Sopranino in F

An instrument of my own design with a small bore for a light sound to blend with the shawm band and other instruments.

Made from sycamore. A=440 or 466

£500

Soprano in D

Scaled from the instruments marked 'Melchor' in the MIM Brussels. A very stable instrument with a versatile dynamic range.

Made from sycamore. A=440 or 466

£650

Transitional Soprano in C

As Praetorius suggests, a shawm in C is a desirable and useful instrument. This instrument is designed to bridge the gap between the renaissance shawms in D and the Deutsche schalmei in C. It keeps the look of the renaissance instruments but has the bore profile of later instruments. Its shorter length helps reduce the weight and balance issues of the long renaissance style soprano in C. It’s best suited to music around the 1590's but can be used for later and earlier periods, with or without a pirouette.

Made from sycamore. A=440 or 466

£650

Alto Shawm / Pommer / Bombard in G

A scaled version of instrument 2326 in the Brussels collection. I keep the weight as close to the original as possible, around 500g. It plays with an 'unforked' C but I can make it 'forked' if desired.

Made from sycamore. A=440 or 465.

£1250

Niccolo Tenor in C

Based on the tenor in the Brussels collection.

Made from sycamore. A=440 or 466

£1550

Extras:

Brass garland on bell - £100

Extra keys - £150 each

Transitional Instruments

Deutsche Schalmei - R. Haka

A copy of the instruments in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam made by Richard Haka. The schalmei were in use from about 1670 - 1720 in the Low Countries, Germany & England. They existed alongside the shawm and the baroque oboe. The sound is closer to the baroque oboe rather than the shawm. Talbot describes it as 'sweeter than Hautbois'.

It has a fontanelle but no key for the low C. It works well with either a fan shaped reed or a baroque oboe reed.

I also offer this instrument with a key which makes this a much more versatile instrument for the modern performer.

Made from fruitwood or hornbeam. A=415

Copy of the original: £750

With key: £900

Baroque Oboe - Dupuis

A copy of the instrument in Berlin made by Dupuis who was active in Paris around 1692. It maintains a fontanelle like shawms and schalmei and has a similar (although smaller) bell shape.

It has a rather wide bore and has a broader, slightly louder sound compared to other baroque oboes. The lowest note is a C# and it plays over two octaves with standard fingerings. It works with a standard baroque oboe reed but slightly favours a reed with more volume similar to Talbot dimensions.

Keys for C & Eb.

Made from box with fruitwood accents. A=415

£1650

Quint Cromorne or Baroque Baritone Oboe:

Based on descriptions, engravings and carvings in Versailles, this instrument is 1 octave below the baroque oboe. This instrument fills in the gap between the alto or taille and the bassoon in early French repertoire. Perfect for Philidor!

It plays over two octaves with standard fingerings and it can be made with a choice of two bells, a 'baroque oboe' style after carvings (pictured) or with a 'shawm' style bell after engravings.

I offer this in two configurations due to the large stretch between the holes,

With 2 keys (C & Eb) £1600

With 6 keys (C, D, Eb, F, G, B) £2200

Made from stained maple. A=415