A list of musical instrument to be included in an Early Music Garritan product (consult Musical Instruments of the World for confirmation). Renaissance instruments generally came in families. Baroque instruments did not regularly come in families. David Munroe produced a set of recordings of many early musical instruments. The CD is surely available, and includes a very useful booklet describing the musical instruments. I made a point to not include the instruments from the Classical Period and also all large organs (organs that are built into a church or concert hall). I think that Garritan has a product that covers that family of instruments. Arguably, some of the instruments listed below are quite obscure and of uncertain value. I have provided an extensive but not complete list so that musical instruments can be easily removed from the list.
This list was produced by Peter H. Adams, October 7, 2016
WIND INSTRUMENTS
- Family of Renaissance recorders (descant, treble, tenor, bass)
- Family of Baroque recorders (sopranino, descant or soprano, treble or alto, tenor, bass, great bass, subcontra bass) Note that in some countries the name descant is used for soprano. Treble is sometimes used for alto
- Family of Renaissance flutes (soprano or descant, alto, tenor, bass)
- Baroque flute (one-keyed flute, German variety and French variety, also piccolo)
- Family of Renaissance shawms (treble, alto, tenor, bass, great bass). Note that the great bass shawm was/is rare.
- Cornemuse (Baroque double reed) [no historic examples exist, but modern reproductions exist]
- Crumhorn (soprano, alto, tenor, bass)
- Korthold (soprano, alto, tenor, bass)
- Racket (Renaissance double reed tenor and bass versions). Likely only the bass version can be found as a reproduction
- Racket (Baroque double reed).
- Rauschpfeife (treble version is known to me)
- Baroque oboe (French and German versions), also oboe d’amore, cor anglais, baritone oboe fill out the Baroque family of oboes
- Dulcian
- Bagpipe (most of this family are folk instruments, but the cornemuse is a French bagpipe meant for indoor music making. Germany and England have their own versions, including the union pipe or uilleann pipe, and musette from France)
- Natural trumpet (likely only one size)
- Sackbutt (alto or descant, tenor, bass, double bass)
- Cornetto (treble, tenor, serpent). The zink is a straight version of the treble cornetto and has a very slightly different tone quality.
Gems horn (the horn of a bull with finger holes, suggestive of an ocarina in sound)
- Portative organ (very small lap-held pipe organ) [uncertain if modern copies exist]
- Positive organ (very small lap-held pipe organ) [uncertain if modern copies exist]
- Bible organ (reed organ in the shape of a book) [uncertain if modern copies exist]
- Sistrum (shaken percussion instrument)
- Bells (Church bells, hand bells also known as clapper bells, and bells struck with a hammer). Technically, the hand bell orchestra came into being in the 18th century, most likely
- Nakers (two kettle drums each tuned to a different note)
- Mirliton (predecessor of the kazoo, used in the 189th century, but not widely). [uncertain if modern copies exist]
- Rote (plucked Anglo-Saxon lyre) [uncertain if modern copies exist]. Folk instrument
- Bowed lyres (cywth from Wales, kanteleharp from Finland, and Tallhara from Estonia). Folk instrument
- Harps (celtic, and surely other modern reproductions exist)
- Lute (descant or treble, tenor, bass, great bass, theorbo, arch lute, chittarrone)
- Mandolin
- Mandola [uncertain if modern copies exist]
- Cittern
- Pandora
- Baroque guitar
- Organistrum also known as hurdy gurdy
- Viola da gamba (pardessus de viole, treble, tenor, bass, violone). Note that the Renaissance gambas have a different tone than the Baroque viola da gamba. The bass viola da gamba existed into the early 1800s. Stradivari made at least one bass viola da gamba
- Viola d’amore (two varieties exist: the viola d’amore and the English violette or violetta, all string with sympathetic strings)
- Baryton (bass viola da gamba with sympathetic strings)
- Lira da braccio
- Lirone (also known as the lira da gamba)
- Baroque violins (slightly different construction to the modern violin, and gut strings rather than metal strings). This description also applies to the viola, cello, and bass
- Kit or pochette (small pocket-sized violin used mainly during the Baroque era by dancing teachers; effectively a soprano violin)
- Tromba marina (bowed string instrument)
- Clavichord (note that this keyboard instrument has an unusual technique called bebung. This is a technique where the performer presses down on the keys in a tremolo-like action. The result is the only keyboard with a true tremolo). Used during the Renaissance through the early Classical period. German, French, and Flemish instrument are considered the best sounding instruments. Many modern copies exist, including fretted or unfretted varieties
- Harpsichords (clavicytherium, virginal, spinets, and double manual). Best instruments are German, French, Flemish, and English with each region and type having distinctive sounds. As an example, the French Baroque double manual harpsichord is much louder than the small spinets of the late Renaissance
- Early pianos (pre-1832 all metal frame). Each region had its own style and sound. German, Viennese, French, and English pianos are well regarded. Square pianos were frequently used, and have a more delicate sound than modern pianos, being strung with a lower tension and thinner strings. Note that there exist many types of key actions that result in different tone qualities. Rare early pianos had special pedal that altered the tone of the piano, or activated a percussive instrument built into the instrument.
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