IDRS JOURNAL
77
Dutch Makers of Double Reed Instruments
in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries1
By Rob van Acht
The Hague
T
involved. Amsterdam was not only the musical centre
of the Netherlands but also the centre of musical
instrument construction. Many instrument makers,
nearly all of them either first or second-generation
citizens of Amsterdam, were now working there.5
POLITICAL, CULTURAL
AND SOCIO-ECONOMICAL EXPANSION
The seventeenth century was not only a time of
political unrest in the Netherlands. Religious
dissension added to the turmoil. Owing to religious,
political and economic factors, the population moved
from rural areas to the cities, in particular to
Amsterdam. Most of the immigrants came from
specific regions in the seven provinces, notably
Overijssel and Gelderland, or from the border
between the Netherlands and what is now Germany.
The poverty of agrarian life was probably mainly
responsible for driving large numbers of people to
seek a better livelihood in Amsterdam. But the liberal
attitude towards religion in Amsterdam as the
century drew to a close also played an important role,
especially for people coming from further afield.
Protestants, Presbyterians, Huguenots and Roman
Catholics from various countries found a safe haven
in Amsterdam. The lack of corporate restrictions on
instrument makers from the guilds or other such
bodies must have been another important factor in
attracting newcomers. In more ways than one,
Amsterdam was a free city.
By the end of the seventeenth century, the
population of Amsterdam had increased to around
two hundred thousand. The period was characterized
by an astonishing surge of economic prosperity,
notably after 16804. Craftsmen of all types were
THE GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION
One of the first and certainly the foremost musical
instrument maker of the day was Richard Haka, who
was born in London in 1646 but came to Amsterdam
as a child with his family. His nephew and apprentice
Coenraad Rijkel, also came from London. It seems
likely that the Haka and Rijkel families fled to the
Netherlands for religious reasons. They left England
around the time of the Restoration, 1660, when more
extreme Protestant groups were no longer tolerated
in England. Other Haka pupils were Jan Steenbergen
and Abraham van Aardenberg. Both had become
accomplished woodwind instrument builders in their
own right by 1700. It is interesting to note that van
Aardenberg is the only woodwind instrument maker
of the period whom documents fail to record as
having come from anywhere but Amsterdam; the
same applied to his parents’ generation.
Between 1680 and 1720 more than half the
immigrants to Amsterdam came originally from the
provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland and the
diocese of Münster. The dioceses of Münster and
Cologne had constituted a considerable political
threat to the eastern part of the Netherlands for some
time. Incursions into Dutch territory for the purposes
of extending political boundaries were not infrequent
from 1670 on. This political unrest may have been one
of the factors behind the decisions of craftsmen and
artisans to move to Amsterdam.6
From the area around Münster in Germany came
the Richters family, Jan Barend Beuker I and
Johannes Christiani. Philip Borkens probably came
from Borken, in the same region. Van Driel came from
Hamburg, Frederik de Jager from Aachen and Andries
Hillebrands from Nordhausen.
Of this group of makers, the most remarkable were
the Richters brothers. The family came from Laer, but
both Hendrik and Frederik were born in Amsterdam in
the last quarter of the seventeenth century. Records
show that the family was working in Amsterdam by
1670. Most of the Richters’ surviving instruments are
characterized by their luxurious workmanship.
As many as one out of three instrument makers
he ‘Republic of the United Netherlands’
experienced one of its most turbulent periods
in the seventeenth century. The seven
northern provinces had emerged as a more or
less united state during the last quarter of the
sixteenth century and were known as the ‘Republiek
der Verenigde Nederlanden 2. Not until the midseventeenth century, however, did this new state rid
itself of Spanish dominance. Even then, maintaining
the position of the Netherlands in the face of the
expansionist tendencies of both England and France
was hampered by internal political struggles. It was
the threat from France to the political and economic
stability of the northern provinces that ultimately
caused the differing political factions within the
Netherlands to join forces. By 1672 the situation had
become clear: William III was reinstated as
Stadholder and Amsterdam was now the political
and economic capital.3
78
IDRS JOURNAL
in Amsterdam was born in the province of Overijssel,
or the families had lived there originally. Thomas
Boekhout, for instance, was born in Kampen.
Frederik de Jager, a relative of his, worked for him
until 1707. The Steenbergen family came from Heerde
and Hattem. Jan Jurriansz van Heerde moved from
Groenlo and his wife came from Wijhe. Philip
Borkens had relatives in Denekamp. Engelbert Terton
came from Rijssen and also had relatives in Kampen.
The quality of woodwind instruments produced by
these Overijssel men between 1680 and 1760 is
remarkably high. It is a well-known fact that
woodwind instrument makers often began their
careers as wheelwrights, although it seems unlikely
that the Overijssel craftsmen were attracted to
Amsterdam in that capacity. They are more likely to
have established themselves as woodwind
instrument makers in Overijssel prior to moving to
the capital, except for Jan Steenbergen who, as
stated above, was apprenticed to Richard Haka.
Terton, for instance, was already 34 years old at the
time of his move to Amsterdam.
Some of the woodwind instrument makers
working in Amsterdam came from France. Within a
short period, beginning with the repeal of the Edict of
Nantes in 1684, there was an enormous influx of
Huguenots - some fifty thousand - into the
Netherlands. Michel Duval, a resident of Maastricht,
was probably one of them. He came from a small
town in Normandy. The Terton family, too, may have
emigrated from France to Rijssen. Engelbert Terton
moved to Amsterdam in 1710. The family of Michiel
Parent, who moved to Amsterdam some time before
1620, came from Tournai.7
Although Amsterdam was undeniably the musical
centre of the Netherlands around 1700, musical life
flourished in other cities as well. As we have seen,
some woodwind instrument makers were active in
the province of Overijssel. Others worked in the two
northern provinces of Groningen and Friesland
(Frisia). Woodwind instrument makers are recorded
as having lived and worked in the city of Groningen
and also in Franeker and Leeuwarden in Friesland.
