Martel Freres B Flat Clarinet
This is the quintessential French clarinet; 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.
This example is stamped " Martel Freres a Paris" and is in fair condition with matching stamps on all main pieces. The clarinet has come to us as a commission sale from a collector. The barrel and upper joint have both cracked. The barrel has 2 full length cracks which have been filled and glued. The upper joint has 2 cracks which extend for roughly half the length of the upper joint and go through to the bore. The joint has been banded, and both cracks have been filled and glued. All Maillechort key work and springs are in excellent order. The clarinet has super pads throughout and is sealing well. The supplied Lelandais No.6 m'piece tunes the clarinet well at A=440. The case is old but fully functional.