ralph Sweet. I do have
one in C made by Charles Wells which is made of
Sycamore. Modern pipes can be made of metal or plastic, and some have a
fourth hole.
The original tabors were brought back by the Crusaders in the
thirteenth century, and from there all present day drums developed. Tabors came
in all sizes and have animal skins stretched across each end. They have a gut or
hair snare. Very small light tabors are traditionally used by (soprano) pipe
players, and are suspended from the little finger of the left hand. My large
tabor was made by Mike Chandler.
The Hurdy Gurdy
The history of the Hurdy Gurdy
goes back to the 12th Century when it was known as the Organistrum - it was
about 5 feet long and had to be played by two musicians.
The Hurdy-Gurdy
is a sort of stringed bagpipe. It usually has one or two melody strings, and two
or more drone strings. Whereas a violin player draws a bow across the strings to
make a sound, the hurdy-gurdy player uses his or her right hand to turn a
handle, which is attached to a wheel inside the instrument. As the wheel turns
(the edge of which is coated with resin) it rubs against the strings causing
them to vibrate. This action helps to create the hurdy-gurdy's bagpipe drone
sound. The player's left hand, like that of a violinist, produces the melody.
Instead of pressing strings against a fingerboard, the hurdy-gurdy player's
fingers press sliding keys, which cause the melody strings to be shortened and
therefore increase in pitch. My instrument is based on an C18 model, has six
strings and is made by Martin Turner. It has a “trompette” string which makes a
buzzing sound.
The body of the Hurdy Gurdy is Maple for the most, with spruce for the
fingerboard and beech used for the working part of the keys and tangents. The
wheel is plywood – which is authentic, except that in the Renaissance they
constructed their own plywood from hand-cut sheets, and the laminations were a
bit thicker. There would have been a surface veneer of beech or similar.
Medieval Violin
The Medieval Violin (also called Vielle
or Fiedel) goes back to the 10th century. Mine was made by Ceske and
has 4 strings tuned GDgd. The bow is arched and the bridge is flatter than
present day violins, the result of which is that the player plays 2 or more
strings at the same time. The resulting sound is similar to a Bagpipe or the Hurdy Gurdy
because of the continuous drone effect.
The Plucked Psaltery
The Psaltery has been around since the
early Middle Ages and appears in several shapes, the most common being
trapezoid. The Ancient Greeks also had instruments like the Psaltery. It is plucked with a quill or the bare fingers. I have
recently made a psaltery from a kit based on drawings
from the 13th century "Cantigas de Santa Maria" (see opposite). It
is tuned diatonically so cannot play a chromatic scale.
The Bowed Psaltery
I
also own a more recent invention called a Bowed Psaltery, which of course is
played with a bow and can play a chromatic scale.
Rauschpfeife
A German double reed instrument with a narrow bore, a hole
in the back and seven finger holes. The name means "Rousing Pipe" in German, as
they produce a very loud sound. The reed is concealed in a cap like the
crumhorn. . My Rauschpfeife has been made by Eric Moulder of Leek. It is made
from Sycamore or Maple which are related woods as they are both Acers. Both
Sycamore and Maple were the woods of choice by 16th century woodwind
makers. Both are good to work with, stable with moisture and produce a good
sound. Slow growing wood from Northern climates is much better than the fast
growing wood from Southern climates.
Recorder
My recorder is a descant made by Mollenhauer, and is in the Dream range. It
has the shape of a medieval recorder but a bore more akin in dimensions to early
baroque instruments. Mine is made of natural maple. It was presented to me by
members of the Staffordshire Youth Recorder and Renaissance Ensemble when I retired as
their Musical Director in July 2006.
Cornett (or Cornetto)
The cornett is a "brass instrument made of wood". It has a mouthpiece like a
trumpet into which the player buzzes their lips but it is fingered like a
recorder. It has a large range - something like two and a half octaves. In
Renaissance times trumpets could only play notes of the harmonic series and
therefore couldn't play melodies as such
(not until 1815 when valves were invented). The cornett could play tunes
as it could play chromatic scales, and would be seen in groups with other
cornetts and sackbuts (early trombones). The SERPENT was the bass member of the
cornett family.
My cornett is made by Christopher Monk Instruments, is
curved and made from resin (the original ones would have been made of wood).
Renaissance Flute
I have recently acquired a Renaissance Flute made by
Ralph Sweet. It is made of wood with 6 finger holes only. It is in D, and has a
lovely tone. (Picture to follow shortly)
New Tudor Lady's Dress
The Early Music
Man has a
Tudor Lady's dress for use in GCSE and Tudor Workshops. It comes complete with
"Bum Roll", Farthingale, Bodice, two Skirts and a French Hood. It is coloured
Red and Gold.
