Kortholt
The Kortholt is a historical musical instrument from the woodwind family . It was common in the Renaissance period.
The name of the instrument, as mentioned in Michael Praetorius ' work Syntagma musicum - a main source of information on the instrument - means "short wood" in Low German and refers to the small size in relation to its pitch. This results from the fact that the cylindrically drilled tube is actually kinked inside and runs twice as in the modern bassoon and its historical forerunner, the dulcian .
The sound of the Kortholt is generated by a double reed which is housed in a wind capsule , similar to the Krummhorn . The sound is similar to that of the Krummhorn, albeit softer, which may be due to the fact that certain overtones are attenuated by the tightly kinked tube.
Similar to many other instruments of the Renaissance period, the Kortholt performed in a whole family. It was built in c / f tuning in soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices . Kortholte have been built and played again since the middle of the 20th century. They are used to play music from the Renaissance period.