Musical instrument the violin, viola, baryton, and various lutes dominated popular music. Beginning in around 1750, however, the lute disappeared from musical compositions in favor of the rising popularity of the guitar. As the prevalence of string orchestras rose, wind instruments such as the flute, oboe, and bassoon were readmitted to counteract the monotony of hearing only strings. In the mid-seventeenth century, what was known as a hunter's horn underwent transformation into an "art instrument" consisting of a lengthened tube, a narrower bore, a wider bell, and much wider range. The details of this transformation are unclear, but the modern horn or,
Geophone (musical instrument) performance in New York City). Messiaen's wife, Yvonne Loriod, commented that when she and the composer first collected the new instrument from the maker in her car it made a "splendid crescendo" whenever they went round a corner. Messiaen also included the instrument in his only opera, "Saint François d'Assise", which was first performed in Paris 1983. Other works that use the geophone include "Asyla" by Thomas Adès, "…towards a Pure Land" by Jonathan Harvey, and the operas "The Sacrifice" by James MacMillan and "Dark Sisters" by Nico Muhly. Geophone (musical instrument) The geophone is a percussion instrument, invented by