THE CRUMHORN

Zachary Fisher, Jessica Cunney, & Jennifer Chadwick

MUH 201: History of Western Music I
December 7, 2015
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To describe an instrument as unique as the crumhorn in few words is a task that even the
best of summarizers would find challenging. The crumhorn, or ​krummhorn​ as it is known in
Germany, is a wind instrument that was first documented in 1489 as an organ stop in Berlin.1
According to Jeffery Kite-Powell, a professor of musicology at Florida State University, it is safe
to assume that the crumhorn existed a few decades before such documents were created. This
cushion of years allows the crumhorn time to gain popularity and be appropriately documented
ensuring historical accuracy. This is also a safe assumption because if the first documentation of
the crumhorn is of its existence as an organ stop, then surely it must have been popular in the
years prior as an actual instrument. Kite-Powell does say however, that arranging any music
before 1450 for the crumhorn would be quite inappropriate as it would be very difficult to prove
even intuitively that the crumhorn existed before that time.2
The crumhorn is a wooden wind instrument curved at the bottom to form the shape of a
“​J​”. For a better visualization, figure 1 depicts two original crumhorns on display. Like most
wind instruments known today, the main body of the crumhorn is cylindrical with an opening at
the bottom end. This opening is expanded at a larger circumference than the rest of the
instrument’s body forming what one may call a bell by today’s standards. This expansion allows
the sound created by the crumhorn to take a broader shape and larger sound as it exits the
instrument.. Like in most wind instruments this is very important to the crumhorn’s overall
sound. The crumhorn is also a double reed instrument which means that sound is created by the
intense vibration of air between two reeds. This sound is then amplified by the subsequent
reverberation the air receives as it travels down the body of the crumhorn. Quite unique to the
crumhorn though is the windcap. The windcap is placed over and around the double reed making
it so the performer never actually comes into contact with it. By blowing into the small slit at the
top of the windcap, air is forced through the reeds by pressure alone. A similar effect can be
found in the bagpipes or the bladderhorn, which not-so-coincidentally, is a predecessor of the
crumhorn.3 The sound created by this process, is nothing short of jarring by today’s instrumental
standards. In the following hyperlink that is blue and underlined, feel free to behold the
crumhorn’s unique sound​.4 It is often described as sounding like a loud kazoo. One could also
potentially compare it to the sound of a broken oboe. The sound produced is loud and forward in
a buzzing nature that is as equally bizarre as its shape.

1
David Munrow. ​Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance​. (London, UK: Oxford
University Press, 1976), 47.
2
​Jeffery T. Kite-Powell. ​A Performer's Guide to Renaissance Music.​ (New York, NY:
Schirmer Books, 1994) 63-68.
3
Kite-Powell, ​Renaissance Music​, 64.
4
“​Johann Hermann Schein (1585-1630) - Padouane (Pavane) - CRUMHORN
CONSORT​” YouTube video, 3:38. Posted by "Early music in a different way ;)," January 9,
2013. ​ ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w7KJznei7I​.
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Figure 1​: Two crumhorns sit on display at a conference hosted by

Shakespeare’s Globe.5
For a student of the crumhorn and truly for any musical art, many techniques and
concepts must be carefully considered to master the instrument. The crumhorn offers extra
challenge due to the large amount of air pressure that is required to create a sound. This pressure
must be delivered strongly and with precision to both create and end the instrument’s sound
cleanly.6 Like many other instruments, air pressure also plays a key role in the tuning of the
crumhorn.7 This creates a very large challenge in tuning an entire consort of crumhorns since all
the players must use precise air pressure throughout in order to create a unified, in-tune sound. It
is also worth noting that modern remakes of the crumhorn have yet to fully achieve the same
sound as their originals. By comparison, the sound of a crumhorn reproduction is a thinner
buzzing sound with little resonance. This is caused by plastic reeds, a smaller bell flare at the
bottom, smaller finger holes, and a narrower body; all of which are typical of the crumhorn
remake.8
By today’s standard, the crumhorn has many serious limitations that consider it obsolete.
By far, the single most limiting factor of the crumhorn would have to be that it possesses the
dismal range of a major ninth. The crumhorn alters pitch in the rather traditional method of
finger holes. Michael Praetorius, one of the few known to have written for the crumhorn,
classified the instrument into five standard sizes: soprano, alto, tenor, bass, and great bass. A
complete group of crumhorns, or consort as it is formally called, consists of 1, 2, 3, 2, and 1 of
the previous sizes respectively.9 Typically when the crumhorn was orchestrated, this blend was

