Serpent ( fr. Serpent - snake) - an old wind musical instrument , the ancestor of several modern wind instruments. Known since the 16th century . It got its name due to the serpentine curved shape.
| Serpent | |
|---|---|
 Serpent. Victoria and Albert Museum in London | |
| Range (and order) | Britannica Serpent Harmonic Scale.png |
| Classification | Mouthpiece Wind Instrument |
| Related tools | Bashorn [1] , Zinc [2] |
It was made of a variety of materials: wood, copper, zinc or silver. He had a deep cup mouthpiece made of ivory or animal bones, very similar to the mouthpieces of modern brass instruments. The casing originally had six holes. Later models already had several valves. Used in church music , in particular as a “support” for bass in a church choir . The sound is quite strong, rough, intonationally unstable. He was a member of many orchestras .
To play the serpent required a good ear, since playing it purely was a big problem. The appearance of valves only exacerbated the problem. 18th century music critic Charles Burney compared the sound of a serpent in inept hands with "the roar of an extremely hungry, if not angry Essex calf."
Notes
- ↑ Bashorn // Musical Dictionary : in 3 volumes / comp. H. Riemann ; add. Russian department with staff. P. Weimarn and others; per. and all ext. under the editorship of Yu. D. Engel . - Per. from the 5th of it. ed. - Moscow — Leipzig: ed. B.P. Jurgenson , 1904 .
- ↑ Serpent // Musical dictionary : in 3 volumes / comp. H. Riemann ; add. Russian department with staff. P. Weimarn and others; per. and all ext. under the editorship of Yu. D. Engel . - Per. from the 5th of it. ed. - Moscow — Leipzig: ed. B.P. Jurgenson , 1904 .
Literature
- Serpent // Musical Encyclopedia. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1978. - T. 4. - S. 951. - 976 p.