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Bass cornetto
Bass cornetto
Bass cornetto

Bass cornetto

Date2010
Place MadeCologne, Germany, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedStamped on tenons: W
Markingsnone
DescriptionLowest note with all tone holes closed: A, G with closed extension key.

Maple wood, carved from two halves, leather covered; made in three seperate segments connected with mortise and tenon joints; brass keywork; s-shaped; round surface; bindings at receiver and tenons (for stability and tight fits); leather impressed with circular lines at receiver and joins. Six fingerholes, open-standing double-wing key with brass cover. No thumbhole.

Reconstruction of a bass cornetto (basse des cornets) described by Marin Mersenne in Harmonie Universelle, Paris,1636.
DimensionsHeight: Ca. 1230 mm
Tube length: 1330 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum): 12.5 mm, 9.8 mm
Bell diameter (internal):
Fingerhole positions: 517 mm, 561 mm, 608 mm, 780 mm, 824 mm, 865 mm
Keyhole position: 1045 mm
Hole diameter range: 10.2-12.5 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 2010 from Roland Wilson, Cologne, Germany.
Published ReferencesKridel, Craig. "Resurrecting the Bass Corneto," ITEA Journal, Fall 2010, pp. 86-89.

Klaus, Sabine Katharina. Trumpets and Other High Brass: A History Inspired by the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection. Volume 2: Ways to Expand the Harmonic Series (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2013), pp. 60, 68, 255.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 2010
Object number14480
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