Two Friesland eighteenth-century craftsmen were
Klaas van Hallum, who lived and worked in Franeker
and came from Hallum, and H. Rijkstijn.
The cities of Utrecht, ‘s Hertogenbosch and
Nijmegen were also centres of musical culture, albeit
less important than Amsterdam. F. Eerens worked in
both Utrecht and ‘s Hertogenbosch, as documented
by the stamps on his instruments: Utrecht and
‘sBosch. Willem Beukers senior made instruments in
Utrecht before moving to Amsterdam. He maintained
his connections with Utrecht, however, where he
married after his move to Amsterdam. His son,
Willem Beukers junior, was born in Amsterdam. The
Wijnes came from Nijmegen, where both Robert and
W. Wijne worked. This family originally came from
Hees, close to Nijmegen. More is known about the
Wijne family relationships than about their manner of
working. Only their surviving woodwind instruments
bear witness to their consummate technique.8 In the
southermost provinces, van de Knikker lived and
worked in Tilburg and, as mentioned above, Duval
worked in Maastricht.
AMSTERDAM AS A CENTRE OF PRODUCTION OF
MUSICAL WIND INSTRUMENTS
Allthough information about most of these
craftsmen is sparse, it is known that some were
musicians too. From 1697 on, Michiel Parent was a
member of the ‘Collegium Musicum’ which
performed in Amsterdam in the summer and in The
Hague in the winter.
Coenraad Rijkel was a bassoonist at the
Schouwburg (theatre) on the Keizersgracht in
Amsterdam. Music at the Schouwburg was usually
played by a small ensemble consisting of a violin, a
transverse flute and a cello or gamba. Now and then
the group was joined by a lute or cittern, with the
addition of one or more singers on special occasions.
The most common musical performances were
songs and choruses with instrumental accompaniment, ballets and incidental music played on stage or
in the wings. Sometimes concerts were given at the
Schouwburg, performed by a small number of
musicians. On one occasion, during the summer
recess of 1662, the king of France’s musicians gave six
concerts in the Schouwburg. The proceeds amounted
to six hundred guilders and six stivers.9
Sometimes the instrumental combination was
specified.
Shawms, crumhorns and recorders, for example,
were listed in the ensemble accompanying the poem
‘De triomferende Min’, set to music by Carolus
Hacquart and published in 1680. Among the
instruments for which the piece was scored, two
recorders are specified.10
Information about the makers of woodwind
instruments can be gleaned from such documents as
deeds, wills, contracts for buying and selling houses
and documents relating to the purchase of materials
and tools. In some instances sales of instruments
were also recorded. Little is known about the
professional position or social status of instrument
makers. The Richters brothers frequently employed
the services of a notary to record changes in house
deeds and wills.11 Terton declared his ability to retire
because he earned more than enough as a landlord - a
thousand florins a year (by today’s standards
between 50,000 and 100,000 guilders).12 Parent and
van Heerde advertized their latest discoveries in the
DUTCH MAKERS OF DOUBLE REED INSTRUMENTS
newspaper and had a notary public draw up papers
pertaining to the requisite patents.
The Amsterdamse Courant of September 1692: Michiel
Parent, Musicant en Fluytemaker (...) heeft uytgevonden
twee Fluyten in melkander (...) waer mede men twee
differente partijen te gelyk kan speelen in accoort.
(Michiel Parent, musician and flute maker (...) has
invented a combination of two flutes (...) with which two
different parts can be played at once).
The Amsterdamse Courant of May 8, 1742: Jan van
Heerde maekt bekent zekere soort van Fluyt Travers, en
van een nieuwe uytvinding, die men hoog en laeg kan
stellen, met hetzelfde gemak en accuraetheid als een Fiool,
zonder van middelstukken te veranderen.
(Jan van Heerde announces a certain kind of
transverse flute, a new invention, which can be set high
and low with the same ease and accuracy as a violin,
without changing the middle joints).
The old centre of Amsterdam is surrounded by a
concentric arrangement of canals in the shape of a
horseshoe. Some makers, such as Haka (after 1685),
Terton, Albertus and Jan van Heerde, Borkens,
Parent, Beukers junior and Jan Barend Beuker (II)
lived in the old centre at addresses which included
Kloveniersburgwal, Warmoesstraat, Korte Dijkstraat,
Buitenbantammerstraat, Singel and Spui. Others, like
Jan Barend Beuker (I), Jan de Jager and Haka (before
1685) lived on the surrounding canals: Herengracht,
Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht. Between 1613 and
1630 the city was expanded. The area known as the
Jordaan arose beyond the outermost canal, the
Prinsengracht. Borkens lived there after 1730.
Beukers (senior), Jan Jurriansz van Heerde and the
Richters brothers also lived in the ‘Jordaan’. In 1665
the canals were extended eastwards, creating another
new district where van Aardenberg, Boekhout and
Steenbergen lived; the latter two both resided in
Kerkstraat.13
CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW OF DUTCH MAKERS
OF WIND INSTRUMENTS AND DOUBLE REED
INSTRUMENTS IN THE SEVENTEENTH AND
EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES
Jan Jurriaansz van Heerde14
1638-1691
Jan Jurriaannsz van Heerde was the father of
Albertus van Heerde and the grandfather of Jan van
Heerde. He came from Groenlo and moved first to
Naarden and from there about 1670 to Amsterdam.
