The Art of the Trumpet-Maker: The Materials, Tools and Techniques of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries in Nuremberg (Early Music Series) - Hardcover

Barclay, Robert

9780198162230: The Art of the Trumpet-Maker: The Materials, Tools and Techniques of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries in Nuremberg (Early Music Series)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198162235 ISBN 13: 9780198162230

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1992

This is a study of the manufacture of brass instruments, particularly the trumpet, in Nuremberg during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The book begins with a brief history of the instrument and the city where it was made, and an introduction to the changes in style, shape, and ornamentation which occurred over more than two hundred years. The extraction and purification of the metals used in the instrument industry are described, and the production of brass sheet is examined. Chemical and physical structure of the metals is discussed, especially in relation to the use of authentic materials in reproductions. A separate chapter deals with solders for brass and silver and their use in the workshop. The tools and workshop facilities are identified and detailed using contemporary illustrations and examples from the author's workshop. The longest chapter deals with the techniques of fabrication as practised today, and draws parallels between them and historical practice. This chapter is highly illustrated. The book concludes with a discussion of the philosophy, ethics, and practicality of using historical instruments or accurate facsimiles in modern performance. This book should be of interest to musicians, organologists, musicologists, instrument makers and students of the history of technology.

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About the Author:

Robert Barclay is Senior Conservator, Ethnology, Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa.

Review:

"Highly recommended for its important, and unique, contribution to our better understanding of the natural trumpet itself and also for identifying many issues that require and merit further enquirya and investigation."--Music & Letters

"An essential book for makers which will also stimulate and enlighten players. It is very well worth reading from cover to cover, although readers will find themselves dipping into it again and again."--Historic Brass Society Journal

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