Contextual Associations

The cornettino is a hybrid aerophone in that it has features in common with brass instruments (a cupped mouthpiece) and with woodwind instruments (a tube with fingerholes). The replica instrument pictured here is the smallest of three sizes in use during the Renaissance and Baroque eras (see also cornett for information on the middle member of this family, and the detail image for a comparison of the cornett and cornettino). Its greatest period of use was in the second half of the 17^th century, and it appears to have been favored in German-speaking areas more than elsewhere in Europe. The cornettino fell out of favor by the end of the 17^th century but was resurrected in the 1950s as part of the early music movement.

Description

This instrument has a slightly curved body with fingerholes drilled in it (one thumbhole on its back side, six others on top operated by fingers of both hands), a conical bore, and utilizes a cup mouthpiece.  The body of this replica instrument is made of resin; traditionally, it would be constructed from two long pieces of wood glued together and covered with thin leather. Before gluing, the instrument's conical bore would be carved out of the slats. The exterior of both historic and replica instruments is planed to produce an octagonal cross section for much of its length, but close to the mouthpiece end there is more elaborate decorative faceting of the surface. A small metal mouthpiece is provided with the replica instrument, but wood, ivory, bone and horn have historically been used to construct mouthpieces.

Player - Instrument Interface and Sound Production

A player places the mouthpiece against their lips, the left-hand thumb operating the thumbhole and the first three fingers of both hands operating the six fingerholes; the right thumb helps steady the instrument. The cornettino angles slightly to the right, the distal end somewhat lower than the mouthpiece end. With all the holes covered the instrument produces a fundamental pitch of D4, which can be lipped down to C4. The range of the instrument is about two-and-one-half octaves, from C4 to about G6 or A6. It overblows at the octave, but higher register notes often use alternate cross-fingerings to produce better intonation. A chromatic scale can be produced throughout much of its range, again through the use of cross fingerings. It is a demanding instrument to play in tune, requiring of the player many minute embouchure and mouthpiece placement adjustments. The combination of a fairly thick wood (or resin) body, conical bore and small mouthpiece produces a soft, muted tone quite different from other contemporaneous cup-mouthpiece instruments such as the natural trumpet made of brass. Yet with all these acoustical and sound production challenges, a skilled player can produce fast and facile melodic passages on this instrument.

Origins/History/Evolution

The origin of the cornett family is not precisely known; instruments similar to it are seen on manuscripts dating back to the tenth century. It appears that the treble cornett took on its mature form in the latter half of the 15^th century. It is not possible, however, to pinpoint when the higher-pitched cornettino came into existence, and there is no suggestion in the literature that cornett players regularly doubled on it. It could very likely have been a later innovation centered in northern Europe where there is evidence that it continued to be used into the 18^th century, well after the treble cornett had become obsolete.
 

Bibliographic Citations

Baines, Anthony C. 1984. "Cornett." NGDMI v. 1: 498-503.

Dickey, Bruce. 1997. "The cornett." In The Cambridge Companion to Brass Instruments. eds. Trevor Herbert and John Wallace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 51-67.