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

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.