As this threads demonstrates I have more than one time consuming hobby. Two days ago I spent much of my study time on the taxonomy of reptiles . The old system divided the living members of the old class Reptilia into the turatara, the turtles, crocodilians, lizards and snakes - and then there were the dinosaurs, pterodactyls and some other groups which all are extinct by now.An important consideration back then was the number of 'extra' holes in the cranium: anapsids had none, euryapsids had one opening high on the skull, synapsids had one at the side of the skull behind each eye orbit and diapsids had two holes. However now turtles are now seen as diapsids that have shut their holes and therefore the Anapsides now are totally cleansed of reptilians (unless you believe D.V.Icke, who claimed that the British royal family among others were reptilian shapeshifters). The Euryapsida have turned out not to be one group, but a hotch-potch of unrelated families.
Now the idea is that both the synapsids and the diapsids developed from holeless 'Amniotes' (i.e. primitive anapsids) by developing one resp. two holes, and the turtles have been reclassified as diapsides that lost their holes. So it's unclear why anybody would use the word 'Anapsids', and the Synapsids (our forebears!) now have been firmly excluded from the reptiles. It does however seem to bother some paleontologists that turtles and to some extant Crocodilians pee uric acid (like humans), whereas the remainder of the Diapsids apparently excrete ammonia based waste. So maybe the holy grail ain't been found yet..
Kunst108 (part) - peeing Synapsid and its family.jpg
But one top of that I also studied a Polish text about crumhorns, a intriguing family of double reed renaissance instruments shaped like J's. Unlike the oboes the reed was enclosed in a little box, which meant that the player couldn't influence the dynamics nor sound quality. This in combination with the limited compass (1½ octave) led to the demise of the instrument, but its distinct shrill sound has been lost in the process (and I sorely miss it). Those who might want to hear it in vivo can query for "crumhorn consort" on Youtube to satisfy their curiosity.
And this morning I studied another Polish text, this time about the
shawm, which also had a rather raucous sound. But there is something that puzzles me, namely that..
PO .. mianowicie, że krótki tekst zaczyna się tak:
Shawm, swany także shawł may, shawmey ...
W dalszej części tekstu znajdziemy jednak poprawne oznaczenie instrumentu w języku polskim,
Szałamaja. Szukałem w Google, ale ta kombinacja słów nie jest już dostępna w Internecie. To więc też nie jest nawet jeszcze artykuł Wikipediu, więc nie wiem, skąd go wziąłem – ale kiedy widzę takie rzeczy, zastanawiam się, czy to nieedytowane tłumaczenie maszynowe. Zastanawiam się nad zrobieniem strony z kilkoma polskimi objaśnieniami przestarzałych instrumentów, a jedno z nich będzie o lutni - był kiedyś światowej sławy lutnista Valentin Bakfark, który większość czasu przebywał w Polsce.
EN So there is actually an instrument called shawm in ENGLISH, but not in Polish - built with an encapsulated double reed like the crumhorn, but straight. In the English wikipedia there is an interesting information namely that "In many Asian countries, shawm technique includes circular breathing allowing continuous playing without pauses for air." So maybe it's the same reason that also led the instrument makers of the renaissance to encapsulate the double reeds of certain instruments in spite of the lack of control of the tone ? Bagpipes also provide an incessant stream of air to the pibes, but they collect the air in a bag and let it out from there. Church organs collect their air supply in a a windchest, but at least they can stop the flow before it reaches the pibes.
Yesterday I spent almost the whole day driving to my old home town to deposit the key to my old flat at the real estate agent's office, and now that I was up there I decided also to take the tour to the zoos and museums and churches of the neighbouring peninsula, and when I got home (slightly tired) I organized my photos and travelogue first, and then I read the article about mr. Lisi's model in the middle of the night - but more about that later. I have to look up a few things before I write my comment.
F5301a01 Antiquated woodwind (Music museum Copenhagen).jpg
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