Eighteenth-century London was a centre of diverse entertainments and music played a vital role in a myriad of events attended by differing levels of London society. The prevalence of music in London’s culture at this time offered an ideal showcase to present the newest woodwind instrument, the clarinet, to a variety of audiences.
This paper will examine references to the increasing appearance of clarinets at a variety of entertainments in 18th-century London, drawing on a selection of previously undocumented source material. The entertainments considered will include circuses, fairs, the smaller pleasure gardens, debating societies and river parties, demonstrating the growing employment of the instrument in London at this time.
This paper will also provide an insight into how contemporary audiences responded to both the newest woodwind instrument and clarinettists in performance, using reviews and letters to interpret how the instrument was perceived in this centre.
In order to discuss the growing presence of clarinets in London’s popular culture, I will explore research questions such as:

• Which events and entertainments featured clarinets and in what capacity?
• To what extent was the clarinet known and recognized by London audiences and by different classes?
• What contemporary reviews and reports exist of performances including clarinets given at these events?
• Are extant reviews of these performances favourable?

This paper will display the growing use of newest woodwind instrument in 18th-century London, offering fresh insight into the extent to which the clarinet was known and recognized by a wide cross-section of London society.