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{The Brussels Musical Instruments Museum Oboe Collection}
Stefaan Verdegem - Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel
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IND ?> Inv. number
0974
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CN/NP ?> Common name / Nominal Pitch
English horn in F
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TS ?> Type or system
9-keyed curved English horn
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MK ?> Maker
Triebert
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IN ?> Mark, inscriptions
(barbican tower with 4 merlons) / TRIEBERT / A PARIS - on all 3 parts;
(hardly legible on MJ but tower with 4 merlons very clear).
- PL ?> Place of origin Paris
- DM ?> Date of making 2nd quarter of the 19th century.
- MATERIALS Possibly maple wood, leather covered. Ivory and horn mounts, silver or silver plated keys.
- MEASUREMENTS
- Body Length c. 779 mm
- TJ length (body + tenon) c. 290 mm + 23.2 mm
- MJ length (body +tenon) c. 340 mm + 25.3 mm
- B length 148.4 mm
- Acoustic Length c. 447 mm
- BORE
- Minimal bore 5.4 mm
- Reed well diameter 8.7 mm
- Reed or crook well depth (if cylindrical) 23.0 mm (metal lined inverse cone)
- Bore at end of TJ 11.7 mm
- Bore at top of MJ 11.8 mm
- Bore at end of MJ 17.7 mm
- Bore at top of B 18.2 mm
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TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION
Curved body with leather covered wood for TJ and MJ. Black stained or lacquered bell.
7 round keys with salt-spoon cups type Heyde-181/2 on short axles and pillars that are based on a half-moon or diamond-shaped plate.
2 keys in deviant style: round lipped flaps, one key on long axle and pillars.
On TJ: octave key, D or C# trill-key for L3, Bb for R1 and G# for L4;
On MJ: F# for R4, cross-F, Eb, C# and C key with ‘see-saw’ key.
Key-holes milled out with countersunk edge.
SATK (springs attached to the key).
Hole 1 and 2 with wooden insert.
3rd hole doubled with finger cove.
Metal ring for necklace on the back.
Bulb bell with two vent-holes, one being bigger than the other.
Metal lining: reed well, tenons, sockets.
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FL ?> Faults
Good condition. Ivory mount on MJ cracked. Leather on MJ worn out in some places. Some scratches on body. All pads and springs seem original.
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PA ?> Playing Accessories
None. Mahillon (R1978) Vol. II p. 253 mentions a bocal and a reed. These are not with the instrument any more.
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UP ?> Usable Pitch
Best result was obtained with a reed TL 49 mm / staple 27mm / tip width 9.5 mm and a bocal TL 93 mm ø 6 mm + 3.1 mm giving as a result A = c. 438 Hz.
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PC ?> Performance Characteristics
Nice and warm sounding instrument. Quite a lot of resistance.
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PO ?> Previous Ownership
Ex-Mahillon V. & J.
- FM ?> Further information on maker
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SR ?> Specific literature Reference
Mahillon (R1978) Vol. II p. 253, with a special paragraph on see-saw key.
Listed in Young (1993) p. 240.
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GL ?> General literature (about this type of instrument)
Finkelman (2000) Teil 6/7.
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Comparable instruments
Brussels: MIM Triebert E.H. no. 2321.
Edinburgh: EUCHMI Triebert E.H. no. 3322.
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Remarks
Triebert mentions on p. 7 of his catalogue (1855) that “...the firm restricted the production of curved English horns...since there is no advantage any more in making them like this, given the latest improvements [on the straight English horn].”
Some elements point into the direction of an instrument c. 1830 with a few later changes or additions:
- The instrument shows many similarities to the 6-keyed curved English horn depicted in Brod’s oboe method (1830) p. 107 (Planche V), including the typical bridge-like design for C-C# keys. On p. 108 Brod claims the invention of the ‘see-saw’ key (“la petite bascule”).
- The G# and C#-trill keys are most probably later additions, given the other key style. The octave key looks original though.
- The reed well, being metal lined but conic, could be a transition technique for the later cylindrical reed well. It is not clear whether the metal lining of the tenons and sockets is original.
The specific mark on this instrument – if not a counterfeit – seems to contradict the long-held view that the barbican tower with 4 merlons is identifiable with Triebert instruments from after 1881.
{Triebert}
