The New International Encyclopædia/Krumhorn

KRUMHORN, krụm'hôrn (Ger., crook-horn). The name of a very old wind instrument made of wood, the under part of which is bent outward in a circular arc. It was extensively used during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and retained its popularity in France till about 1730. A complete set of krumhorns consisted of five instruments: sopranos in C and G, alto in D, tenor in G, and bass in D. Krumhorn is also the name of an organ-stop, formerly much used, especially in small organs. The pipes are made of tin, the body or sounding part being cylindrical, and partly shut at the upper end. The Italian name of cormorne has been corrupted by English organ-builders into cremona, which is the same stop in English organs. The sound of the krumhorn as an organ-stop is soft and quiet, but it is defective in not keeping in tune so well as other reed stops.