“For our first breakfast on the sunny forecourt our host…brought us croissants, brioches, and six metal clarinets!”
So begins “Surrounded by woodwind in Normandy” by John Playfair (Clarinet & saxophone XXXV/1 [Spring 2010] pp. 36–37). The article describes a visit to Gîte d’Ivry (above), a bed and breakfast that now occupies part of the former Eugène Thibouville woodwind factory in Ivry-la-Bataille. Some 1200 of the maker’s instruments are on display, and many are available to be played by guests.
Below, Phillipe Perlot performs on a Thibouville flageolet.