He became a well known wind instrument maker in
that city.
Richard Haka
1646-1705
Richard Haka was born in London in 1646. His
father (Thomas Hakay, later Haca) made walkingsticks in London before moving to Amsterdam
around 1652. Richard’s mother Agnes returned to
79
England in 1675. His nephew Coenraad Rijkel and the
instrument makers van Aardenberg and Steenbergen
trained with him. He and Rijkel later quarrelled (q.v.).
Haka lived ‘In de vergulde Basfluyt’ on the Spui;
subsequent addresses were Singel and Keizersgracht.
Coenraad Rijkel
1664-1726
Rijkel’s father, Heinrich Rukoll, was a tailor who
came to Amsterdam from London before or in 1664.
Coenraad was Richard Haka’s nephew and pupil. As
well as an instrument maker, Rijkel was a musician in
the theatre on Keizersgracht. When Haka moved to
new premises in 1696, Rijkel stayed on at the old
address. A conflict arising from his continued use of
his uncle’s name and stamp was resolved in Haka’s
favour in 1700. Henceforth, until his death in 1726,
Coenraad Rijkel produced instruments under his own
name.
Willem Beukers senior
1666-1750
Beukers was born in Utrecht. He and his son bore
the same name. Willem senior was born in Utrecht in
1666, his son in Amsterdam in 1703. They spent most
of their lives in Amsterdam, where they lived on Korte
Dijkstraat. Both made recorders, flutes and oboes.
Beukers senior died in 1750. The instruments are
marked with three different stamps. It is uncertain
whether instruments stamped ‘Beukers’ are the
father’s or the son’s work.
Thomas Boekhout
1666-1715
Thomas Boekhout, born in Kampen in 1666,
trained with Jan de Jager, whose niece, Barbera de
Jager, he married. He lived in Amsterdam on
Keizersgracht and Kerkstraat. Frederik de Jager
worked for him until 1707. Thomas Boekhout made
recorders (his bass recorders are famous), traversi,
oboes and bassoons.
Abraham van Aardenberg
1672-1717
Abraham van Aardenberg, born in Amsterdam in
1672, was Richard Haka’s pupil. He set up
independently in 1698 and lived on Nieuwe
Spiegelstraat. For nearly 20 years, until his death in
1717, he made traversi, recorders, oboes and
bassoons. His recorders and oboes are exceptional in
quality and style.
Albertus van Heerde
1674-c. 1730
Around 1700 Albertus van Heerde established
himself as a wind instrument maker in the
80
IDRS JOURNAL
Warmoesstraat in Amsterdam. His son, Jan van
Heerde, continued the trade after about 1720 on the
same place.
Jan Steenbergen
1676-1730
Jan Steenbergen came from Heerde in Gelderland.
A pupil of Richard Haka’s, his production consisted
largely of recorders and oboes. Steenbergen lived and
worked in Kerkstraat in Amsterdam until about 1730.
Engelbert Terton
1676-1752
Engelbert Terton, born in 1676, came from Rijssen
in Overijssel to Amsterdam in 1710. His first address
was Warmoesstraat; in 1731 he bought a house on
Nieuwezijds Achterburgwal, where he lived until his
death in 1752. Recorders, oboes and a traverso have
survived.
Hendrik Richters
1683-1727
The Richters brothers were born in Amsterdam in
the last quarter of the 17th century. The family hailed
from Laer near Münster (Germany). Hendrik, born in
Amsterdam in 1683, left a distinctive mark on oboemaking in the Netherlands. He produced a large
number of instruments which are remarkable for their
form, the use of material and the silverwork.
Frederik Richters
1694-1770
Frederik Richters was born in Amsterdam in 1694.
After his brother’s death he moved into his house and
workshop on Nieuwe Leliestraat. His production, like
that of his brother, seems to have consisted
exclusively of oboes, although Frederik’s output was
much smaller. He died in 1770.
Jan Barend Beuker I
1691-1st half of 18th century
Jan Barend Beuker (I) was born in 1691 in
Drehnsteinfurt near Münster (Germany). By 1718 he
was living on Keizersgracht. He is the probable maker
of wind instruments signed either I. Beuker or I.B.
Beuker. His instruments adhere to the traditional style
of the 18th century. The date of his death is unknown.
Philip Borkens
1693-c.1765
Philip Borkens was born in Amsterdam in 1693.
He was granted citizenship on 4th January 1724.
Borkens lived initially in Buiten Bantammerstraat and
later in Goudsbloemstraat. Flutes, oboes and clarinets
are known by him. He must have died around 1765.
Robert Wijne
1698-1774
Robert Wijne was born in 1698 in Nijmegen. The
family originally came from either Nijmegen or Hees.
A number of his recorders, traversi and oboes have
survived. Robert Wijne died in 1774.
W. Wijne
18th century
W. Wijne was either a son, a nephew or an uncle
of Robert Wijne. He worked in Nijmegen in the 18th
century. The mark W. Wyne occurs on three extant
wind instruments: a bassoon, a baroque racket and a
traverso.
Willem Beukers junior
1703-1781
Willem Beukers junior was born in Amsterdam in
1703. He was his father’s pupil and upheld the
paternal tradition. He died in 1781.
Wybrand van Buuren
1st half of 18th century
There is only one oboe left made by this maker.
Jan van Heerde
1704-1750
Jan van Heerde continued as a wind instrument
maker in the same tradition as his father and his
grandfather. In 1742 he claims to have invented a new
traverso: “... zekere Fluyt Travers, die men hoog en
laeg kan stellen, met het zelve gemak en accuraetheid
als men een Fiool doet”. (... Fluyt Travers, that can be
tuned high and low, with the same ease and accura-cy
as with a violin).
