Sordone

Sordone (It.) [aug. of sordo, mute] (Fr.: sourdine; Ger.: Sordun), a rare woodwind instr. of the late Renaissance, similar to the courtaut (without its tétines), an early form of bassoon, with a cylindrical bore running up and down 1 piece of wood 2 or 3 times and terminating in a lateral hole, played with a double reed. The sound was soft and muffled. Zacconi was first to mention the sordone (in 1592). An Ambras inventory of 1596 enumerates 2 basses, 3 tenors, 2 descants and 1 “smaller”…