The Shawm

The shawm is played with a double reed, and started life as an Arabic instrument. Instruments very much like the medieval shawm can still be heard in many countries today, most comfortably out of doors. It's sound would have been familiar to crusaders, who often had to face massed bands of saracen shawms - an effective psychological weapon.

The shawm became popular in Europe, not only used for military purposes but also for dancing and entertainment. The shawm pictured is made by John Hanchet.

The Symphonie

The word 'symphony' is a Greek word meaning 'sounding together', and is thought to be the medieval ancestor of the hurdy gurdy. It has a plainer box, produces a similar tone to the hurdy gurdy and it can be seen in illustrations from as early as the 13th century. However, no pictures show detail of what is inside the box. This instrument, made by Chris Allen is played by turning a rosined wheel smaller than the hurdy gurdy, and totally enclosed within the rectangular body of the instrument. The body also acts as the tangent box and houses the soundboard and strings making it an extremely compact instrument.

Wendy York studied music at University of Western Ontario, where she first became interested in medieval and renaissance music. Although piano and harpsichord were her main instruments of study, the mandolin, shawm and percussion have been an ongoing interest, and more recently, the symphonie. Wendy has conducted St Donat's Chamber Choir for over 10 years, and has continued to study a variety of subjects including music and french at Cardiff University, and recently awarded the MBA at the Open University.