The Renaissance rackett is a double reed wind instrument related to the bassoon.
There are several sizes of rackett, in a family ranging from soprano to great bass. Despite a relatively low tone, the rackett is actually quite small (the tenor rackett is only 4 1/2 inches in height, yet its lowest note is F, two octaves below middle C). This is achieved through its ingenious construction. The body consists of a wooden chamber into which nine paral...
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The Renaissance rackett is a double reed wind instrument related to the bassoon.
There are several sizes of rackett, in a family ranging from soprano to great bass. Despite a relatively low tone, the rackett is actually quite small (the tenor rackett is only 4 1/2 inches in height, yet its lowest note is F, two octaves below middle C). This is achieved through its ingenious construction. The body consists of a wooden chamber into which nine parallel cylinders are drilled. These are connected, alternately, at the top and bottom, resulting in a long wind passage contained in a very small body.
However, its unusual construction presents some problems for the player. Because of the unusual arrangement of the pipes, the fingering pattern is somewhat strange.
The baroque rackett (developed by the Nuremberg maker J. C. Denner, 1655-1707) had an entirely rationalized simpler fingering due in part to the addition of a number of tetines. Tetines are tubular metal extensions covered by the...
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