Editing Shawm

{{short description|Double-reed woodwind instrument}}
{{Infobox instrument
|name=Shawm
|names=
|image=Salmaj.jpg
|classification=[[Double reed]]
|range=
|related=
*[[Sorna]]
*[[Rhaita]]
*[[Aulos]]
*[[Suona]]
*[[Sopila]]
*[[Zurna]] }}
[[File:Herderstafereel met een schalmeispeler Rijksmuseum SK-A-1494.jpeg|thumb|Shepherd playing the shawm (1646), by [[Jan Baptist Wolfaerts|Jan Baptist Wolffort]] (Dutch [[Rijksmuseum]])]]

The '''shawm''' ({{IPAc-en|ʃ|ɔː|m}}) is a [[Bore (wind instruments)#Conical bore|conical bore]], [[double-reed]] [[woodwind instrument]] made in [[Europe]] from the 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and [[Renaissance]] periods, after which it was gradually eclipsed by the [[oboe]] family of descendant instruments in [[classical music]]. It is likely to have come to [[Western Europe]] from the [[Eastern Mediterranean]] around the time of the [[Crusades]].<ref name="auto">[http://www.diabolus.org/guide/shawm.htm The Shawm and Curtal]—from the Diabolus in Musica Guide to Early Instruments</ref> Double-reed instruments similar to the shawm were long present in Southern Europe and the East, for instance the [[Ancient Greek music|ancient Greek]], and later [[Byzantine Empire#Music|Byzantine]] [[aulos]],<ref name="West">{{cite book |last=West |first=Martin L. |title=Ancient Greek Music |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=So-Qpz6WDS4C&pg=PA84 |quote="The single reed or clarinet mouthpiece was known to other ancient peoples, and I should not venture to assert that it was not known to the Greeks. But the evidence of both art and literature indicates that it was the double reed that was standard in the Classical period. Under the Hornbostel-Sachs system, therefore, the [[aulos]] should be classified as an oboe. It must be admitted that 'oboe-girl' is less evocative than the 'flute-girl' to which classicists have been accustomed, and that when it is a question of translating Greek poetry 'oboe' is likely to sound odd. For the latter case I favor 'pipe' or 'shawm.'" |publisher=[[Clarendon Press]] |date=January 1992 |page=84 |isbn=0-19-814975-1}}</ref><ref name="Rautman">{{cite book |last=Rautman |first=Marcus |title=Daily Life in the Byzantine Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hs3iEyVRHKsC&pg=PA276 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |date=2006 |page=276 |isbn=9780313324376}}</ref> the closely related [[sorna]] and [[zurna]],<ref name="auto1">Anthony C. Baines and Martin Kirnbauer, "Shawm [scalmuse, shalm, shalmie, schalmuse]", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by [[Stanley Sadie]] and [[John Tyrrell (professor of music)|John Tyrrell]] (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001).</ref> and the Armenian [[duduk]].

The body of the shawm is usually turned from a single piece of wood, and terminates in a flared bell somewhat like that of a [[trumpet]]. Beginning in the 16th century, shawms were made in several sizes, from [[Recorder (musical instrument)|sopranino]] to [[great bass]], and four- and five-part music could be played by a consort consisting entirely of shawms. All later shawms (excepting the smallest) have at least one key allowing a downward extension of the compass; the keywork is typically covered by a perforated wooden cover called the ''fontanelle''.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}<!--Even 19th and 20th-century shawms have fontanelles? This needs a source.--> The [[bassoon]]-like double reed, made from the same ''[[arundo donax]]'' cane used for oboes and bassoons, is inserted directly into a socket at the top of the instrument, or in the larger types, on the end of a metal tube called the [[bocal]]. The ''[[Pirouette (mouthpiece)|pirouette]]'', a small wooden attachment with a cavity in the center resembling a thimble, surrounds the lower part of the reed—this provides support for the lips and [[embouchure]].<ref>Jeremy Montagu, "Shawm [shalme, hautboy, hoboy, wait-pipe]", ''The Oxford Companion to Music'', edited by [[Alison Latham]] (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).</ref>

Since only a short portion of the reed protrudes past the pirouette, the player has only limited contact with the reed, and therefore limited control of dynamics. The shawm's [[conical bore]] and flaring bell, combined with the style of playing dictated by the use of a pirouette, gives the instrument a piercing, trumpet-like sound, well-suited for outdoor performances.

