CRUMHORN

also spelled Krummhorn (from Middle English crump: crooked), double-reed wind instrument that flourished between the 15th century and about 1650. It consists of a small boxwood pipe of cylindrical bore, curved upward at the lower end and pierced with finger holes like those of a recorder. Its reed is enclosed in a wooden cap with a blowing orifice in the top. The tone is reedy and nasal. Crumhorns were built in families, from great bass to sopranino, each instrument having a compass of a ninth. Their manufacture was resumed in the 20th century.