Fratelli Patricola (Patricola Brothers) is an Italian company producing

oboes The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

and

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

s since 1976, based in

Castelnuovo Scrivia Castelnuovo Scrivia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northeast of Alessandria. History The city was fortified around 500 CE by order of Theoderic ...

, province of

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

History

The brothers Francesco, Pietro and Biagio Patricola, woodwind instrument makers, founded their own manufactory in 1976 for the production of oboes and clarinets. In the meantime, two sons and a grandson are working as instrument builders in the family business.

Products

According to the website, the instruments listed below are made from long-aged wood, made from

Grenadilla ''Dalbergia melanoxylon'' (African blackwood, grenadilla, or mpingo) is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to seasonally dry regions of Africa from Senegal east to Eritrea and south to the north-eastern parts of South Africa. The ...

wood (melanoxylon) with silver-plated mechanics, the higher-quality models optionally also from

Bubinga ''Guibourtia'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Fabaceae, also known by the common names as Rhodesian copalwood, African Rosewood, Amazique, Bubinga, Kevazingo, and Ovangkol. Scientific Name being Guibourtia spp. Description ''Guibou ...

(Guibourtia tessmannii) and with gold-plated mechanics. The woodworking is done with the help of CNC machines, while the mechanics are manufactured in-house by hand. 1. Oboes: a student model, a semi-professional model and a professional model ("Artista"), further an oboe d’amore in A, two models English horn in F, and an oboe musette in E. 2. Clarinets: Only clarinets with the French fingering system (

Boehm Boehm () is a German surname, transliterated from Böhm (literally: Bohemian, from Bohemia) or reflective of a spelling adopted by a given family before the introduction of the umlaut diacritic. It may refer to: * Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm (b ...

) are offered, namely one model in high E (CL.1), three models in B (CL.2, CL.4 and CL.5), one model in A (CL.3) and a model in C (CL.7). The models CL.1 to CL.4 are each manufactured in two quality levels: "Virtuoso" and the higher-quality "Artista", the model CL.5 only as a Virtuoso and the model CL.7 only as an Artista. The models CL.4 and CL.5 are "Fully Boehm"-clarinets with 7 instead of 6 rings and three or two additional keys. In addition, the CL.4 models extend to the deep E (instead of E). Deep clarinets (basset horn, alto clarinet, bass clarinet) are not produced. The distribution of the instruments, in the conception of which the company placed great value not only on quality requirements but also on good and contemporary design, is carried out by the company itself and by dealers in Italy and a number of other countries. Patricola instruments are played by well-known oboists and clarinetists in cultural orchestras in Italy and other countries, even outside Europe.

References

External links

Website

Video: Demonstration of a clarinet CL.2 Artista Bubinga

Video: Demonstration of a clarinet CL.2 Artista Grenadilla
{{clarinet Clarinet makers Oboe makers Manufacturing companies of Italy