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- Matched Pair of Martel a Paris Clarinets
Matched Pair of Martel a Paris Clarinets
These are an extremely rare pair of French clarinets. The rarity of a matched pair of Martels with original mouthpiece cannot be overstated: In over 20 years of clarinet dealing this is the only pair that we have offered to the market. This pair are a commission sale for Clarinets Direct, the previous owner last used the pair as an undergraduate at Cambridge University in 1969. There he took part in a private performance of the Mozart Quintet. Playing cello was a young Prince Charles who is soon to be crowned King Charles III!
Possibly the finest ever French makers were Martel Freres. Each instrument was completely hand made and undercut, this last process alone took 2-3 days, until a perfectly even scale was achieved. Hawkes and Co. came to the surviving Martel brother after WW1 to help them design their own legendary Hawkes' Martels, as played by Reginald Kell, Charles Draper etc These evolved into the Boosey and Hawkes pre-war 1010 from which the genealogy of fine English wide bore instruments can be traced to the present day. However this pair would appear to provide a crucial and important missing link: The bore of both is parallel and 15.25mm, cylindrical in the upper joint: In other words these instruments have a 1010 bore. The playing characteristics are unique and exceptional: Perfect uninhibited open response, and excellent tuning make for a true "players clarinet" which is a physical delight to blow.
This pair is stamped " Martel Freres a Paris" and is in excellent condition with matching stamps on all main pieces. The Grenadilla wood is in very good condition for a vintage clarinets, with only light surface marks and scratches, no cracks, damage, or repairs. The bells would appear to be in Cocus wood. All Maillechort key work and springs are in excellent order. The clarinets have just been fully overhauled, and are sold with our full 1 year Clarinets Direct warranty. The supplied m'pieces are a Morgan RM06 1010 bore, which tunes perfectly at A=440, and the original Martel, which appears to have been cut from a solid block of ebonite. This may well be useful to the next owner to provide a starting point for reproductions. The case is an adapted camera case, which protects this pair well.