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Anvil.
Labels an anvil part (Incudine; plural Incudini) on a single line, or with approximate pitches when several sizes are wanted. Each note is a single metallic strike, and the rhythm is notated exactly.
Also spelled: Incudini
A steel bar or real anvil struck with a hammer gives a hard, clanging, partly pitched ring that cuts through any texture. Verdi’s Anvil Chorus in Il trovatore and the eighteen anvils of Wagner’s descent to Nibelheim in Das Rheingold are the classic uses, both depicting the forge. Orchestras often substitute steel bars or brake drums, so describe the sound you want.
Incudine is one of 1755 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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