Books › Ayars, Contributions to the Art of Music in America by the Music Industries of Boston (1937) — the Squier, Farley, Rettberg, Rockwell and Elias Howe matter, 1937 › scan 248
Scan 248
Ayars, Contributions to the Art of Music in America by the Music Industries of Boston (1937) — the Squier, Farley, Rettberg, Rockwell and Elias Howe matter, 1937
13 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 222. See the scan on archive.org.
14. Brass, Percussion, Fretted and Miscellaneous Instrument Manufacturers
3a. Some Important Nineteenth Century Manufacturers
5Boston was perhaps preeminent about fifty odd years ago in connection with the manufacture of brass instruments. The reason for this was undoubtedly the fact that the first brass band formed in this country was organized in Boston in 1835. This subsequently led to Boston's becoming a centre of brass bands. This first band was the Boston Brass Band¹ with Edward Kendall (1808-1861), called "The King of the E-flat Bugle," as leader. He was succeeded by Joseph Green. Later Eben Flagg was leader.
7Before the advent of the Boston Brass Band there was a Boston Band. A contributor to the Boston Musical Gazette in 1838 wrote of his great thrill as a boy when he first heard the clarinet, French horn and bassoon played by this group at a time when the bass-drum, bugle and octave clarinet were not introduced into the field in this country.² There were only four performers for this military muster, the fourth playing the hautboy.
9Three notable inventions in Europe of brass instruments preceded the formation of the Boston Brass Band. The first of these was the invention in 1790 by M. Regibo of the bass horn, the first bass instrument made of brass. The bass horn played in the Band in 1835 by James Hill had three finger-holes for each hand and several extra keys. The next notable instrument was the keyed bugle invented by Joseph Halliday, bandmaster of Cavan Militia in 1810. This had five keys and was called the Kent-horn in compliment to Field Marshall, the Duke of Kent. It was used to a great extent as a coach horn. Keyed chromatic instruments then became popular rapidly and greatly changed military music and brass bands. "The principle of the keys was adopted by bass instruments as well. These early bugles were of copper, but the metal was so soft that finally it was discarded for brass, as the instruments were thicker and heavier than practicable. Keyed bugles were produced in A-flat,
11¹ For an interesting picture and description of this band in 1851 see Gleason's Pictorial, Boston, Vol. 1 No. 12, September 20, 1851, p. 177.
12² Boston Musical Gazette, "The Boston Band," Vol. 1 No. 7, July 25, 1838, p. 52.
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