Copy of a tenor cornett.
The cornett has tone holes like a woodwind instrument, but its mouthpiece is cupped, and the sound is produced by vibrating the lips as with a brass instrument. It was popular in the 16th and 17th centuries as a virtuoso instrument and enjoyed a substantial revival in the early 20th century as part of the renewed interest in early and renaissance music. This example is a reproduction, dating from the early years of that revival. It was made for Canon Francis Galpin, who was an important musical instrument collector. The Galpin Society for the scholarly study of musical instruments was named in his honour. It was Galpin who suggested that the double 't' be used in the spelling of the instrument's name, so as to distinguish it from the valved instrument used in brass bands.
