The rackett, raggett, cervelas, or sausage bassoon is a double reed wind instrument from the Renaissance period. It was introduced toward the end of the 1500s and was already being replaced by bassoons by the end of the 1600s.

Description

There are four sizes of rackett in a family: descant (soprano), tenor-alto, bass, and great bass. Compared to their pitch, racketts are small. For example, the descant rackett is only 4½ inches long, yet it can play as low as the note G2. This is possible because of its unique design. The body is a solid wooden cylinder with nine parallel bores drilled into it. These bores connect alternately at the top and bottom, creating a long wind passage inside a compact body. This allows the instrument to be carried in a pocket while producing notes as low as a modern bassoon.

The rackett’s unusual design affects how it is played. Its fingering is similar to the first seven holes of the crumhorn and works well with recorders and krumhorns, but the hands are placed side by side. Additional holes are covered by the thumbs and the second joint of the index finger to extend the range a perfect fourth below the main scale, like the curtal. The descant rackett is considered to be in the key of C, but its range spans a perfect twelfth, from d' to G. According to Praetorius, the ranges for the other sizes are: tenor-alto from G to C; bass from C to FF; and great bass from A to DD or G to CC. The range can be extended upward because the Renaissance rackett overblows at the twelfth, like a clarinet. Praetorius wrote in Syntagma Musicum II: "if a rackett is well drilled and played by a skilled musician, it can produce a few more tones." Three surviving Renaissance racketts are displayed in two European collections: one in the Musikinstrumenten Museum in Leipzig and two in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

Renaissance racketts surround the reed with an openwork cylindrical pirouette; Baroque versions have a closed pirouette with a bocal. The Baroque rackett, developed by the Nuremberg maker Johann Christoph Denner, combined a folded bore with a conical (or pseudo-conical) bore shape. Essentially, it is a bassoon in rackett form. It has ten parallel cylindrical bores with increasing diameters to create a true conical shape, allowing overblowing at the octave. Additional tubes called tetines are attached, covered by the middle joint of the index fingers and the pinkies. Condensation often collects in the removable brass crook, making it easy to remove during pauses. Despite its unique features, the Baroque rackett is versatile, with a wide range of notes and dynamics. With the right reed, it can play a chromatic range similar to the Baroque bassoon (from g' to BB♭) and perform most bass-instrument music from its time. Surviving Baroque racketts are housed in the Musikinstrumenten-Museum Berlin, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich.

Origin

The person who invented the rackett is not known. The earliest written records mention the instrument in German lists from Wurttemberg in 1576 (called a "Raggett") and in Graz in 1590 (called a "Rogetten"). Early paintings of the Munich Court band and a carved cabinet made by Christof Angermair show a rackett being played with other instruments in a group. Before the late 1600s, the rackett had a cylindrical shape inside and a reed surrounded by a pirouette. The baroque rackett later had a shape that expanded like a cone and was played through a coiled crook inserted at the top. A separate bell-shaped piece was added to increase the instrument's length for better sound.

Sound

Praetorius wrote: "In sound, Renaissance racketts are quite soft, almost like blowing through a comb. They do not stand out when played together in a group. However, when used with violas da gamba, or when a single rackett is played with other wind or stringed instruments, a harpsichord, or similar instruments by a skilled musician, it becomes a beautiful instrument. It is especially pleasing to hear when used for bass parts."

The rackett has a versatile tone with a wide range of volume and sound qualities. Its sound is described as warm, rich, and full of vibration. The timbre has been compared to a mix of a bassoon and a kazoo.

The baroque rackett, sometimes called a "pocket bassoon" or "sausage bassoon," sounds similar to a dulcian or baroque bassoon. It blends well with instruments such as violas da gamba, cornetti, historical keyboards, baroque recorders, and small baroque orchestras.