H. Rijkstijn
18th century
He originated probably from Friesland and was
active in the period around 1750. Two oboes of his
are kwown: one with the mark Doue de Boer (the
owner?), the other with H. Richters and,
superimposed, Rijkstijn.
Johannes van de Knikker
1737-1815
Johannes van de Knikker was born in Tilburg in
1737. In 1770 he was appointed horlogier (i.e. keeper
and repairer) of the clock in the tower of the Great or
‘Heikese’ Church in Tilburg. He also made musical
instruments: only oboes and bassoons as far as is
known. He died in 1815.
Jan Barend Beuker II
1737-1816
Jan Barend Beuker (II) was born in Mengede in
DUTCH MAKERS OF DOUBLE REED INSTRUMENTS
1737. He lived on Heiligenweg near the Singel in
Amsterdam. As well as an oboe, a number of traversi
have survived. There is perhaps a family connection
between Jan Barend Beuker I and II. Beuker II’s
instruments are signed I.B. Beuker or I. Beuker . He
died in Amsterdam in 1816.
THE AMSTERDAM OBOE SCHOOL:
SPECIFIC QUALITIES AND FEATURES
There is a considerable difference in the sound
and appearance of oboes made in Holland, and more
particularly in Amsterdam. The Dutch or Amsterdam
oboe school emerged from personal circumstances
and characteristic developments which influenced
the work of individual makers.
Looking at the oboes, Duytse Schalmeyen15 and
bassoons nearly 300 years after they were made, we
observe a number of common characteristics, and
marked differences too. A general qualification is only
limitedly possible. Their common features are mainly
due to place - Amsterdam - and period - the heyday of
Dutch wind instrument production between about
1680 and 1750.
Distinctive features of these instruments are the
tone production, pitch, appearance, turnery and,
especially for oboes and traversi, the use of ebony.
Boxwood was the most commonly used wood for
wind instruments in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, but ebony was early in coming into fashion
in Amsterdam.
The timbre and tonal character connected with
tone production are factors of a more subjective
nature, but nonetheless important in the assessment
of an instrument maker’s special skills. Such criteria
are influenced to a large extent by the form of the
bore and the way the tone holes are drilled.16
The shape of a wind instrument and any
embellishments it may have, such as ivory rings and
silverwork, are a help in establishing the maker’s skill.
Such individual characteristics can provide a more
general idea which may prove to be valid for other
makers. This in turn may suggest a certain school or
direction, represented by the Dutch wind instrument
makers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.17
TONE PRODUCTION
To a certain extent tone production of the Dutch
oboes could be studied by playing the instruments of
the collection in the Haags Gemeentemuseum. Due to
the fact that playing on historical wind instruments is
possible only for a short time, one could get only a
general idea about the tone-quality of the
instruments.
A number of the oboes, Duytse schalmeyen and
the anonymous baroque racket are in good playing
condition; other instruments less so or not at all.
81
The instruments in good playing condition were
some of the oboes by Beukers, Haka, Rijkel, Hendrik
and Frederik Richters, Steenbergen and Terton.
Wijne’s and van de Knikker’s bassoons played
reasonably well.
The average pitch of the instruments is usually
a little under a 1=415 Hz., the Kammerton, or
chamber pitch. Two oboes are pitched at a1=440 Hz:
a Rijkel oboe and a Haka oboe/shawm with cap and
thumb hole. Such high pitches are rare in the
Netherlands for this period. Two other similarly
pitched instruments by Haka are known. The Haka
and Rijkel instruments referred to here differ
markedly in bore and appearance from the
stereotype image of the baroque oboe to be
observed here and elsewhere. It is quite likely that
this was a separate kind of oboe or shawm with a
different bore and pitched to a1=440 Hz (a semitone
above chamber pitch).
No Dutch wind instruments pitched to ‘Chorton’,
a semitone higher than a 1=440 Hz., are known,
although examples do occur in other countries, for
instance Italy and Germany.
The instruments referred to here may be said to
mark the transition from the early baroque to the
period that followed. By that token, the Dutch wind
instrument makers of around 1680 probably made a
substantial contribution to the transition and to the
development of the shawm via the ‘Duytse
Schalmey’ to the baroque oboe.
One of the most striking features of the
Amsterdam oboes is the way certain tones ‘speak’.
1
Generally speaking, f is somewhat sluggish in its
1
1
response, e and f# coming much more easily. This
circumstance is significant for tone production in
the low register of the oboe. Easy overblowing in
the second octave is another distinctive
characteristic of Dutch oboes compared with
instruments in the surrounding countries.
The tone holes on many of the oboes are only
slightly undercut (meaning that the holes are wider
on the inside than the outside). The custom of
undercutting holes was an additional means of
intoning the instrument. Generally speaking, the
tone holes on Dutch oboes are less undercut than
on recorders and transverse flutes.
A distinctive feature of Abraham van
Aardenberg’s instruments is the use of the d# or eb
key over the entire range. Without this key, e1 and
f1 do not speak, or only with difficulty. The practice
is dictated by the construction of the instruments,
and seems to have been adopted from the traverso
and recorder. The tone holes on van Aardenberg’s
oboes are decidedly undercut. These two devices
tally with van Aardenberg’s customary recorder
construction.
82
IDRS JOURNAL
APPEARANCE
The turnery, somewhat more robust on the early
oboes of Richard Haka and Coenraad Rijkel, is
typical of late seventeenth-century instruments.
A Thomas Boekhout oboe is another example.
The great variation in execution that took place
over a period of roughly 70 years is also
responsible for the specific appearance of Dutch
oboes.
