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New Zealand Graphic, Volume XV, Issue IV, 27 July 1895, Page 94

At a recent performance of Bach's superb B-miror Mass in Berlin, an attempt was made to make the orchestra conform, as far as possible, to the conditions for which Bach wrote. There are in his score trumpet notes so high that they cannot be produced on the modern instruments ; wherefore smaller trumpets were specially constructed for this occasion. Their highest notes were found to suggest the sound of a clarinet, and were softer than had been expected. The oboes employed in Bach’s score are obsolete oboi d’amore. halfway between our oboe and the English horn or alto oboe. Specimens of these instruments were borrowed from the Royal Museum, and the players had to practise some time before they felt sufficiently familiar with them to undertake their task. Besides these instruments, flutes, bassoons, strings, and an organ were u-:ed.

AT THE CLUB. SAT UPON. • Anything new in the paper ? ’ • Yes.’ • What ? ’ • The date.’