Cornamuse
The cornamuse is a double reed instrument dating from the Renaissance period. It is similar to the crumhorn in having a windcap over the reed and cylindrical bore. In Syntagma musicum II (1619), Michael Praetorius writes: "Die CornaMuse sind gleich aus/und nicht mit doppelten/sondern mit einer einfachen Röhre/gleich den Bassanelli" (The cornamuse are similar to/and do not have a double, but rather a single tube (bore)/like the bassanelli.) This statement differentiates it from double bore instruments of the period like the sordun, kortholt and curtal. Praetorius did not include a woodcut of the cornamuse, but his depiction of the bassanello has a single bore and double reed. Another clue to its appearance is given in his description of the schryari: ("They...are nearly the same as the cornamuse in size and appearance".) Assertions by some modern writers about the cornamuse having a single reed stem from the misreading of "Röhre" (pipe, tube, duct, canal) as "Rohr" (reed).
![](../I/m/Cornamuse_text.jpg)
![](../I/m/Cornamuse.jpg)
Since the paragraph by Praetorius is the only clear description of the cornamuse and no period specimen has been found, all reconstructions of the instrument rely on a certain amount of conjecture.
The name is not to be confused with cornemuse, which is the French word for bagpipes.