The Serpent ...
Wind instrument about 2.2 m (8 ft) long, with a conical bore, made in serpentine form to make it possible for the hands to reach the six fingerholes.
It was almost always made of wood, and had a brass crook with a cup-shaped ivory mouthpiece. It was originally the lowest in pitch of the cornetts, added to the family in the late 16th century by a French canon, Edmé Guillaume.
Its original purpose was to accompany church choirs, though by the 18th century, some were used in military bands. Three keys were added in the late 19th century, and some manufacturers made upright serpents, which were easier to manage.
The serpent was still used by 19th-century composers, including Mendelssohn, Rossini, and Verdi, who used it in his opera The Sicilian Vespers. In 1840 a contra-serpent was made in York, which was twice the size of the serpent.
The Sackbut ...
Musical instrument, a precursor of the trombone, sharing many of its features. These include a predominantly cylindrical, though narrower, bore and a telescopic slide to change the length of the tube and its pitch. The term was used in England from the mid-15th to the 18th centuries.
The sackbut (from the Spanish sacabuche, "pull-tube") probably evolved as a lower-sounding version of the Renaissance slide trumpet that first appeared at the court of Burgundy. Unlike the trombone, sackbuts were made of thin, hammered metal, had a shallow and flat mouthpiece, and a narrow, non-flaring bell.
These features contributed to a soft sound that complemented voice, harpsichord, viols, lutes, recorders, and cornetts. Like the trombone, the instrument is constructed in three sections: the mouthpiece; the slide joint, which is an assemblage of two parallel and stationary tubes attached by a crossbar (stay) that are covered by a long U-shaped sleeve (the telescopic slide tube), also supported with a stay; and the bell joint, a U-shaped tube terminating at the bell.
The mouthpiece was inserted into one end of the slide joint and the bell joint inserted into the other. The bell joint could be fitted with crooks to change the pitch, and the slide joint often utilized a hinged handle attached to the stay, enabling the player to slide it further than arm's length. When playing the instrument the pitch is lowered as the player extends the slide away from the body.
The sackbut appeared in at least four sizes from soprano to bass and survives today in a louder, stronger form, as the trombone.
midi by john meyer
