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Flutes & Piccolo

Made by Rudall-Carte & Co, London, of cocus wood, in the early years of the 20th century, with the Boehm fingering system. The British wooden flute, with its mellow blending and rounded tone was the preferred instrument of British orchestras until the pressure of fashion introduced the silver flute during the twenty five years from the late 1930s.

Oboes and Cor Anglais

The Oboes are by Lorée, Paris, c 1900 and Louis, London, c1923. The Cor Anglais is by Cabart, Paris, c 1906. The principal oboist of the Queen’s Hall Orchestra, of 1900 played a Cabart. These lightweight instruments are played without vibrato and use a thinner reed than their modern counterparts, giving a delicate, less dense sound than those of the present day.

Richard Simpson

with the oboe he uses in the NQHO

Clarinets

Three matching pairs of clarinets, in African blackwood, pitched in Bb and A. Hawkes/Martel instruments were favoured by England’s greatest players of the early 20th century, including Draper, Kell and Thurston, several of whose instruments are in today’s Orchestra. The Eb clarinet is a rare example, by Martel Frères of Paris for Hawkes and Son, London. The bass clarinet was made by Chapelain, Paris, for Rudall Carte & Co, London, 1905.

Bassoons

These instruments were made during the early years of the 20th century by Buffet-Crampon, Paris. This type of bassoon, with 20 keys, was developed during the late 19th century by Eugene Jancourt, a famous Paris player. The French bassoon retains many of the characteristics of its ancient predecessor. The nutty tone of the Buffet-Crampon is quite different from that of the German Heckel, in universal use since the 1950s.

Gareth Newman, Principal bassoon in the NQHO, comments about playing in the NQHO

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