As stated above, the Richters’ exclusive
oboes, beautifully decorated with ivory and silver,
represent a totally individual style. Like the van
Heerde family (three generations of instrument
makers, mainly of traversi and recorders), the
Richters frequently worked in ebony. Another
Richters brother, Jacobus, imported coconuts,
ebony and other woods from the Dutch East
Indies (Indonesia today) and India from 1710 on.
Hendrik and Frederik used the ebony for their
oboes. Some of the silver keys on the oboes were
fashioned by the well-known silversmiths
Hildebrand and Pieter van Florij. The van Heerdes,
too, very likely profited from the import of what in
those days was an exclusive, expensive wood.19
This luxurious craftsmanship contrasts sharply
with instruments by, for instance, van
Aardenberg, Boekhout, Beukers, Steenbergen and
Terton, who worked chiefly in boxwood.20
It is evident that the consummate skill of the
leading makers was not confined to the insides of
their instruments (bores and tone holes). They
also paid great attention to appearance
(silhouette, swellings, rings, beads, etc.) in the
pursuit of their self-imposed goal of designing the
perfect instrument. Form and content are
reconciled here, the instruments bringing
differentiation and generalization into perfect
balance.
SOUND ANALYSIS
In the meantime sound analyses were made of
eighteen Dutch oboes and Duytse Schalmeyen that
belong to the collection of the Haags Gemeentemuseum. 21 All instruments (except the alto
Duytse Schalmey by Richard Haka) played a d1
(Kammerton = c. 277 Hz.). We recorded the same
tone on all instruments in order to compare them
in the best possible way. For a thorough study of
the tone color of the Dutch double reed
instruments a wider scale of tones and analyses
will be necessary. Only a few remarks in this
respect can be made, and also, we are only at the
beginning of an acoustical analysis of instruments
such as baroque double reeds. To get information
of these instruments is even more difficult
because they are about three hundred years old
and most of the time not in good playing
condition.
It is surprising how far harmonics support the
tone color of the oboes. In general the spectrum
of the tone color of an oboe reaches up to 10.000
Hz. and even more. The characteristic sound of an
oboe comes from the even harmonics. They are
stronger than the uneven ones, the 2nd being
mostly the strongest. Beside that, the main
resonance lies at 1100 Hz. and we find two extra
resonance areas around 2700 Hz. and 4500 Hz..
This causes the well known open and clear sound
of the instrument.
The baroque oboe has, different from the
modern oboe, a 4th harmonic that is the
strongest, as we can see for instance from the
spectra of the oboes made by Boekhout, Richters,
Terton, Rijkel and Steenbergen. The oboe by
Beukers Ea 1017-1933 has, different from these
instruments, a more vocal character due to the
3rd harmonic being the strongest (for d1 this lies
at c. 830 Hz.)
In general the tone color of the (Dutch)
baroque oboes is centered on the first six
harmonics (these are the double frequencies of
the basic tone - for D they are D, A, D, F sharp and
A). This is except the Beuker oboe and the oboe of
Hendrik Richters Ea 17-x-1952, they have also
quite a strong seventh harmonic. At least twelve
of the sixteen instruments have up to twelve
harmonics that can be traced within the tone
color. This means that these instruments have an
ambitus from c. 250 Hz. to c. 3500 Hz. (the
instruments by Haka and Rijkel, the oboes and
Duytse Schalmeyen, have an even greater ambitus
of the tone color up to c. 4200 Hz).
The main resonance of the oboes by Jan
Barend Beuker and by Johannes van de Knikker
(they are both late instruments for the period) lies
between 1350 Hz. and 1400 Hz. - here the 5th
harmonic is the strongest, what means that their
sound is more clear and nasal.
The instruments made by Haka and Rijkel
have a wider reach of the tone color (more strong
harmonics). Coenraad Rijkels oboe Ea 6-x-1952
with a pitch of c. 440 Hz. has the highest noise
ratio in the tone as have the oboe and the Duytse
Schalmeyen by Richard Haka (these are all ‘early’
instruments of the Haka oboe school in
Amsterdam). The amplitude frequency spectrum
of the instruments by Haka and Rijkel and also Jan
Steenbergen, a pupil of Haka, has a considerably
wider ambitus when we compare them with the
double reed instruments of the other Dutch
makers. ❖
83
DUTCH MAKERS OF DOUBLE REED INSTRUMENTS
ANNEX
List of double reed instruments of Dutch makers in private
and public collections
Abraham van Aardenberg
Haags Gemeentemuseum: 2 oboes
Vermillion - Shrine to Music Museum: oboe
Basel - Michel Piguet: oboe
Amsterdam - Han de Vries: oboe
Jan Barend Beuker
Haags Gemeentemuseum: oboe
Willem Beukers sen. & jun.
