THE
EARLY
MUSIC
MAN
Use this page to find out more information about the historical instruments that I use in performance.
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 - approximately 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
(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).
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.
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)
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 their 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.
For a video of the Hurdy Gurdy being played by
The Early Music Man
click here.
NB Windows Media Player required .
Video by courtesy of Keith Stewart of Negotiable Affections, Kings Norton,
Birmingham - taken at The Middle Earth Weekend, Sarehole Mill, Kings Heath,
Birmingham.
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.
For a video of the Pipe and Tabor being played by
The Early Music Man
click here.
NB Windows Media Player required .
Video by courtesy of Keith Stewart of Negotiable Affections, Kings Norton,
Birmingham - taken at Sarehole Mill, Kings Heath, Birmingham. NB A plastic headed
tabor is used because of wet and damp conditions.
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.
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.
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.
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. Rebecs were originally 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.
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.
The Vielle (a Medieval Violin) dates 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 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.