the Pipe and Tabor compendium

the Pipe and Tabor compendium

essays on the three-hole pipe
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World: in bands 1

crowds, duos and processions

gallery contents

Crowd of musicians:
The earliest images show musicians playing a wide range of instruments, wind and string, with some percussion.

Byzantine redrawnByzantine [redrawn] horn and tabor 11701170 triple pipes with string instruments England [folio 21v]

13th century13th century France

12401240 pipe and bell, Paris, France after 1246 Franceafter 1246 Arras, France
14th century14th century France

1325 a crowd1325 East Anglia, England © Bodleian Libraries
14351435 with string instruments, Flanders, Belgium
14401440 Great Malvern
Worcestershire, England		 15th century15th century manuscript France

1450-1475 England1450-1475 England fol. 031v

ItalyItaly double pipes, Melpomene
 Italy playerItaly player
15341534 Saranno, Italy Saranno1534 Saranno Italy
 

Duos:
Duos are included here as, the pipe and tabor being two instruments, the addition of one other instrument makes it a band.

with hurdy gurdy:

two instruments1500 dance of death

unknownunknown 1852 copy, page 351 Fig 25b  
17th century17th century Holland early 17th century 17th century Russia
17th century
 17th century
17th century child with hurdy gurdy playing adult, Italy
16251625 with child, Paris, France
1647-16751647-1675 France
'Music to bring the Devil to earth 5'
1675-17021675-1702 Netherlands
18th century18th century Portugal
18th century France18th century strolling minstrels, France
c.1770c.1770 Plymouth pottery porcelain figures 18th century18th century Italy early 20th centuryearly 20th century biscuit advert France
20212021 Gloucester
England
with bagpipes:

14th century England14th century England fol. 140r

 1300-13101300-1310 Cambrai, Hauts-de-France
1470 1470 Cheshire, England
17th century17th century Germany or Switzerland
 
with other instruments:

13171317 double pipe
[more double pipe images here]

late 15th centurylate 15th century Burgundy, France 15151515 with bladder pipe Germany  
15201520 Holland 1537 Greece1537 Greece

In medieval France:

Two pipe and tabor players and a rebec player were specifically hired to accompany dances, identified as the “bergeres, bergidios, and morisque,” and one of the pipe and tabor players was paid extra to rehearse with the dancers of the moresque for the banquet. 

The Musical Sounds of Medieval French Cities

 1545 Germany1545 Nurenberg, Germany 1568 Germany1568 Frankfurt am Maine, Germany
18th century figure18th century Bow ceramic figures, England
18th century Bow cermic figures18th century Bow ceramic figures, England
[more ceramic figures here]
 

1820 Dance of Death, Basle19th century Dance of Death, Basle
Switzerland [more images here]

19081908 with accordian
Basque country

20132013 Catalonia, Spain
[more string drum images here]

IbizaIbiza, Spain, with sword leading
procession out of church
with harp:
10th century Scotland10th century triple pipe, Scotland 13001300 double pipe and harp England
1490 Belgium1490 Belgium
unknown
 
1813 newspaper cutting a1813 newspaper cutting bnewspaper: Hull Packet - Tuesday 06 July 1813 England
1540 Netherlands1540 south Netherlands
 
with fiddle/viol
15th century1468 entertainment at a meal
 15th century Italy15th century Abruzzo, Italy medievalmedieval
15th century15th century playing for dancing 15071507 angel musicians, Cori, Lazio  
1515 Germany1515 playing for dance display Germany 16th century Switzerlandfirst half of 16th century Switzerland 16th centuryclose-up
16th century16th century unknown
16th century16th century France
16th century16th century Boi Valley, Catalonia, Spain
17th century17th century unknown 17711771 England [more 18th century images here]
18th century France18th century public paying dance France late 18th century dancelate 18th century for dance, France 18th century France18th century France for a wedding
for dancing1792 textile celebrating the fall of the Bastille, Paris, France
'La Fete de la Federation'		 playernot known England
CataloniaCatalonia, Spain 17941794 ‘The Dancing  Master’s Ball’  
1808 newspaper report: 1808 newspaper report1808: newspaper report on a fete at Old Windsor attended by Royalty, England
1809 poem 1809Chester Courant - Tuesday 12 December 1809

1812: picnic as described in ' The Vicar of Wakefield' by Oliver Goldsmith, England

"Our music consisted of two fiddles, with a pipe and tabor. .... The ladies of the town .. swam, sprawled,
languished, and frisked.... after the dance had continued about an hour, the two ladies, who were apprehensive
of catching cold, moved to break up the ball."
1813 A Grand Ball at Mount Shannon
1813Limerick Advertiser, Ireland
1817 The Dance 1817 The Dance1817 band for dancing, England, illustrating a story
1821 England1821Morning Post - Tuesday 09 January 1821
1826 Election song for Liddell in Northumberland:

“Liddell for ever
Strike up in full concert
pipe, tabor and fiddle;
Northumbrian freeholders
rejoice one and all...”

Newcastle Courant - Friday 20 May 188
1847 painting1847 ' The Village Merry-Making
A Hundred Years Ago'
1850 newspaper report1850 Durham, England
1852 poem England 1852 England
1863 to celebrate a Royal Wedding in England: 1863Birmingham Daily Gazette - Monday 16 March 1863
1883 Letter to the Editor of an Irish newspaper: 1883Belfast News-Letter - Thursday 04 October 1883 1926 England1926 England
18901890 Basque country, France
[more Basque country images here]
20th century20th century Bearn, France
19th century19th century Basque country  
Franceearly 20th century France
early 20th century France
 2015 France2015 Toulouse, France
 
Loud and soft medieval bands
In medieval Europe bands were divided into soft (bas) and loud (haut) bands from the 13th century onwards.
The pipe and tabor fitted into both categories:
Loud:
1047 Spain1047 Leon, Spain 1250 Italy1250 - 1275 Naples, Italy
1473 Italy1473 Italy 15th century France
15th century1496 France
Soft:
medieval11th century double pipes 1480 France1480 France f11v

14901490 angels, double pipe
15th century Spain15th century Spain
  
1510 Belgium1510 Bruges, Belgium 16th century16th century France
1519 Germany 1519 loud and soft choirs, Germany
16th century Italy16th century Italy
16th century Rome16th century Rome, Italy 15701570 Brussels, Belgium 16461646 soft band Belgium
Portugal1515 Lisbon, Portugal Portugalc. 1515 Lisbon, Portugal: Assumption of the Virgin, painting, altarpiece in Convento da Madre de Deus  
1816 Italy1816 Italy  
 
procession:
1545 Procession of putti1545 - 1565 triumphal procession of Bacchus, Italy
1545 Italy procession1545 - 1565 triumphal procession
of Bacchus, Italy
1596 Germany1596 Germany celebration of christening
1702 Germany1702 procession Nuremberg, Germany
 playertaborer
[at the back of procession]		 17661766 wedding procession, Richmond, England
1821 Harvest Home procession, England 18411841 Great Dunmow procession England  
2010 religious procession2010 religious procession, Baztan Valley, Navarre, Spain
 

Sometimes a pipe and tabor appears to be part of a band in an image at first glance but it just has been
drawn or painted nearby.

1470 Italy1470 Italy

1589 Flemish1589 Belgium
18th century ballet18th century France [more images of Camargo dancing here]

 

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©an on-going project with lots more to add Last modified 14 July, 2025