Haags Gemeentemuseum: 3 oboes
London - Victoria & Albert Museum: 2 oboes
Amsterdam - Han de Vries: oboe (without foot)
Thomas Boekhout
Haags Gemeentemuseum: 2 oboes
Amsterdam - Han de Vries: oboe
Boston - Friedrich von Huene: oboe
Tokyo - Musashino Academia Musicae: 2 oboes
via H. Amman: oboe
Philip Borkens
London - Horniman Museum: oboe (fragment)
Amsterdam - Han de Vries: oboe
Wybrand van Buuren
Amsterdam - Weertman: oboe
Richard Haka
Haags Gemeentemuseum: 2 soprano Duytse Schalmeyen,
alto Duytse Schalmey, shawm or oboe, oboe
Stockholm - Musik Museet: soprano Duytse Schalmey, oboe
Berlin - Staatliches Institut für Musikwissenschaft
Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Musikinstrumenten Museum:
soprano Duytse Schalmey, oboe (fragment)
Copenhagen - Musikhistorisk Museum: soprano Duytse
Schalmey
New Haven - Yale University: soprano Duytse Schalmey
Oxford - University, Music Faculty, Bate Collection: Duytse
Schalmey
Vienna - Kunsthistorisches Museum, Sammlung alter
Musikinstrumente: 2 tenor oboes
Bremen - R. Müller: oboe
Leefdaal - P. Dombrecht: oboe
Amsterdam - Han de Vries: soprano Duytse Schalmey, 2
oboes
Amsterdam - Pieter Uil: oboe (without foot)
Scarsdale - Rosenbaum: soprano Duytse Schalmey
Schloss Sondershausen: bassoon
Vermillion - Shrine to Music: soprano Duytse Schalmey
Jan Jurriansz, Albertus & Jan van Heerde
Brussels - Muziekinstrumentenmuseum: oboe
Stockholm - Musik Museet: oboe
Johannes van de Knikker
Haags Gemeentemuseum: 2 oboes, bassoon
Oxford - University, Faculty of Music, Bate Collection: oboe
d’amore
Edgware - Boosey & Hawkes: oboe
Hendrik Richters
Haags Gemeentemuseum: 7 oboes
Amsterdam - Han de Vries: oboe
Assen - Stedelijk Museum: oboe
Grouw - Uit en Thuis: oboe
Bonn - Beethoven Haus: oboe
Boston - Museum of Fine Arts: oboe
Brussels - Muziekinstrumentenmuseum: oboe
Basel - Michel Piguet: oboe
Lausanne - Daniel Bach: oboe (also with mark: H. Rijkstijn)
London - Horniman Museum: oboe
London - Guy Oldham: oboe
New Paltz (NY) - Michael Zadro: oboe
New York - Metropolitan Museum of Art: oboe
Oxford - University, Music Faculty, Bate Collection: 2 oboes
Tokyo - Masashi Honma: oboe
Vienna - Kunsthistorisches Museum, Sammlung alter
Musikinstrumente: oboe
Vermillion - Shrine to Music Museum: oboe
Washington - Library of Congress, Dayton C. Miller
Collection: oboe
Paris - Musée de la Musique: oboe
Antwerpen - Scheck: oboe
Birdaard - van der Laan: oboe22
Frederik Richters
Haags Gemeentemuseum: 4 oboes; 3 oboes in the Richters
style
Amsterdam - Han de Vries: oboe
Buckinghamshire - Waddesdon Manor: oboe
Coenraad Rijkel
Haags Gemeentemuseum: 2 oboes
Amsterdam - Han de Vries: oboe
H. Rijkstijn
Leeuwarden - Frysk Museum: oboe
Berlin - Musikinstrumenten Museum: oboe
Lausanne - Daniel Bach: oboe
Jan Steenbergen
Haags Gemeentemuseum: 3 oboes
Berlin - Musikinstrumenten Museum: 2 oboes
Brussels - Muziekinstrumentenmuseum: 3 oboes
Amsterdam - Han de Vries: oboe
Göttingen: oboe
Engelbert Terton
Haags Gemeentemuseum: oboe
Berlin - Musikinstrumenten Museum: oboe, oboe (fragment)
Washington - Smithsonian Institution, Division of Musical
History: oboe
Robert Wijne
Haags Gemeentemuseum: tenor oboe
Alkmaar - J. van der Grinten: oboe
W. Wijne
Haags Gemeentemuseum: bassoon
Berlin - Musikinstrumenten Museum: baroque racket
Anonymous
Haags Gemeentemuseum: baroque racket
LITERATURE
R. van Acht, De bouw van houten blaasinstrumenten in
Nederland in de periode 1670 tot 1820. In: Bouwbrief van de
Vereniging voor Huismuziek, No. 49, pp. 3-13, No. 50, pp. 310 (1988).
- Dutch Wind-Instrument Makers from 1670-1820. In: The
Galpin Society Journal XLI (1988), pp. 83-101.
84
IDRS JOURNAL
- Dutch Wind Instruments (1680-1820). In: Tijdschrift van de
Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis XXXVIII
(1988), pp. 83-104.
- Niederländische Blasinstrumente, 1670-1820 (1). In: Tibia
15, No. 3 (1990), pp. 169-185.
- Niederländische Blockflöten des 18. Jahrhunderts / Dutch
Recorders of the 18th century . Sammlung / Collection
Haags Gemeentemuseum, Celle 1991.
- Een traverso van Philip Borkens en een hobo van Jan
Steenbergen. In: Jaarboek Haags Gemeentemuseum 1992,
pp. 24-29.
- Nederlandse blaasinstrumenten in de zeventiende en
achttiende eeuw. In: Brabantia, Tijschrift voor Kunst en
Cultuur, vol. 42, no. 4 (1993), pp. 8 - 10.
- Dutch Wind Instruments in the 17th and 18th Centuries. In:
Proceedings of the double reed symposium (1994), pp. .. - ..
- Niederländische Doppelrohrblattinstrumente des 17. und
18. Jahrhunderts / Dutch Double Reed Instruments of the
17th and 18th Centuries . Sammlung / Collection Haags
Gemeentemuseum, Laaber 1996.
C. Adkins, Oboes Beyond Compare: The Instruments of
Hendrik and Fredrik Richters. In: Journal of American
Musical Instruments Society XVII (1991), pp. 42-117.
M.C.J. Bouterse, Some Remarks on the W. Beukers baroque
Oboe in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In:
FoMRHI-Quarterly, No. 72, 3 (1993), pp. 28-35.
