Boosey & Hawkes and Clarinet Manufacturing in Britain, 1879-1986
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From Design to Decline: Boosey & Hawkes and Clarinet Manufacturing in Britain, 1879-1986 Jennifer May Brand Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Goldsmiths, University of London for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy November 2012 Volume 1 of 2 1 Declaration I declare that the work presented here is my own. Jennifer May Brand November 2012 2 Acknowledgements My thanks are extended to the following people and organisations, who have made the creation of this thesis possible: • The AHRC, for funding the initial period of research. • My supervisors, Professor Stephen Cottrell and Doctor Bradley Strauchen- Scherer, for their wisdom and guidance throughout the process. • All the staff at the Horniman Museum, especially those in the Library, Archives and Study Collection Centre. • Staff and students at Goldsmiths University, who have been a source of support in various ways over the last few years. • All the organologists and clarinettists who have permitted me to examine their instruments, use their equipment, and listen to their stories. • My friends and family, who now all know far more about Boosey & Hawkes’ clarinets than they ever wanted to. 3 Abstract Current literature agrees that British clarinet playing between c. 1930 and c. 1980 was linked to a particular clarinet manufacturer: Boosey & Hawkes. The unusually wide-bored 1010 clarinet is represented as particularly iconic of this period but scholars have not provided details of why this is so nor explored the impact of other B&H clarinets. This thesis presents an empirical overview of all clarinet manufacturing which took place at B&H (and Boosey & Co). Every clarinet model manufactured by B&H is discussed and the first and last serial numbers and total outputs of all individually-crafted clarinets are given. Developments in organology are also highlighted, emphasising changing preferences among British – and other – clarinettists, as reflected by manufacturing trends at B&H. Connections are made between the socio-economic climate in Britain and the design, advertising and popularity of clarinet models. The empirical evidence is taken from Boosey & Hawkes’ archival records, most notably the Workshop Order Books which present a nearly-complete record of every B&H woodwind instrument. This thesis provides the date upon which the first 1010 was manufactured and demonstrates that the initial popularity of the model was a result of developments in British orchestral playing in the 1920s and early 1930s. World War II is shown to have been a catalyst for mass production, enabling B&H’s influence to reach a greater proportion of British society. The thesis argues that post-war consumerism facilitated the continued popularity of B&H clarinets, but the drive to provide ever-cheaper student clarinets created dramatic reductions in profit margins and rendered clarinet manufacturing financially unviable. Ultimately this thesis presents B&H as having become inextricably linked to British clarinet playing by constantly responding to the changing demands of British musicians with new designs and brandings which captured the zeitgeist of musical Britain throughout the century. 4 Table of Contents 1 Studying Clarinet Manufacturing at Boosey & Hawkes: Objectives, background, methodology and existing scholarship .................................................. 11 1.1 Research Objectives .................................................................................... 12 1.2 The Early History of Boosey & Hawkes ..................................................... 14 1.3 Boosey & Hawkes and the Clarinet ............................................................ 22 1.4 The Boosey & Hawkes Archive and Collection.......................................... 24 1.5 The Clarinet ................................................................................................. 40 1.6 Existing Scholarship .................................................................................... 52 2 A product of British Musical Renaissance: Clarinets of Boosey & Co., 1879- 1930 ............................................................................................................................ 62 2.1 ‘Musical Renaissance’ in Nineteenth-Century Britain ................................ 62 2.2 English Clarinet Manufacturing outside the Boosey Factory...................... 74 2.3 Clarinet Manufacturing at Boosey & Co. .................................................... 78 2.4 Manufacturing Trends ................................................................................. 8 9 2.5 Conclusions ............................................................................................... 104 3 The 1010 in the 1930s: Birth of an Icon or a Marketing Coup? ...................... 108 3.1 Music Making in Britain in the 1930s ....................................................... 109 3.2 Orchestral Reform ..................................................................................... 114 3.3 Clarinet Manufacturing at Boosey & Hawkes: The Early Years .............. 127 3.4 Manufacturing Trends ............................................................................... 146 3.5 Conclusions ............................................................................................... 152 4 Weapons and Mass Production: 1939-1950 ..................................................... 158 4.1 Musical Life in Wartime Britain ............................................................... 158 4.2 Boosey & Hawkes Clarinets during the Second World War .................... 166 5 4.3 Manufacturing Trends during the Second World War. ............................. 175 4.4 On the Road to Recovery: 1945-1950 ....................................................... 179 4.5 Manufacturing Trends in the Post-War Years ........................................... 193 4.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................... 201 5 Consumerism and the Clarinet ......................................................................... 2 0 5 5.1 Boosey &Hawkes in 1950s Britain ........................................................... 205 5.2 Top Range Clarinets .................................................................................. 2 1 2 5.3 ‘Affordable Instruments’ ........................................................................... 222 5.4 Manufacturing Trends ............................................................................... 227 5.5 Conclusions ............................................................................................... 239 6 The Final Years: 1965-1986............................................................................. 245 6.1 Boosey & Britain: A Summary of Activity from 1965-1986 .................... 245 6.2 Top Range Clarinet Models Manufactured Throughout the Period .......... 258 6.3 Affordable Clarinet Models ....................................................................... 265 6.4 Trends and Developments in Clarinet Manufacturing During this Period 271 6.5 Conclusions ............................................................................................... 278 7 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 281 7.1 Production History .................................................................................... 281 7.2 The History of the 1010 ............................................................................. 287 7.3 Boosey &Hawkes’ Relationship to the Market ......................................... 291 7.4 Customer-base Trajectory ......................................................................... 292 7.5 Boosey & Hawkes and the Wider World .................................................. 293 7.6 The 1010 and the Demise of Boosey & Hawkes ....................................... 295 6 List of Illustrations Figure 1-1 Ballad horn. Distin, London, 1869. GB HM, 2005.1.1. Photo by permission of the Horniman Museum, London. ........................................................ 16 Figure 1-2 D. J. Blaikley's initials, on a technical drawing of a clarinet loaned to B&Co. by Mr Rendall. B&HA, GB HM, E91.123.24. .............................................. 21 Figure 1-3 A 13-key boxwood clarinet by Boosé. Photo by permission of the Horniman Museum, London. ..................................................................................... 27 Figure 1-4 Fingering chart for the Gomez-Boehm clarinet, approved by D. J. Blaikley.B&HA, GB HM, London. E91.119AA. Photo by permission of the Horniman Museum, London. ..................................................................................... 29 Figure 1-5 A double page spread from a workshop order book. ............................... 34 Figure 1-6 A group of workers sawing logs of African Blackwood in Tanzania. ..... 48 Figure 1-7 A Boosey & Hawkes workman protects himself from the toxic dust produced when sawing African blackwood. .............................................................. 4 9 Figure 2-1 “General Note” from a B&Co. Woodwind Catalogue, c. 1929. B&HA, GB HM, E82.239. p. 3. .............................................................................................. 69 Figure 2-2 Advantages of the Barret System. B&HA, GB HM E91.119A. Photo by permission of the Horniman Museum, London. ........................................................ 86 Figure 2-3 Clarinet mouthpieces, from 1892.B&HA, GB