==Etymology==
[[File:Domenico Corrado alla pipita.ogv|thumb|Pipita and Zampogna in Calabria (Italy)]]
In [[English language|English]] the name first appears in the 14th century. There were originally three main variant forms, (1) {{lang|enm|schallemele}} ({{lang|enm|shamulle}} or {{lang|enm|shamble}}), (2) {{lang|enm|s(c)halmys}} ({{lang|enm|shalemeyes}} or {{lang|enm|chalemyes}}, all plural forms in [[Middle English]]), and (3) {{lang|enm|sc(h)almuse}} (or {{lang|enm|schalmesse}}), each derived from a corresponding variant in [[Old French]]: {{lang|fro|chalemel}}, {{lang|fro|chalemie}}, and {{lang|fro|chalemeaux}} (the plural of {{lang|fro|chalemel}}), each in turn derived from the Latin {{lang|la|calamus}} ('reed'), or its [[Vulgar Latin]] diminutive form, {{lang|la|calamellus}}. Calamus, in turn, derives from Ancient Greek [[wikt:κάλαμος|κάλαμος]] (kálamos), "reed, cane".

(The name of a somewhat different reed instrument, the [[chalumeau]], also shares this etymology.) The early plural forms were often mistaken for a singular, and new plurals were formed from them. The later reduction in the 15th and 16th centuries to a single syllable in forms such as ''schalme'', ''shaume'', ''shawme'', and finally (in the 16th century) ''shawm'', was probably due to this confusion of plural and singular forms.<ref>{{OED|Shawm}}.</ref>

[[File:Barocke-Schalmei.png|thumb|Shawms (from ''[[Syntagma Musicum]]'' by Michael Praetorius)]]
In [[German language|German]] the shawm is called {{lang|de|Schalmei}} (or for the larger members of the family {{lang|de|Bombard}}—also in English in the 14th century—later corrupted to {{lang|de|Bombhardt}} and finally in the 17th century to ''[[Pommer]]'')<ref>Sibyl Marcuse, ''Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Dictionary'', corrected edition (The Norton Library N758) (New York: W. W. Norton, 1975): 58</ref> This is borne out by the very similar names of many folk shawms used as traditional instruments in various [[Europe]]an nations: in Spain, many traditional shawms with different names can be found, such as the Castilian, Aragonese, and Leonese ''[[dulzaina]]'' (sometimes called ''[[chirimía]]'', a term that derives from the same Old French word as ''shawm''); the Valencian and [[Catalan shawm]]s ({{lang|ca|xirimia}}, {{lang|ca|dolçaina}}, or ''[[gralla (instrument)|gralla]]'') or the Navarrese ''[[Gaita navarra|gaita]]''. In [[Portugal]] there is an instrument called {{lang|pt|charamela}}; and the name of the [[Italy|Italian]] shawm is {{lang|it|ciaramella}} (or: {{lang|it|cialamello}}, {{lang|it|cennamella}}).<ref>''Dizionario enciclopedico universale della musica e dei musicisti'', edited by Alberto Basso, (12+2 volumes), Il lessico—vol. I, Torino, UTET, 1983, p. 550.</ref>

However, it is also possible that the name comes from the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] {{Transliteration|ar|salamiya}} ({{script|Arabic|سلامية}}), a traditional oboe from [[Egypt]], as the European shawm seems to have been developed from similar instruments brought to Europe from the Near East during the time of the [[Crusades]]. This Arabic name is itself linguistically related to many other Eastern names for the instrument: the Arabic {{Transliteration|ar|zamr}} ([[wikt:زمر|زمر]]), the Turkish ''[[Zurna|zūrnā]]'', the Persian ''[[Sorna|surnāy]]'', the Chinese ''[[suona]]'', the Javanese {{lang|jv|saruni}}, and the Hindu {{Transliteration|hi|sahanai}} or ''[[sanayi]]''.<ref name="auto1"/>

==Use==
[[File:Woman playing bass Shawn, Tobias Stimmer.jpg|thumb|Woman playing a bass shawm ([[Tobias Stimmer]] {{circa|1500}})]]

By the early 16th century the brash tonality of the medieval shawm had been modulated by a narrowing of the bore and a reduction in the size of the fingerholes. This also extended the range, enabling the performer to play the notes in the second [[octave]]. Larger sizes of shawm were built, down to the great bass in B{{music|flat}}, two octaves and a major third below the soprano in D. However, the larger sizes were unwieldy, which made them somewhat rare.