5
​Sylvia Morris. From crumhorns to waterphone: Music for Shakespeare (blog). ​The
Shakespeare Blog,​ April 12, 2013,
http://theshakespeareblog.com/2013/04/from-crumhorns-​to-waterphone-music-for-shakespeare/.
6
Bernard Thomas, “Playing the Crumhorn: First Steps” ​Early Music​ 2, no. 3 (1974):
151–156.
7
​Kite-Powell, ​Renaissance Music​, 63-64.
8
​Bernard Thomas, “An Introduction to the Crumhorn Repertoire” ​Early Music​ 1, no. 3
(1973): 142–146.
9
Michael Praetorius, ​The Syntagma Musicum of Michael Praetorius, t​ rans. Harold
Blumenfeld (New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1980), 45.
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used since it maintained a strong balance and consisted of all five sizes. The latter factor was
especially important because without having all five sizes of instruments in the consort, the
overall range was diminished and therefore less useful to composers and conductors alike. This
tedious effort that was needed to make use of an instrument that was known to produce a harsh
sound could very much help to explain why the crumhorn fell out of popularity, and ultimately
did not survive the seventeenth century.10
Possessing only the range of a ninth, the crumhorn had virtually no repertoire written
specifically for it11. This lack of various crumhorn concerti and the like also resulted from the
fact that the crumhorn was not a very influential instrument in its prime even though it was still
considered popular12. That having been said, the crumhorn was still considered a significant part
of many medieval and renaissance instrumental ensembles. This can be seen in most sixteenth
and seventeenth century paintings like figure 2 which depict instrumental ensembles and rarely
exclude the crumhorn from the wind section13. One large scale instrumental work of the period
that is worth mentioning is the 1612 composition of ​“Terpsichore” by Michael Praetorius​.14 The
previous hyperlink is a modern recording of said piece that is set to begin at a crumhorn
entrance. With everything said, it seems that the crumhorns make no appearance except for the
jubilant sections of the piece. This is probably for the best as the crumhorn is not known to
possess a very humble sound and would appear very out of place in the softer sections of the
piece.

10
Kite-Powell, Renaissance, 65.
11
​David Lindsey Clark. ​Appraisals of Original Wind Music: A Survey and Guide​.
(Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999), 473-475.
12
Kite-Powell, ​Renaissance Music​, 65.
13
​Adam Carse. ​Musical Wind Instruments.​ (New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1965)
126-129.
14
“​Michael Praetorius Dances from Terpsichore (Complete).” Youtube video, 50:30.
Posted by “LUIS BUXTEHUDE” October 9, 2013, ​https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=H3U5aYluCVk
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​Figure 2​: A crumhorn can be clearly seen resting on a table on the right side of
this sixteenth century illustration.15
Today, the crumhorn can only be found in the homes of extreme medieval and
renaissance instrumental enthusiasts. The actual use of the crumhorn in modern compositions is
practically unheard of. This again is likely due to the numerous inferior qualities that the
crumhorn possesses when compared to its modern descendants such as the oboe or clarinet that
have now been used for centuries. If one were desperate to seek out a crumhorn performance, it
is suggested that they seek out a local collegium musicum society or perhaps a local renaissance
music festival. As broad as the spectrum of characteristics defining modern music may be, the
crumhorn simply has yet to make a comeback. While it very much is a common practice in
modern composing to make use of ancient instruments and methods, the crumhorn still does not
appear to make the cut when instrumentation comes into question. This is a logical state for the
crumhorn to exist in in today’s world too when one considers all the instruments of similar and
improved function that postdate it. Why choose the crumhorn with a harsh sound, when one can
have a beautiful oboe sound instead? What with the idiosyncrasies of today’s music, perhaps
someone ​does​ want that sort of harsh sound. This is where the crumhorn’s limited range nails its
own coffin shut, sealing its doom as a largely unplayed instrument by today’s standard. Having
all this been said, it should be noted that the crumhorn is by no means a waste of an instrument.
Without Guido d’Arezzo, we would not have musical notation as we know it, and in that same
sense, without the crumhorn we would not have the instruments we all know and love such as the
oboe and clarinet.

15
David Munrow. ​Instruments, ​37.
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Bibliography

Boydell, Barra. "Ieorg Wier and Early Sixteenth~century Crumhorn Maker." ​Early Music​ 7
no. 4 (1979): 518.

Carse, Adam. ​Musical Wind Instruments.​ New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1965.

Clark, David Lindsey. ​Appraisals of Original Wind Music: A Survey and Guide​. Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press, 1999.

Kite-Powell, Jeffery T., ​A Performer's Guide to Renaissance Music​. New York, NY: Schirmer
Books, 1994.

“​Michael Praetorius Dances from Terpsichore (Complete).” Youtube video, 50:30. Posted by
“LUIS BUXTEHUDE” October 9, 2013, ​https://www.youtube​.
com/watch?v=H3U5aYluCVk

Morris, Sylvia. ​From crumhorns to waterphone: Music for Shakespeare (blog)​. ​The Shakespeare
Blog,​ ​http://theshakespeareblog.com/2013/04/from-crum
horns-​to-waterphone-music-for-shakespeare/.

Munrow, David. ​Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.​ London, UK: Oxford
University Press, 1976.

Praetorius, Michael. ​The Syntgma Musicum of Michael Praetorius, volume II, De

organographia​. Translated by Harold Blumenfeld. New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1980.

Thomas, Bernard. “An Introduction to the Crumhorn Repertoire”. ​Early Music​ 1, no. 3 (1973):
142–146.

Thomas, Bernard. “Playing the Crumhorn: First Steps”. ​Early Music​ 2, no. 3 (1974): 151–156.

Wells, Marcus. “The Crumhorn: Historical Sources”. ​Early Music​ 1, no. 3 (1973): 139–141.