With the dual objective of promoting both 17th and 18th century French music with historically informed performances, the CMBV has completed a vast musicological and organological research project culminating in the building of late 17th century double reed instruments.
For the requirements of the production of Lully’s Atys directed by Alexis Kossenko in March 2024, the CMBV commissioned oboes and cromornes true to French instrument manufacture in the 1680’s. In association with IReMus (the CNRS musicology research institute) and the French music museum, and with input from Neven Lesage (CMBV oboist), Lola Soulier (oboist & researcher at Sorbonne university - IReMus) and Achille Davy-Rigaux (IReMus researcher), a vast project gathering and analysing sources helped identify instruments housed in the music museum and create facsimile and 3D tomographic (X-ray) reproductions. A bid for tender resulted in the selection of four craftsmen to reproduce a set of oboes and cromornes, including 5 treble oboes, 2 alto cromornes and I bass cromorne.
In the wake of this instrument reproduction project, the CMBV can offer musicians the use of:
- 5 treble oboes (392 Hz): 3 replicas of oboes signed ROVGE N°E.979.2.12 conserved in the French music museum, built by Alberto Ponchio; 2 replicas of unsigned oboes N°E.108 conserved in the French music museum, built by Olivier Clémence;
- 2 tenor cromornes (392 Hz): 2 unsigned cromornes E.980.2.149 conserved in the French music museum - 1 replica built by Thierry Bertrand and 1 built by Henri Gohin.
It also makes available to musicians and researchers the 6 prototypes (unadapted replicas of the originals), namely the 4 treble oboes and 2 alto oboes built for the project.
Lastly, it can provide musicians and researchers with 3D digital printouts of the ROVGE oboes and N°E.108 oboes conserved in the French music museum.
To coincide with the production of Jean-Baptiste Lully's Atys, the CMBV has had copies of historic French oboes rebuilt by the makers Thierry Bertrand, Olivier Clémence, Henri Gohin and Alberto Ponchio, thanks to funding provided by Mr Romain Durand, Grand Patron of the CMBV - Durand Milanolo instruments.