The smaller sizes of shawm, chiefly the soprano, alto and sometimes the tenor, were more often coupled with the [[Renaissance]] trombone, or [[sackbut]], and the majestic sound of this ensemble was much in demand by civic authorities. The shawm became standard equipment for [[alta capella|town bands]], or [[wait (musician)|waits]], who were required to herald the start of municipal functions and signal the major times of day. The shawm became so closely associated with the town waits ({{lang|de|die Stadtpfeifer}} in German and {{lang|it|I pifferi}} in Italian) that it was also known as the wait-pipe.

[[File:Musicians from 'Procession in honour of Our Lady of Sablon in Brussels'.jpg|thumb|250px|left|1615, Brussels. Procession of musicians, three with shawms.]]

Before the discovery of a still shawm aboard the shipwreck of the ''[[Mary Rose]]'', instrument historians had been puzzled by references to "still shawms", or "soft" shawms, that were said to have a sound that was less shrill than earlier shawms.<ref>Jermy Montagu "Music on Board the ''Mary Rose''", in Gardiner (2005), pp. 226–30</ref> The still shawm disappeared from the musical scene in the 16th century; the instrument found on the ''Mary Rose'' is the only surviving example. A reproduction has been made and played. Combined with a pipe and [[Tabor (instrument)|tabor]], it provides a "very effective bass part" that would have produced "rich and full sound, which would have provided excellent music for dancing on board ship".<ref>Charles Foster "Wind Instruments", in Gardiner (2005), pp. 240–241.</ref>

The shawm was reserved almost exclusively for outdoor performance—for softer, indoor music, other instruments such as the [[crumhorn]] and [[cornamuse]] were preferred. These were double reed instruments fitted with a capsule that completely enclosed the reed, which softened the sound but still did not allow for any variation in dynamics.

Known by the Spanish term ''[[chirimia]]'', the shawm remains an important ritual instrument among [[Maya people]]s of Highland [[Guatemala]]. Accompanied by a drum, the chirimia is frequently used in processions and in certain ritual dances, such as the Dance of the Conquest (Baile de la Conquista), and this is still played today.

==Progeny of the shawm==
A tenor shawm in C with a single key [without the customary lower extension to G], with a range of a perfect twelfth, was described as a ''nicolo'' according to [[Michael Praetorius]] in his ''[[Syntagma Musicum]]'' II (1619), pages 23 and 36, but was not illustrated. Praetorius does, however, illustrate in Plate 13 in the supplementary volume of illustrations, the {{lang|la|Theatrum instrumentorum}} (1620), along with crumhorns, a ''bassett:nicolo'' which has the outward appearance of a capped shawm with four keys, but in fact conceals a mostly cylindrical bore. (The range of the bassett: nicolo descended to the A below great C and was just over four feet in length; a shawm of this range, i.e., with a conical bore, would require more than 9 feet of bore length.){{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

===Oboe===
The shawm inspired the later 17th-century [[Baroque oboe|''hautbois'']], an invention of the [[France|French]] musician [[Martin Hotteterre]] (d. 1712). He is credited with devising essentially a brand-new instrument, one which borrowed several features from the shawm, chiefly its double reed and conical bore, but departed from it significantly in other respects, the most important departure being the fact the player places his lips directly on the reed with no intervening pirouette. Around 1670, the new French {{lang|fr|hautbois}} began replacing the shawm in military bands, concert music and opera; by 1700, the shawm had all but disappeared from concert life, although as late as 1830 shawms could still be heard in German town bands performing their municipal functions.{{sfn|Baines|1991}} Curiously, the Germans and [[Dutch people|Dutch]] continued to manufacture an ornate version of the shawm, called {{lang|de|deutsche Schalmey}}, well after the introduction of the French {{lang|fr|hautbois}}. Several examples of this instrument survive in European collections, although its exact musical use is unclear.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

