Alto curved cornetti

Three of the curved cornetti preserved in the Vienna Collection can be easily mistaken with soprano instruments, specially nowadays that we have gotten used to see instruments in A = 440 Hz., which is far lower than the renaissance cornetto pitch.

SAM 232, SAM 233 and SAM 235 are tuned to play one tone lower than SAM 230, SAM 231, SAM 234 and SAM 236, making them instruments in F in relation to those sopranos, which is what we usually refer to as „alto“ in the cornetto family.

Bellow there is a brief description of these three instruments.

SAM 232

Right-curved alto cornetto.

Instrument’s length: 628,7 mm.

SAM 233

Right-curved alto cornetto.

Instrument’s length: 602,3 mm.

SAM 235

Left-curved alto cornetto.

Instrument’s length: 616,1 mm.

Source of the measurements and pictures: Beatrix Darmstädter, "Die Zinken und der Serpent der Sammlung Alter Musikinstrumente“, Edition Bochinsky, 2011, ISBN 978-3-941532-08-3

© Ricardo Simian 2015 - 2024 - all rights reserved

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