-
{The Brussels Musical Instruments Museum Oboe Collection}
Stefaan Verdegem - Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel
-
IND ?> Inv. number
0422
-
CN/NP ?> Common name / Nominal Pitch
Oboe in C
-
TS ?> Type or system
2 keys
-
MK ?> Maker
Palanca, Carlo
-
IN ?> Mark, inscriptions
CARLO / PALANCA / (asterisk) – on TJ and MJ;
••• [3 'dots'] – on TJ;
Written inscription "Viani – Padrona" on bell bottom.
- PL ?> Place of origin Torino
- DM ?> Date of making 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 18th century.
- MATERIALS Stained boxwood with brass keys
- MEASUREMENTS
- Body Length 486mm
- TJ length (body + tenon) 227mm + 22.3mm
- MJ length (body +tenon) 217mm + c.32mm
- B length 42mm
- Acoustic Length 340mm
- BORE
- Minimal bore 4.6mm
- Reed well diameter 6.9mm
- Bore at end of TJ 10.4mm
- Bore at top of MJ 11.3mm
- Bore at end of MJ n.m.
- Bore at top of B n.m.
-
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION
2 brass keys: Eb-key with square flat flap, type Young-A; C-key with round flat flap, type Young-S-like but cut off straight at keyhead bottom.
SATB (springs attached to the body).
Raised key rings circular.
3rd and 4th hole doubled with finger cove.
The bell is very unusual and has no vent-holes. It is very short and, like d’amore instruments, closes to a small opening of ø 10.7mm, making the bell ‘hollow’. According to Marcel Ponseele it is glued to MJ.
-
FL ?> Faults
Huge crack in bottom joint.
-
PA ?> Playing Accessories
Comes with a staple which looks like a cut-off modern staple.
-
UP ?> Usable Pitch
A = c.415–425Hz with reed TL 63mm / Staple 38mm / tip width 8.2mm.
-
PC ?> Performance Characteristics
In spite of the unusual make and bell design this instrument plays like a ‘normal’ oboe. The bell has hardly any sordino effect.
-
PO ?> Previous Ownership
Ex-Tolbecque
-
FM ?> Further information on maker
Soprana, Marco, (-) Un Nuovo Oboe: Carlo Palanca e Alessandro Besozzi pp.89–105.
Silvestri (2020).
-
SR ?> Specific literature Reference
Mahillon (R1978) Vol.I p.435.
Listed in Haynes (2001) p.86, as an example of type-D1 hautboy.
Listed in Young (1993) p.172.
-
Remarks
Oboe from the former Tolbecque collection. Waterhouse (1993) p.290 mentions 2 other Palanca oboes in J-Tokyo "ex-Tolbecque", but these have ‘normal’ bells (private communication with Dr Kazuhiko Shima).
Young (1993) p.172: “flared but oddly compact bell; flared on exterior but not at all flared internally; bore continues basic cone of upper parts. A child's oboe?”. Checking this could only be done with an internal ‘gauge’, since the bell is glued onto the MJ tenon. The bell is indeed flared internally. The “child’s oboe” hypothesis can hardly be sustained either. The distance between the finger-holes is the same as on a normal oboe. It is only the very short bell which makes the instrument somewhat lighter.