The Renaissance Rackett is a double reed wind instrument related to the bassoon.
There are several sizes of rackett, in a family ranging from soprano to great bass. Despite a relatively low tone, the rackett is actually quite small (the tenor rackett is only 4 1/2 inches in height, yet its lowest note is F, two octaves below middle C).
This is achieved through its ingenious construction. The body consists of a wooden chamber into which nine parallel cylinders are drilled. These are connected, alternately, at the top and bottom, resulting in a long wind passage contained in a very small body.
However, its unusual construction presents some problems for the player. Because of the unusual arrangement of the pipes, the fingering pattern is somewhat strange.
The baroque rackett (developed by the Nuremberg maker J. C. Denner, 1655-1707) had an entirely rationalized simpler fingering due in part to the addition of a number of tetines.
Tetines are tubular metal extensions covered by the middle joint of the index fingers as well as the pinkies during playing. It cannot be tuned by altering its length.
While some say that moisture buildup may become a problem, condensation usually remains in the coil of the removable brass crook, thus being fairly simple to expel during pauses.
Despite idiosyncrasies, the baroque rackett is a highly versatile instrument with a wide range of notes and tones.
With a good reed, the baroque rackett has a similar chromatic range as the baroque bassoon (BBb to g'), and thanks to its agility, it can tackle any bass-instrument repertoire from the time in which it was in vogue.
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