TromboneChat

Hi Trombones,

Recently I've been looking into and listening to a lot of cornett and sackbut music and was wondering whether it would be worth learning the tenor cornetto?
My university tutor has one himself and while not had any recent gigs thus far, has found having the instrument being a good way to attempt to play sackbut parts in a different context that isn't too far removed from the embrasure of the trombone.
Additionally, there is a cornetto maker/tutor in my city who I know and is currently making a tenor cornetto (which looks quite good). I joked that I might buy it off him, but I'm half actually considering it as I really love the sound that the instrument can make, especially from the recordings of Philippe Matharel on YouTube:
These pieces are just beautiful.

Anyway, let me know your advice, should I get into tenor cornetto? Should I buy one? Does anyone here even play it? thanks for reading!

I play a bit as one of my doubles. Not with a high level of finger dexterity, but well enough to cover the 3rd cornett part in the Magnificat of the Monteverdi Vespers when only 2 cornettists are hired and one of the trombonists would have to otherwise switch to alto to cover that missing part (which is the usual solution but completely the wrong sound) — that's the main reason I got one and learned my way around it. I'd like to get better but time is always an issue. So I would say, yes, it's worth starting early if you're interested (and also maybe recorder of you want to gain finger dexterity) and want to eventually do more on it. Ricardo Simian makes excellent 3D printed instruments that are very affordable (600€) and good enough to get started seriously.

Out of all the early instruments I’ve played, that’s the one with the craziest reach in the left hand. Try before you buy!

brtnats wrote: ↑Fri Nov 17, 2023 9:00 am Out of all the early instruments I’ve played, that’s the one with the craziest reach in the left hand. Try before you buy!

That's true. For the 3D Simian instrument, he usually puts the bottom hole one facet over instead of on the front, and the holes are undercut quite a lot, so the stretch is reasonably comfortable at least on the a=466 tenor. The 440 is definitely not as nice to hold and intonation is also harder. Nick Perry in the UK also makes a tenor (properly out of carved wood and parchment) that's extremely comfortable to hold, and has a gorgeous sound. The intonation is somewhat more quirky.