- Three boxwood oboes by Hendrik Richters. In: FoMRHIQuarterly, No.75, 2 (1994), pp. 48-57.
I. & H. Brandenburg, De Hugenoten, Amsterdam 1992.
S.A.C. Dudok van Heel & M. Teutscher, Amsterdam als
centrum van ‘Fluytenmakers’ in de 17e en 18e eeuw. In:
Historische blaasinstrumenten, catalogus van een
tentoonstelling in kasteel Ehrenstein te Kerkrade, Den Haag
1974, pp. 53-57.
- Van wieldraaiers en fluitenmakers tot fabrieken van
blaasinstrumenten. In: Ons Amsterdam, No. 32 (1980), pp.
40-43.
A.J. Ellis & A. Mendel, Studies in the History of Musical
Pitch, Amsterdam 1968.
H. Feldhaus, Über den Instrumentenbauer Robert Wijne und
seine zuletzt aufgefundene Sopranblockflöte, Münster 1977.
S. Hart, Geschrift en Getal, een keuze uit de demografisch-,
economisch- en sociaal-historische studiën op grond van
Amsterdamse en Zaanse archivalia, 1600-1800, Dordrecht
1976.
B. Haynes, Beyond temperament: non-keyboard intonation
in the 17th and 18th centuries. In: Early Music XXX, no. 3
(1991), pp. 356-381.
J.Lucassen & R. Penninx, Nieuwkomers, immigranten en hun
nakomelingen in Nederland 1550-1985, Amsterdam 1985.
W.F.H. Oldewelt, Kohier van de personeele quotisatie te
Amsterdam over het jaar 1742, Amsterdam 1945.
M. Piguet, Die Oboe im 18. Jahrhundert. Versuch einer
Chronologie verschiedener Oboentypen anhand von
Messungen und Betrachtungen von neunzehn Instrumenten
aus der Sammlung M. Piguet. In: Basler Jahrbuch für
historische Musikpraxis, XII (1988), pp. 81-107.
W. Waterhouse, An Index of Musical Wind Instrument
Makers, London 1993.
- A newly discovered 17th-century bassoon by Haka. In:
Early Music, vol. XVI, No. 3 (1988), pp. 407-10.
R. Weber, Zur Restaurierung von Holzblasinstrumente aus
der Sammlung von Dr. Josef Zimmermann im Bonner
Beethoven-Haus, Celle 1993.
Ph.T. Young, The Look of Music: Rare musical instruments
1500-1900. Catalogue of the exhibition in the Vancouver
Centennial Museum, Vancouver 1988.
- Loan Exhibition of Historic Double Reed Instruments,
Victoria 1988.
- Four thousand eight hundred historical woodwind
instruments, London 1994.
NOTES
1.
This article was published later in part in the
Proceedings of the double reed symposium, held in the
Holland Festival Utrecht by STIMU in 1994.
2.
The occupation of Den Briel by the ‘Watergeuzen’ (Sea
Beggars) in 1572 heralded the liberation of the North
Netherlands. Subsequently the Spaniards were driven
further and further out of the northern regions. The
upshot was the declaration of independence in 1581 and
teh establishment of what was first styled the Republiek
der Zeven Vereenigde Nederlandse Provinciën (Republic of
the Seven United Dutch Provinces) and later the Republiek
der Verenigde Nederlanden (Republic of the United
Netherlands).
3.
Accessible information on this period can be found
in, among others: G.J. Reinier, De Noord-Nederlandse natie,
Utrecht 1948, and G. Verwey, Geschiedenis van Nederland,
Amsterdam 1983.
4.
Amsterdam’s growing economic activity and
prosperity from ca. 1680 on is illustrated by the example
of ‘staple duty’ (levied in accordance with marine trading
rights). This source of revenue rose considerably in
Amsterdam after 1679, a year after peace was made with
France. A similar development can be observed in the
activities of the Amsterdam exchange bank, which was
founded in 1610 and throve until 1650. After some
setbacks, growth set in again in 1680 and persisted until
into the 18th century. After 1680, there was also a marked
decrease in the number of bankruptcies of firms and
private citizens. See: H. Brugmans, Geschiedenis van
Amsterdam, Utrecht 1930-33; volume III, pp. 203-206.
5.
For a survey of Dutch wind instrument construction,
see the first volume of teh oeuvre catalogue of Dutch wind
instruments in the collection of the Haags
Gemeentemuseum, in which the recorders are treated,
published by Moeck Verlag in Celle, 1991; specifically the
chapter on Dutch recorder makers in the 17th and 18th
centuries, pp. 17-22.
For information on the construction of keyboard
instruments, see A. Curtis, ‘Dutch Harpsichord Makers’, in:
Tijdschrift van de Vereniging voor Nederlandse
Muziekgeschiedenis (VNM), XIX (1963), pp. 44-66; A.J.
Gierveld, ‘The Harpsichord and Clavichord in the Dutch
Republic’, Tijschrift van de VNM, XXXI (1981), pp. 117-166.
For string instruments see M. Möller, The Violin Makers in
the Low Countries (Holland and Belgium), Amsterdam 1955,
DUTCH MAKERS OF DOUBLE REED INSTRUMENTS
and J.H. Giskes, ‘Tweehonderd jaar bouw van
strijkinstrumenten in Amsterdam (1600-1800)’. In:
Jaarboek van het Genootschap Amstelodanum, no. 79
(1987), pp. 56-80.
6.
The trend in the influx of immigrants to Amsterdam
varies in time. The Republic was always hospitable,
welcoming all who sought refuge for economic reasons
and particularly from wars or religious persecution in
their own countries. Depending on the historical,
political, economic or religious circumstances,
immigrants came from the east, south or west.
