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(dulzaina?) click on image for cornamuse sound (120kb wav)
Corna Muse are straight like bassanelli. They are covered below, and around the bell have several little holes, from which the sound issues. In sound they are quite similar to crumhorns, but quieter, lovelier, and very soft. Thus they might justly be named still, soft crumhorns, much as cornetti muti could be called soft cornetts. It
Was a Lover and His Lass in mp3 format
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The cornamuse was clearly described by Praetorius, and is yet a
mystery in these modern times, because none have survived to the present
and because of the confusion of instrument names at the time. Different
names which were used for similar instruments and similar names used for
different instruments. The name cornamuse from the Latin cornamusa
commonly meant bagpipe as in the French cornemuse. The use of the
name dolzaina, from the Latin dulcis (sweet), is thought
to be the same or a similar instrument to the cornamuse, and yet the name
is often intermingled with the dulzan or dulzian of the curtal
families. These two names were sometimes used in the same sentence, as
in an ensemble consisting of dolzaina, cornamuse, shawm and mute cornett.
Praetorius stated that the cornamuse has no keys. They came in several sizes, each having a range of a ninth similar to other reed-cap instruments. |
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Additional Resources:
B. R. Boydell: The Crumhorn and Other Renaissance Windcap Instruments (Buren, 1982) |
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