Less shrill?? :-}
The bombard is probably the loudest instrument in relation to its size; apparently they were originally conceived as a method for one stilt-walking shepherd to send messages to another in the misty marshes of somewhere in central France - "Oi, Henri, your ewes are over ici", transmitted in a series of parps and hoots, and Henri wound reply "OK, mon ami", parp-pip-parp. Something like that anyway, I'm sure there are more scholarly answers, theories and speculations. Whoever first thought of using them as musical instruments has probably been cursed by many neighbours of folk musicians and owners of intimate venues!

Jo