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(the renaissance shawm)

"At great feasts they are to play upon shagbut, cornetts, 
shawms and other instruments going with wind."
-Richard Brathwaite, 1621

click image for alto shawm sound (134kb wav) 
or here for same in mp3

canario - dance tune by Fabritio Caroso 
(second verse by alto shawm)

ein feste burg - three settings by Walther 
(first setting includes tenor shawm, alto zink and crumhorn)

Unlike the medieval shawm, the late Middle Ages and Renaissance shawm uses a broad cane reed controlled by the player's lips. With the smaller size shawms, the reed could be placed inside a pirouette, a funnel shaped protector against which the player places his lips. This pirouette not only protects the reed, but also helps avoid lip fatigue.

The shawm band enlivened the palace courtyard and market square of the sixteenth century and added to the general din and confusion associated with them.

"Clown: Why, masters, have your instruments been at Naples, that they speak i' th' nose thus?

Musician: How, sir, how?

Clown: Are these, I pray, call'd wind instruments?

Musician: Ay, marry, are they, sir.

Clown: O. therey hangs a tail.

Musician: Whereby hangs a tale, sir?

Clown: Marry, sir, by many a wind instrument that i know. But, masters, here's money for you; and the General so likes your music, that he desires you, of all loves, to make no more noise with it."
-Shakespeare, Othello 

All shawms have several vent holes between the hole for the lowest note and the end of the bell. This section of the instrument is very long and contributes to the tone and carrying power of the instrument. A large fontanelle protects the key mechanism of the lowest note(s), and the crenellated metal band often found wrapped around the bell not only helps protect the instrument but also helps make the shawm a sturdy weapon for settling disputes among town musicians.

Musica Antiqua's shawms include a soprano in c1 by Hermann Moeck, two altos in f by Moeck, a tenor in c by Moeck, a soprano in c1 by John Hanchet, and an alto in f by Collier.

Additional Resources:

• S. Virdung: Musica getutscht (Basle, 1511/r1970)
• M. Agricola: Musica instrumentalis deudsch (Wittenberg, 1529/r1969)
• O. de La Marche: Memoires (Lyons, 1562)
• T. Arbeau: Orchesographie (Langres, 1588)
• C. de la Ruelle: Decem insignes tabulae, complexae icones justorum ac honorum supremorum, corpori serenissimi principis(Nancy, 1611)
• M. Praetorius: Syntagma musicum ii, iii (Wolfenbuttel, 1618/r1958)
• M. Mersenne: Harmonie universelle (Paris, 1636/r1963)
• J. Talbot: Musica (MS, GB-Och Mus.1187, c1697)
• E. vander Straeten: La musique aux Pays-Bas avant le XIX siecle, iv (Brussels, 1878/r1969)
• A. Sandberger: Introduction to H. L. Hassler: Werke II, DTB, viii, v/1 (1904)
• H. C. de Lafontaine: The King's Musick (London, 1909/r1973)
• F. W. Galpin: Old English Instruments of Music (London, 1910)
• K. Weinmann: Johannes Tinctoris, 1445-1511, und sein unbekannier Traktat 'De inventione et usu musicae' historische-kritische Untersuchung (Regensburg, 1917)
• C. Sachs: Sammlung alter Musikinstrumente bei der Staatlichen Hochschule fur Musik zu Berlin (Berlin, 1922)
• G. Kinsky: 'Doppelrohrblatt-Instrumente mit Windkapsel', AMw, vii (1925), 253-96
• A. Schering: Musikgeschichte Leipzigs, ii (Leipzig, 1926)
• P. Bromse: Floten, Schalmein und Sackpfeifen der Sudslawen (Brno, 1937)
• A. Baines: 'James Talbot's Manuscript: I: Wind Instruments', GSJ, i (1948), 9
• W. L. Woodfill: Musicians in English Society from Elizabeth to Charles I (Princeton, 1953/r1969)
• P. Bate: 'Shawm and Oboe Embouchure', GSJ, viii (1955), 60
• A. Baines: Woodwind Instruments and their History (London, 1957)

click image for bagpipe sound (175kb wav) 
or here for the same in mp3 format

The origins of the bagpipe can be traced back to the most ancient civilizations. The bagpipe probably originated as a rustic instrument in many cultures because a herdsman had the necessary materials at hand: a goat or sheep skin and a reed pipe. The instrument is mentioned in the Bible, and historians believe that it originated in Sumaria. Through Celtic migration it was introduced to Persia and India, and subsequently to Greece and Rome. In fact, a Roman historian of the first century wrote that the Emporer Nero knew how to play the pipe with his mouth and the bag thrust under his arm. During the Middle Ages, however, the bagpipe was heard and appreciated by all levels of society.

Bagpipes have always been made in many shapes and sizes, and have been played throughout Europe from before the Norman Conquest until the present day. Medieval pipes usually had a single drone - see contemporary illustrations of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales for English single-drone pipes. Around 1400 (give or take 50 years), most shepherd-style pipes acquired a second drone. A third drone is added about after 1550. See paintings by Brueghel and the illustrations in Praetorius' Syntagma Musicum. The Renaissance also saw the advent of small, quiet chamber pipes such as Praetorius' Hummelchen or the French shuttle-drone models, some blown with bellows under the arm rather than with the mouth.

The construction of the bagpipe allows a continuous supply of air to be maintained. By squeezing the bag with his left hand while a breath is taken, the flow of air can be kept up in both the drone pipes and chanter. Other features of this instrument are the mouthpipe and the double reed of the chanter and drone. The mouthpipe contains a round piece of leather hinged onto the bag end which acts as a one way valve. As the player blows air in, the flap opens; when he stops blowing the air pressure within the bag forces the flap shut. The chanter has seven finger holes and a thumb hole, and has a usual range of an octave and one note.

