Racketts: Double Reed Instruments of the Renaissance / «Volte» by Michael Praetorius

Racketts are very special instruments. They were particularly popular in German-speaking countries at the end of the 16th century. The bass rackett has the same vocal register depth as a bass pommer, but is so small that it fits in the palm of your hand. This is thanks to its nine-fold coiled bore. Although its bore is cylindrical, the instrument achieves a range of a twelfth through the clever addition of extra holes, which are covered by both thumbs, both little fingers, and even the fleshy upper parts of the fingers already in use. We find the first reference to a “Raggett” in the Württemberg inventory of 1576 and then to “Rogetten” in a Graz inventory of 1590. There are also illustrations of a single rackett being played in a mixed consort of the Munich court wind orchestra. The rackett survived into the 17th century, when Johann Christoph Denner converted it into a “pocket bassoon.” We would like to thank Christoph Schüler for building a complete set of racketts in the tuning a' = 465 Hertz especially for this program. Music: Volte – Michael Praetorius; Terpsichore, Nr. 210 Musicians: Ann Allen – direction Adrien Reboisson Silke Gwendolyn-Schulze Maruša Brezavšček Melissa Sandel Find out more about the concert here: https://www.rerenaissance.ch/events/2... Video and audio: Nicola Paoli 26.10.25 in Basel, Switzerland Barfüsserkirche, Historisches Museum Basel --------------------------------------------------------   / basel.rerenaissance     / basel.rerenaissance   ReRenaissance – Forum Frühe Musik | https://rerenaissance.ch Thanks for tuning in to our channel! If you found this video valuable, please consider donating here: https://www.rerenaissance.ch/spenden/ Postfinance: CH41 0900 0000 1539 1212 1 (BIC: POFICHBEXXX)