Books › A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890 …, 1891 › scan 88
Scan 88
A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments recently exhibited at the Royal Military Exhibition, London, 1890 …, 1891
8 lines. Read by computer on 1 October 2026. Printed page 68. See the scan on archive.org.
1in the Barret oboe of the present day, have raised the instrument from its once humble position to that of the most delicate and perfect reed instrument that is made.
3The alto pommer appears to have developed into the cor anglais or oboe di caccia, which was at first made straight; but, according to Fetis, the bells of these instruments were curved back. The principal improvements, however, were made by an oboe player of Bergamo, Jean Ferlendis by name, who was resident at Strasburg in 1760, and the idea of constructing the instrument with a bend or curve was due to him. The name cor anglais would appear, according to Mr. Galpin, to be a corruption of cor anglé, by which name it was first known on account of its peculiar shape. The instrument has in the present century been reconstructed by Triebert about 1854, and by Brod. The cor anglais, first introduced into the orchestra by Gluck in the Italian score of "Alcestis," was recognised by subsequent composers, and for special effects is a most valuable acquisition. Of the oboe di caccia in f, and oboe d'amore in a, it is hardly necessary to mention more than that both instruments were employed by J. S. Bach, and that within the last few years the latter has been reconstructed by M. Mahillon, of Brussels, first for the Bach Choir in London, and more recently for the Brussels Conservatoire.
5The tenor pommer became in course of time the basset oboe, an octave below the ordinary instrument, and was in general use in England throughout the last century. Attempts to re-introduce the basset oboe, or baryton, have been from time to time made within the present century, and the maker Triebert constructed an instrument of the kind for the celebrated player Vogt in 1825. Triebert's son, who succeeded to his father's business, made several more. At the Paris Exhibition in 1889 a baryton oboe, the work of M. Lorée, was to be seen. The timbre of this instrument was singularly sweet and delicate, and it is to be hoped that composers will recognise its value, and not allow the baryton to fall into oblivion. And so we see that, even in this 19th century, the oboe family may yet be said to remain complete, consisting as it does of the oboe in c', the oboe d'amore in a, the cor anglais in f, and the baryton in c.
7From the unmanageable size of the 15th and 16th century bass pommers, and from their defective intonation, various endeavours to
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