===Dulcian/bassoon===
The 16th-century proclivity for building instruments in a full range of sizes was naturally extended to the shawm, but the extreme length of pipe of the bass instruments meant that few were built and played, due to their cumbersome size.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} A solution was devised whereby the bore was in effect "folded back" upon itself, creating a much more manageable instrument. The new instrument is often referred to as the [[dulcian]], and was called ''curtal'' in England,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jeffery |first=Kite-Powell |author-link=Jeffery T. Kite-Powell |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/707212741 |title=A performer's guide to seventeenth-century music |date=2012 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-35706-9 |editor-last=Carter |editor-first=Stewart |series=Publications of the Early Music Institute |location=Bloomington |oclc=707212741 |editor-last2=Kite-Powell |editor-first2=Jeffery T.}}</ref> {{lang|de|fagott}} or {{lang|it|fagotto}} in Germany and Italy, and {{lang|es|bajón}} in Spain.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} The dulcian, like the first oboes, employed direct lip-to-reed contact, which allowed for much greater control over the sound than was offered by shawms. This led to the dulcian becoming very popular, serving as a bass both to the other shawms and even to indoor ensembles that did not feature shawms, afforded by its ability to play quietly. The dulcian was the forerunner to the [[bassoon]], which like the oboe was a Baroque invention.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

===Charumera===
The {{nihongo|''charumera''|チャルメラ|}}, or {{nihongo|''charumeru''|チャルメル|}}, is a double-reed instrument in traditional [[Japanese music]] descended either from shawms brought to Japan by Portuguese [[Christian missionaries]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burgess |first1=Geoffrey |last2=Haynes |first2=Bruce |title=The Oboe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wQfnx89NXDUC&q=Charumera&pg=RA1-PA23 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |location=New Haven, CT |year=2004 |isbn=0-300-09317-9}}</ref> or possibly Iberian traders in the 16th century.<ref>Sibyl Marcuse, ''Musical Instruments: A yo Dictionary'', corrected edition (The Norton Library N758) (New York: W. W. Norton, 1975): 90</ref> It is sometimes used in [[kabuki]] theatre performances. It is also strongly associated in popular culture with street vendors of [[ramen]], who played a distinctive melody on it to attract customers.

==Modern performances==
* Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance—[[David Munrow]] and The Early Music Consort of London
* City of Lincoln Waites<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lincolnwaites.com/index2.shtml|title=Lincoln Waites - Home|date=April 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414191738/http://www.lincolnwaites.com/index2.shtml|archive-date=2009-04-14}}</ref> ''(The Mayor of Lincoln's own Band of Musick)''
* Many recordings by [[Blackmore's Night]], and [[Piffaro, The Renaissance Band]] feature shawms

==See also==
* [[Bombard (music)|Bombard]], a shawm of [[Brittany]]
* [[Gyaling]], a [[Tibet]]an shawm-type instrument
* [[Hirtenschalmei]] or "shepherd's shawm"
* [[Hornpipe (musical instrument)|Hornpipe]], a similar instrument with [[bagpipe]] fingering
* [[Piffero]], a similar instrument from Italy which is still used in [[Italian folk music]]
* [[Taepyeongso]], a shawm-type instrument used in folk music in [[Korea]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Baines, Anthony. 1967. ''Woodwind Instruments and Their History'', third edition, reprinted with corrections 1977, with a foreword by Sir Adrian Boult. London: Faber & Faber {{ISBN|0-571-08603-9}}. Unaltered reprinted, New York: [[Dover Publications]], 1991.
*{{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Baines|1991}}|reference=Baines. 1991.{{Full citation needed|date=September 2019}}.}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.instagram.com/p/BLJpX-zjwrW/ Video of a band in Germany in Lubeck 2017 playing "shawms"]; the Germans call this instrument a "Schalmei".
* [http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/renshawm.htm The Renaissance Shawm] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525065002/http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/renshawm.htm |date=2016-05-25 }})
* [http://www.collalembolic.com/ Dolçaina valenciana]
* [https://www.sackpfeyffer-zu-linden.de/shawm.html Shawm]
* [http://www.dulcians.org/ The Dulcian]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Shawm}}

{{Double reed}}
{{Renaissance music}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Double-reed instruments]]
[[Category:Early musical instruments]]
[[Category:Single oboes with conical bore]]
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