Recreating historical mouthpieces
There are several instances of cornetts preserved in museums with mouthpieces still mounted on them. They often represent designs that are rather different from what fits with our modern practice and aesthetic of cornett sound.
Here I would like to present models of historical mouthpieces that I'm recreating as precisely as possible, based on available measurements. We can't be sure about their originality and whether they are replicas made in later centuries. Nevertheless, they present an interesting experience and venture into the (possible) past of cornett playing. They differ widely in all design parameters. Stems of my reproduced mouthpieces are accommodated to fit tapered inlets used on modern cornetts. I also try to replicate the exterior design of the originals, but this part is made entirely by hand thus results may vary slightly. To reproduce ivory mouthpieces, a synthetic equivalent with the brand name elforyn is being used.
Paulus
The mouthpiece of three-part straight cornett from a private collection in Basel
C. F. Paulus, Neukirchen (18th or 19th century)
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The original mouthpiece is preserved with the original three-part straight cornett made by C. F. Paulus from Neukirchen in 18th or 19th century.
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The mouthpiece was originally made of ivory. It is very familiar to common types of mouthpieces used nowadays. The main difference lies in the sharp transition from cup to throat. Backbore starts with a short cylindrical passage and transitions to the backbore.
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The rim of the mouthpiece feels a little on the thicker side. The timbre is similar to modern mouthpieces with a touch of mid-range partials and subtle contour of the high spectrum provided by the sharp transition to the stem. It has a very slight tendency to hiss.
Lübeck
1893/59, St. Annen-Museum, Lübeck
1740 [Germany]
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The cornett on which the mouthpiece is mounted has a date 1742 marked on it and it is estimated it originates in Germany. The assumed pitch of the original treble cornett is a=460hz
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The mouthpiece was originally made of a horn. The shape of the cup is diagonal with a very slight concave curve. The transition to throat is sharp. For the most part it’s cylindrical and then it opens to a backbore. The original contains remains of step drilling, which is corrected on reproduced mouthpieces of this model.
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The strong and full timbre, good response, and wide dynamic range make this mouthpiece very favorable for most of the players. The 3mm thick rim makes it also pretty comfortable to play.
SAM 230
The mouthpiece mounted on SAM 230 treble mezzo punto cornett in G
Sammlung alter Musikinstrumente – Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Bassano (16th or 17th century)
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It is debated by Friend Robert Overton whether this mouthpiece is truly an original Bassano design. However, it has a perfect length for the original cornett and works with it well. It is mounted on the mezzo punto treble cornett with a slender bore design made by famous Bassano family.
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The mouthpiece was originally made of horn. it has shallow cup and sharp transition to the throat, which is cylindrival with a very slight backbore at the end.
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The shallow cup in combination with the sharp transition to the throat brings up hi-end partials. This produces a very bright and crispy timbre, which comes with an airy swirling hiss.
Paris
The mouthpiece mounted on 979.2.18 cornettino in D from Musée de la Musique, Paris
[17th century Italy]
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The original mouthpiece is preserved with the original cornettino in D.
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The mouthpiece was originally made of ivory. It has a very sharp rim, thin walls and wide concave cup. The transition to the throat is almost at the right angle. It completly lacks backbore.
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The thin rim makes this mouthpiece hard on lips, but it produces a decent sound.
Münich
The mouthpiece mounted on ivory treble mezzo punto cornett in G
82 - 1, Muncher Stadtmuseum, Münich
[approx. 1600]
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Both the mouthpiece and the original ivory cornett on which its found, have a similar design to the SAM 230 from Vienna. The cornett was described as an instrument of very good quality. This may be tempting to assume, the instrument and mouthpiece may come from the Bassano workshop. However, the provenience remains unknown.
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The mouthpiece was originally made of ivory as the cornett on which it’s mounted. Its design is pretty similar to SAM 230 mouthpiece but with a very shallow cup, narrow rim, and longer stem.
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The rim of the mouthpiece is sharp and the shallowness of the cup makes playing challenging for some players. The timbre contains a wide spectrum of partials in the same intensity, which contributes to a very strong and buzzy, almost shawm like tone.