Sack Butt
Listening to classical music the other day caused me to wonder about one particular period instrument above all the others. Was it the crumhorn? Not quite. Was it the cornett, the Renaissance lute, or the chalumeau? No, none of those. It was, in fact, the best-named ancient wind instrument, the sackbut.
Its story isn’t quite as entertaining as its name—not for all of us. But here it is in full:
So, yeah. They could have called it an “old trombone”, but where’s the fun in that?
Nevertheless, it is worth considering that this instrument represented some pretty fancy metalworking for a half a millennium ago: fashioning so much metal tubing, making it consistent over such lengths, and fabricating it within tight enough tolerances that the tubes line up with each other and slide freely without air loss. That’s quite an achievement, even though it’s something our modern industrial robots could probably crank out by the dozen without breaking a sweat.
But still: just saying “sackbut” out loud is enough to cause your inner juvenile to rejoice.
So what would it sound like if we put some of that fabulous ancient instruments to use? Here they are, at work in some unfinished music by J.S. Bach, The Art of the Fugue, fleshed out from fragmentary writings by Shunske Sato for the Netherlands Bach Society. It begins with choral voices, and continues with musicians playing period instruments. It is long, but if you love Bach and can project the video to a screen with decent sound attached, very enjoyable music.
I've always liked the name crumhorn for a musical instrument. (Though it would also make a good name for a pastry.)
But here's a medieval name that sounds like it's a musical instrument, but isn't: 𝐥𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐞. It's a long tail attached to or extending from a hood. It was a medieval fashion statement. The longer and fancier the liripipe, the higher the status. Some of them got so long they had to be wound around the head to keep from dragging on the floor. Perhaps a musician playing the crumhorn or sackbut might wear a liripipe, but theirs wouldn't be the longest in the room.
Here are some illustrations:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ckdkfo_UoAAfLON.jpg
https://simplecraftylife.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/tres_belles_heures_de_notre-dame_maitre_du_btv1b84496839_180-2.jpg
So if there was a Mongol horde in Montana, would they desire to sack Butte?