"Ballad horn, nominal pitch: C / B♭"

Ballad horn, nominal pitch: C / B♭ | Boosey & Co | 1896

This instrument was specifically marketed to amateurs and shows the popularity of brass instruments for amateur musicians in the 19th century. It was invented by Henry Distin around 1870 and was made ‘for amateurs, to enable them to play off the top line from pianoforte music or songs without transposition.’ Hence the name ‘ballad horn’ referring to the ballads the player would play.The ballad horn was introduced by Henry Distin (whose brass instrument-making business was bought by Boosey & Co.) but was soon after copied by other makers. Its distinguishing feature is an 8-ft C tube length and slightly narrower bore than the saxhorn at the same pitch. It was designed as a parlour instrument to be played with pianoforte accompaniment; being in C, it could play vocal music using the fingering familiar to most valved brass instrumentalists.

Ballad horn

Instrument Data

Instrument Information

Title

Ballad horn, nominal pitch: C / B♭

Accession Number

3348

Collection

MIMEd

Date Information

Date Made

1896

Period

19th century; 1890s

Gallery Information

Gallery

Wolfson Gallery

Case

Brasswind case 3

Maker Information

Maker Name

Boosey & Co

Maker Biography

Boosey and Co (c1816), later known as Boosey and Hawkes (c1930) was an English music publishing and instrument manufacturing firm that specialized in wind instruments and flutes. In 1868 the firm purchased the business of Henry Distin, a brass instrument maker known for his compensating valves. By the end of the 19th century the firm began to focus their publishing efforts on ballads and educational music. In 1930 the firm joined with Hawkes & Son, a publishing company specializing in brass and military band music. Currently, the firm has a worldwide operation, with branches on four different continents.

Made In

City

London

Country

England

Description

Technical Description

Silver-plated brass. Circular form with downwards-directed bell. 3-valve compensating system. With shank for C and crook for B♭. Signature: Inscribed on bell "CLASS A" / "BOOSEY" in trumpet-and-banner trademark / "COMPENSATING PISTONS / BOOSEY & CO / MAKERS / 295 REGENT STT. / LONDON / 48334"; Valve type: 3 Périnet-type valves, top-sprung with spring outside valve stem; alignment by key on piston. Usable pitch: With own shank, plays at A⁴ c 440 Hz; with own crook, plays in B♭ about 20 cents below A⁴ c 440 Hz. Repair History: Legs of main tuning-slide extended to lower pitch, total addition to sounding length 68mm. Ballad horn. Nominal pitch: C / Bb. Maker: Boosey & Co. London. 1896. Serial number: 48334. According to the firm's archives [instrument books], the instrument was "Ballad horn in C compg plain" Model A20, made by Last in a batch of one. Overall size: 368; corpus diameter 240; bell 179. Sounding length: minimum with shank for C, 2418; overall length of shank for C, 88; air column length of crook for Bb, 421. Bore: shank for C at c 30mm from mouthpiece receiver (minimum bore) 8.8; shank for C at distal end, c 10.0; crook for Bb at c 30mm from mouthpiece receiver (minimum bore) 8.2; crook for Bb at distal end, 9.9; instrument body at c 50mm from shank/crook receiver (local minimum bore) 10.0; m.t.s. at c 445mm from shank/crook receiver, tuning slide bore 11.5; centre of valve cluster at c 690mm from shank/crook receiver, v.t.s. bore (1,2,3) 11.5; 1209mm from bell end, c 13.7; c 624mm from bell end, 19.5; 20.5mm from bell end, 116. B = 0.54. Bell cutoff = 900 Hz. Dia of mouthpiece receiver: Shank internal taper 9.4 9.1; external taper 11.1 12.0. Crook internal taper 9.4 8.5; external taper 11.3 12.0. Shank/crook receiver taper 11.7 10.7. Inscribed on bell "CLASS A" / "BOOSEY" in trumpet and banner trademark / "COMPENSATING PISTONS / BOOSEY & CO / MAKERS / 295 REGENT STT. / LONDON / 48334"; on sides of valve casings and inner stems and on top caps "1", "2", "3"; on opposite side of 2nd valve casing "BOOSEY" in trumpet and banner trademark / "41461"; on bottom caps "9", "36", blank. Legs of main tuning slide extended to lower pitch, total addition to sounding length 68mm. Usable pitch: With own shank, plays at A4 = c 440 Hz; with own crook, plays in Bb about 20 cents below A4 = c 440 Hz. Purchased by lender with and possibly formerly used with mouthpiece (3349). Illustration references: Brass Bulletin No 85, 1/1994 p.18.

Provenance

Classification