The soprano sarrusophone is a high-pitched

sarrusophone The sarrusophones are a family of metal double reed conical bore woodwind instruments patented and first manufactured by Pierre-Louis Gautrot in 1856. Gautrot named the sarrusophone after French bandmaster Pierre-Auguste Sarrus (1813–1876), ...

, a family of keyed metal double reed instruments with a

conical bore In music, the bore of a wind instrument (including woodwind and brass) is its interior chamber. This defines a flow path through which air travels, which is set into vibration to produce sounds. The shape of the bore has a strong influence on t ...

. It is pitched in B♭ and its range is approximately the same as that of the soprano saxophone. The

timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musica ...

is similar to that of the

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

, although louder and less refined, more like a

shawm The shawm () is a conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissance periods, after which it was gradually eclipsed by th ...

. Although used in wind bands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is today extremely rare, as few original specimens survive. New instruments can still be purchased on a special order basis from instrument manufacturer

Orsi Orsi is an italian surname, and may refer to: Last name * Adolfo Orsi (1888–1972), Italian industrialist, owner of Maserati * Anaïs Orsi, climate scientist * Benedetto Orsi (died 1680), Italian painter * Carlo Orsi (fl. 1884–1894), Italian ...

of Milan, Italy.

References

Sarrusophones Single oboes with conical bore {{DoubleReed-instrument-stub