Instrument Store

The Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles is home to an important historic collection of high quality instruments. For a number of years, the Conservatoire has ordered, restored and adapted instruments in order to keep up-to-date with the latest research in instrument-building.

The department of Early Music owns a number of instruments from this collection: string instruments (violins, cellos with four and five strings, bass violins, double basses...), bows, wind instruments (recorder, bassoon, horn, oboe and flute...) and keyboards (organ, harpsichord, pianoforte...). The instrument store is a real research tool which is available to students depending on the needs of the different classes.
Within the Early music department, there is a system of internal loans which allows for regular exchange of instruments. This flexibility means that students are able to use instruments which are appropriate to the repertoire they are currently studying.

Inventory of historical instruments available within the department of Early Music

Strings

  • Violins et viola
    8 violins (including one piccolo violin), 1 viola and 1 violin tenor
  • Cellos
    6 Baroque mounted cellos, including 3 five-string cellos and 3 four-string cellos
  • Bass violin                                                                                                                                                                                1 5-string violin bass and 1 4-string violin bass
  • Double bass
    1 Baroque four-string mounted double bass, 1 Baroque five-string mounted double bass, 1 five-string violone and 1 6-string violone

Bows

  • Violin
    4 baroque bows and 2 classical bows
  • Viola
    1 baroque bow, 1 classical bow
  • Cello
    6 baroque bows and 1 classical bow
  • Double bass and violone
    4 baroque bows

Wind

  • Oboe
    2 classical oboes, 1 oboe d'amore and 1 profiler (a machine for making reeds)
  • Bassoon
    1 baroque bassoon 
  • Clarinets
    2 classical 5-key clarinets in Bb after Agnès Gueroult, a 430 
    1 consort of chalumeaux after Agnès Gueroult, composed of a soprano, alto, tenor and bass
  • Horns
    1 baroque horn and 2 natural horns by Stephan Katte                                                                                           
  • Traversos
    4 baroques traversos and 1 classical traverso
  • Recorders
    1 Renaissance consort a460 by Adriana Breukink consisting of:
    2 sopranos in D, 1 soprano in C, 2 alto in G, 2 tenor in C, 1 bassoons in F, 1 bass in C and a sub-bass in F ; two Yamaha tenors for contemporary music, 1 bassoon a415 Yamaha, 1 double-body bassoon a415-a440 Yamaha, 1 bass in C Yamaha a440, 1 sub-bass Paetzold a440, 2 Czakans a440 (Viennese recorders classical period)

Keyboards

  • Pianoforte
    copy of a viennese instrument (Fritz) from 1814, made by D. Hungerberg ; copy of a Stein instrument from 1786 by Chris Maene ; copy according to Anton Walter from 1795, made by Maene Pleyel ; original from 1850
  • Harpsichords
    copy according to Cristian Zell, one manual, Hamburg 1728, made by C. Fuchs ; copy of  Allessandro Trasuntino, Venise 1531-1537, made by V. Platte ; copy by  Andreas Ruckers 1644, made by C. Kuhlmann ; copy by Pascal Taskin, Paris 1769, two manuals, made by H. Bédard ; copy after Henri Hemsch, Paris 1736, two manuals, by A. Bonza ; copy after an anonymous model from the Christopher Hogwood collection, by Alan Gotto ; instrument in the style of Delin, made by I. de Halleux ; copy after Dulken, made by les artisans facteurs d'orgues et claviers de tournai s.c. 1982
  • Chamber organs
    instrument in two parts reconstructed in the Italian style of the 17th Century, made by L. Meurisse
    8'-8'-4' instrument made by J. Deblieck