The Instruments

Ad Hoc may draw on a variety of instruments in performance. These instruments may come from the players' own collections, or from institutions such as the University of Ottawa, which maintains a selection of reproductions of early instruments. The following is a sampling of instruments which might be used. Note that most of the pictures are taken from Internet sources -- we will replace these with pictures of our own instruments when they have been photographed and scanned.

The Lute Renaissance lute
English: Lute Français: le luth Deutsch: die Laute
Originally the Arabic al 'ud (or oud), the lute came to Europe during the Middle Ages, probably via Spain. The earliest picture of the lute in Europe is this picture from the Cantigas of Alfonso X of Spain, in the 12th century.
It became the "queen of instruments" in the Renaissance, due to its refined sound and the complex contrapuntal music it could produce in the hands of a skilled player. It was an instrument of the well-to-do, however, because of the expense of the very fragile hand-twisted strings (in Paris it was said to be more expensive to keep a lute than a horse!) and an instrument of patient people, because of the endless tuning required by 14 or more gut strings. "You always hear the lutenists tuning, but you never hear them playing," groused a German commentator.
With modern advances in string technology, this is not as much of a problem now -- and the existence of the lute in the ensemble opens up huge areas of repertoire, and allows added flexibility in musical settings.
Here's a picture of some clown playing the lute.

The Recorders

Early recorders
English: Recorder Français: la flûte à bec Deutsch: die Blockflöte
The recorders pictured here are the same as those used by Ad Hoc. These differ from modern recorders in their larger bore, producing a big full sound with a somewhat more limited range.
Of interest is the "pepper pot" near the base of the tenor recorder (at right in the picture) -- it covers the key required to play the low C. At the time, keys were considered ugly, and were hidden under finely-worked covers of this type. This also protects delicate keywork.
Ad Hoc may use recorders of several different models in addition to these. Sizes on hand may range from the tiny sopranino to the large F bass recorder.

Crummhorns
English: Crummhorn Français: la cromorne Deutsch: das Krummhorn
The Crummhorn, or krummhorn, is a capped-reed instrument -- the player blows into a chamber in which the reed can vibrate freely, untouched by the player. It produces a pleasant reedy buzzing that is very effective in dance music. They are often played together in groups -- here's a picture of an old Belgian matched set. The "Crum" in the name means "crooked," or "curved," referring to the distinctive curved end of the instrument.*

*Crum still survives in English -- in 'crumpled,' or 'crumpet' ('curved cake').

Other Winds
Other winds may include bagpipes (small pipes, similar to peasant pipes of the time), dulzaine, whistles, transverse flute and so on.

Other Strings
On occasion, Ad Hoc may use Viol da Gamba, rebec, psaltery or cittern.

Percussion
We have a variety of tabors, tambourines, hoop drums (like bodhran) and other hand percussion.

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The Lute	English: Lute Français: le luth Deutsch: die Laute Originally the Arabic al 'ud (or oud), the lute came to Europe during the Middle Ages, probably via Spain. The earliest picture of the lute in Europe is this picture from the Cantigas of Alfonso X of Spain, in the 12th century. It became the "queen of instruments" in the Renaissance, due to its refined sound and the complex contrapuntal music it could produce in the hands of a skilled player. It was an instrument of the well-to-do, however, because of the expense of the very fragile hand-twisted strings (in Paris it was said to be more expensive to keep a lute than a horse!) and an instrument of patient people, because of the endless tuning required by 14 or more gut strings. "You always hear the lutenists tuning, but you never hear them playing," groused a German commentator. With modern advances in string technology, this is not as much of a problem now -- and the existence of the lute in the ensemble opens up huge areas of repertoire, and allows added flexibility in musical settings. Here's a picture of some clown playing the lute.
The Recorders	English: Recorder Français: la flûte à bec Deutsch: die Blockflöte The recorders pictured here are the same as those used by Ad Hoc. These differ from modern recorders in their larger bore, producing a big full sound with a somewhat more limited range. Of interest is the "pepper pot" near the base of the tenor recorder (at right in the picture) -- it covers the key required to play the low C. At the time, keys were considered ugly, and were hidden under finely-worked covers of this type. This also protects delicate keywork. Ad Hoc may use recorders of several different models in addition to these. Sizes on hand may range from the tiny sopranino to the large F bass recorder.
Crummhorns	English: Crummhorn Français: la cromorne Deutsch: das Krummhorn The Crummhorn, or krummhorn, is a capped-reed instrument -- the player blows into a chamber in which the reed can vibrate freely, untouched by the player. It produces a pleasant reedy buzzing that is very effective in dance music. They are often played together in groups -- here's a picture of an old Belgian matched set. The "Crum" in the name means "crooked," or "curved," referring to the distinctive curved end of the instrument.* *Crum still survives in English -- in 'crumpled,' or 'crumpet' ('curved cake').
Other Winds	Other winds may include bagpipes (small pipes, similar to peasant pipes of the time), dulzaine, whistles, transverse flute and so on.
Other Strings	On occasion, Ad Hoc may use Viol da Gamba, rebec, psaltery or cittern.
Percussion	We have a variety of tabors, tambourines, hoop drums (like bodhran) and other hand percussion.