His Majesties Sagbutts and Cornetts

His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts (Wind Instruments Ensenmble) Founded: 1982 - England The original incarnation of His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts was founded in 1516, and for almost three centuries was the jewel in the crown of the English royal musical establishment. The noble sound of cornetts and sackbuts was among the most versatile instrumental colours available to composers of the 16th and 17th centuries. It was heard in many musical contexts: in consort or in alternation with voices in the extravagant liturgy of the great Italian and Spanish churches - above all the Basilica of St Mark's in Venice; in aristocratic entertainments such as the intermedii of northern Italy or the masques of Jacobean England; and in the ceremonial and devotional music for the courts and free cities of Lutheran Germany.