What Do You Get When You Cross …

… a trumpet with a violin?

Well, you get a trumpet violin, of course!

The bell is a trumpet bell fitted to a violin neck with a small resonator cone. Instruments like this were used in classical acoustical recordings early in the 20th century. The on pictured is handmade in Rumania. The thing sounds like a cross between a bad recording of a violin, an oboe, and a highland reedpipe. You can listen for yourself.

Instrumentatia is a new, semi-regular feature here at Blather de la Semaine. The inspiration comes from an interesting musical instrument catalog I get from a company called Lark in the Morning. The catalog makes great bathroom reading, and you get to stumble across some really bizarre musical instruments from around the world. Very cool stuff, which we’ll bring to you, a little at a time.