Snakes, Trees and Flames: A Discussion of Venetian Curved Cornett Decorations

I am sometimes asked about the decorations on Venetian cornetts. My observations concerning them are based upon 30 years of cornett making, examination of instruments in American and European collections, and broad historical curiosity. I am aware of the shortcomings of this approach. Somewhere out there is a musicologist, an art historian or cultural anthropologist with better answers or even "The Truth." This article provides tentative answers and observations. Venetian cornetts, which were highly prized for their exceptional quality, found their way into courts all over Europe, judging from extant inventories. Venetian curved cornetts share a common decorative theme, especially those attributed to the Bassano family on the basis of their activities as players and makers and the "rabbit's feet" markings found on some of the instruments. 1 (These will be called one-, twoor threemar k instruments based on the number of such pairs of feet found on an instrument.) Curved cornetts come in several sizes and forms. Ignoring the question of pitch, the curved cornett family consisted of five voices. In descending order they are: cornettino; treble (or Chorzink in German), the most common size and hereafter referred to simply as cornett; alto; tenor, and bass. (The serpent is not considered to be a member of the cornett family. ) The cornettino does not appear to have been used in Italy, but seems to be a later, German contrivance. The size of the instrument has a great influence on its form and decorative treatment. The form of the curved cornett reflects its descent from hunting horns and fingerhole horns fashioned from cow and similar-shaped horns. Most cornetts and cornettini are made in this slightly curved shape, which not only evokes their origin but also facilitates playing by better placement of the fingerholes under the lower hand. This disregards the direction of the curve and the q uestion of which hand is placed uppermost on the instrument. The Renaissance high-pitch cornett (a= c. 465 Hz.), somewhat shorter than a modern-pitch instrument, could be played with either hand in the uppermost position (though it is easier to play a right-curved instrument with the right hand in the lower position)· 4 Pain tings reflecting left hand down on a right-curved instrument and right hand down on a left-curved instrument are sometimes seen, but artistic considerations seem predominant in such cases. The high proportion of extant left-curved original instruments poses an