The bagpipe is ideal for solo dances and monophonic music. It has been mentioned for use in polyphony, but if so, problems would arise. The drone would preclude the possibility of any change of mode, and the continuous sound would prohibit observance of rests.

During the Renaissance, the bagpipe gradually moved from country to court. Both Edward II and Edward III had pipers at court. King Henry VIII, composer and music patron, also had an extensive collection of instruments which, according to a contemporary account, included wone with pipes of ivorie and a bagge covered with purple vellat. As a rustic instrument it has been immortalized in the paintings of Pieter Breughel and his contemporaries.

Musica Antiqua's collection includes a replica with two drones patterned after Brueghel's Peasant Wedding, and a Hummelchen (little bumblebee) bagpipe which is modelled after the smallest of the four included in Praetorius' Syntagma Musicum of 1619. The Brueghel model is smaller than a highland pipe and loud, but not as piercing as a today's highland pipes. The Praetorius model is tiny and has sweet and delicate tone, making it useful both as a solo instrument and in ensemble with other Renaissance instruments. The chanter has a range from c1 to d2 and two drones tuneable to f and c or g and d. This boxwood replica was made by Wolfgang Lentelme of Germany. 

Additional Resources:

• Aron Garceau's Bagpipe Iconography page
• Andrew Lenz's Bagpipe Journey
• The Universe of Bagpipes with photos, sounds, and links
• Bagpiper.com
• RootsWorld Bagpipes of the World
• Ewan Macpherson's Bagpipe Page
• La cornemuse en Europe et en France
• Scottish National Piping Centre
• the Bagpipe Society
• Tone Czar Bagpipes
• M. Praetorius: Syntagma musicum (Wolfenbuttel, 1619/r1958)
• M. Mersenne: Harmonie universelle (Paris, 1636/r1963)
• G. H. Askew: 'The Bag-pipe in Early Britain', Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, (1940)
• E. Winternitz: 'Bagpipes for the Lord', Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, (1958)
• A. Baines: Bagpipes (Oxford, 1960)
• H. Hickmann: Agyptien, Musikgeschichte in Bildern, (Leipzig, 1961)
• F. Crane: Extant Medieval Musical Instruments: a Provisional Catalogue by Types, (Iowa City, 1972)
• T. H. Podnow: Bagpipes and Tunings (Detroit, 1974)
• F. Collinson: The Bagpipe (London, 1975)
• D. Macmillan: 'The Mysterious Cornamuse', Early Music, vi (1975)
• R. D. Cannon: A Bibliography of Bagpipe Music (Edinburgh, 1980)

click on image for psaltery sound (140kb wav) 
or here for same in mp3 format

. . . . . . . .

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

"And al above ther lay a gay sautrie, 
On which he made a-nyghtes melodie 
So swetely that all the chambre rong; 
And Angelus ad virginem he song...."
-Chaucer, The Miller's Tale

The psaltery (psalterion, saltere, sauterie, Psalterium, Psalter, salterio) is an ancient instrument seen in many forms. Early versions were simply a wooden board with gut strings stretched between pegs. The strings were plucked with fingers or by plectra (the name might have derived from the Greek psallein meaning plucked with fingers). Later instruments included the hollow box or soundboard with soundholes and metal strings. The player performed with the instrument on the lap or on a table, or in front of the chest held with a strap around his neck if movement was needed.

The name of psaltery entered Christian literature in the 3rd century B.C. translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint where, in the Psalms, nebel was translated psalterion. Thus, Nebuchadnezzar's idolatrous ensemble included the Aramic psantria. Notice, also, that the book of Psalms has also become known as the Psalter (or psalterium), from the hymns sung with this harp. 

Southern Europe, influenced by Moorish Spain, preferred the trapezoidal psaltry with three or four strings to a note. Northern psalteries tended to be triangular or wing-shaped and single or double-strung. Like most other instruments of the time, the psaltery had no specific repertory, but was used to play whatever music the occasion demanded. It was referred to frequently in lists of musicians and instruments and in the art of the time. The psaltery was widely used until about 1500, but could not cope well with the chromaticism of the Renaissance, so was used less as time passed. It is thought that the psaltery evolved into the harpsichord, zither, and other instruments.

He kiste hire sweete and taketh his sawtrie,

And pleyeth faste, and maketh melodie.

Chaucer, The Miller's Tale

Musica Antiqua's psaltery is by Keleshek.

Additional Resources:

• S. Virdung: Musica getutscht (Basle, 1511/r1970)
• M. Agricola: Musica instrumentalis deudsch (Wittenberg, 1528/r1969)
• M. Praetorius: Syntagma musicum (Wolfenbuttel, 1618)
• M. Mersenne: Harmonie universelle (Paris, 1636/r1963)
• F. W. Galpin: Old English Instruments of Music (London, 1910)
• C. Sachs: The History of Musical Instruments (New York, 1940)
• A. J. Hpkins: 'Psaltery', Grove 5
• A. Buchner: Hudebnf nastroje od praveku k dnesku [Musical instruments through the ages] (Prague, 1956)
• R. Stevenson: Spanish Music in the Age of Columbus (The Hague, 1960)
• H. H. Drager and M. Wegner: 'Psalterium', MGG
• F. Harrison and J. Rimmer: European Musical Instruments (London, 1964)
• R. Roberts: Musical Instruments Made to be Played (Leicester, 1965)
• J. Rimmer: Ancient Musical Instruments of Western Asia in the Brittish Museum (London, 1969)
• C. Page: 'Biblical Instruments in Medieval Manuscripts' Early Music, (1977) 299
• M. Remnant: Musical Instruments of the West (London, 1978)