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crumhorn
musical instrument
- Also spelled:
- Krummhorn
- Related Topics:
- cornamusa
- schryari
- dolzaina
- oboe family
crumhorn, (from Middle English crump: “crooked”), double-reed wind instrument that flourished between the 15th century and about 1650. It consists of a small boxwood pipe of cylindrical bore, curved upward at the lower end and pierced with finger holes like those of a recorder. Its reed is enclosed in a wooden cap with a blowing orifice in the top. The tone is reedy and nasal. Crumhorns were built in families, from great bass to sopranino, each instrument having a compass of a ninth. Their manufacture was resumed in the 20th century.