Immigration to Amsterdam was investigated
exhaustively by S. Hart in Geschrift en Getal,
Amsterdam 1969, and J. Lucassen & R. Penninx in
Nieuwkomers, immigranten en hun nakomelingen in
Nederland 1550-1985, Amersterdam 1985.
7.
The role of the Huguenots in the Netherlands is
described in I. & K. Brandenburg, De Hugenoten,
Amsterdam 1992, specifically the chapter De vrije
Nederlanden, pp. 90-101.
8.
On Robert Wijne and W. Wijne see H. Feldhaus,
Über den Instrumentenbauer Robert Wijne und seine
zuletzt aufgefundene Blockflöte, Münster 1977.
9.
This amount occurs in the account ledgers of teh
Amsterdamse Schouwburg for 1662. See R.A. Rasch,
‘De muziek in de Amsterdamse Schouwburg (16381664)’. In: Spiegel Historiael, vol. 24, no. 4 (1989), pp.
185-190.
10.
Illustrations of such instruments can be seen on
the trophies on the organs in Amsterdam’s Oude Kerk
and Westerkerk, both painted in the 2nd half of the
17th century. The depicted instruments are flutes,
cornets, traversi, oboes, shawms, ‘Duytse schalmeyen’,
bassoons and a dulcian. These instruments also
featured on Coenraad Rijkel’s business card of about
1717. Here, and also on one of the wings of the organ in
the Westerkerk, we see the same type of oboe or
shawm with a thumbhole as that made by Richard
Haka. 28-08
11.
Documents pertaining to the Richters family
record what houses they bought and possessed. See
record 5062 (remissions) 8, fo. 59 in the Amsterdam
Municipal Archives pertaining to the purchase of a
house called ‘t Zeepaert’ in the Egelantiersstraat, and
record 5062 (idem) 99, fo. 13v pertaining to the sale of a
house called ‘de Tobias’ in the Nieuwe Leliestraat.
12.
A remark on Terton occurs in W.F.H. Oldewelt,
Kohier van de personeele quotisatie te Amsterdam over
het jaar 1742, Amsterdam 1945, vol. II, pp. 138, under
lease no. 2301: ‘Engelbert Terton, rentenier, op de
Nieuwezijds Achterburgwal, (…), 1/2 kapitalist, inkomen
f 1000,-’ (retired, on the Nieuwezijds Achterburgwal,
(…) a semi-capitalist, income 1000 guilders).
13.
Data pertaining to the places where the various
wind instrument makers lived and worked were found
in archive no. 5001 (registrations of baptisms,
marriages and burials) in the Amsterdam Municipal
Archives. 28-08
14.
Names and dates pertaining to the best known
Dutch wind instrument makers between 1638 and 1816
are given. More detailed information is supplied in the
case of makers whose double reed instrument are
featured here. 28-08
15.
The Duytse Schalmey is an instrument that presents
a transitional form between the shawm with its wide
85
angle bore and the oboe with its narrower conical bore.
16.
In judging the distinctive features of tone
production in a particular maker’s wind instruments,
the following aspects are significant: first and foremost
the determiniation of an instrument’s standard pitch.
As we shall see, determining this pitch can cause
problems. We must then consider the mutual
relationships of the tones and how the instrument
‘speaks’. Further relevant factors are the maker’s use of
unequal temperament to tune the instrument, and the
fingerings a player must adopt for specific intervals.
For problems of pitch determination in the baroque
period see, among others, A.J. Ellis & A. Mendal, Studies
in the History of Musical Pitch, Amsterdam 1968.
17.
The characteristic features of seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century Dutch wind instruments are
desribed in a series of publications on the collection of
Dutch
wind
instruments
in
the
Haags
Gemeentemuseam. The combination of technical
drawings, photographs, descriptions, bore
measurements and pitches provide as exact as possible
information about the construction and condition of
the instruments. With regard to tone production and
pitch: nowadays fingerings sometimes differ from those
used in the baroque period. In particular the changes
wrought by time on the instruments are largely
responsible for the differences from their original
condition.
18.
The pitch of the instruments as given later is
always related to Kammerton (a 1 =415.3 Hz). This
applies to listings where the absolute pitch is given and
to the determination of the relative pitch. In the latter
case the benchmark is always the said reference pitch
of the Kammerton, so as to facilitate comparison of the
various instruments.
19.
Besides ebony, two other exotic imports, WestIndian amber and two consignments of coconuts, are
recorded. Most black ebony came from India and
Ceylon (Sri Lanka today), where Dutch ships from teh
Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) picked up
wood and tea on their way home. See: inventory of
Hendrik Richters’ estate, NNA 8097, record number 7
(Amsterdam Municipal Archive) of January 2, 1728,
notary Hendrik van Aken.
20.
Differentiation in Dutch instrument making around
1700 is apparent in the use of ebony and boxwood,
intricately carved worked ivory rings and handsomely
engraved silver keys. Boxwood was undeniably the
traditional material, and experienced craftsmen fully
exploited its qualities. Consequently, the finest
examples of tunery are to be found on boxwood
instruments. Ebony is harder and more difficult to
work; on the other hand it probably survives lengthy
playing better.
21.
The recordings were made when the instruments
were played by the Dutch baroque-oboe player Piet
Dhont in the spring of 1992. Three years later during
the last two months of 1995 we had the opportunity to
analyse the oboe tones at the Institute for Sonology in
The Hague. Two of my students, Laurant Watgen and
Oscar Meyer, assisted in this project. We used the
computer program DADISP for a detailed analysis of
the recorded sounds.
22.
This instrument was given last month on loan to
the Haags Gemeentemuseum.