Oboe manufacturers F. Lorée were established in 1881 by Francois Lorée with the first oboe - Serial No. A-1 - being sold to the English flute maker Rudal Carte. Lorée were instrumental in many innovations and developments of the oboe, and with the help of George Gillet changed the ring system to the plateau system around 1900. Upon his death in 1902 Francois' son Lucien took over the company until 1925 when Raymond Dubois acquired the firm. Dubois was a clarinettist who manufactured clarinets and saxophones and it was as a friend and colleague that he added the Lorée name to his flourishing instrument enterprise. Dubois was primarily concerned with the general running of the business leaving Lucien to continue making the oboes. Raymond Dubois moved the enterprise to 4 Rue du Vert-bois in 1938 where it remained until January 2002. The office, workshop and showroom has now moved to 48 Rue de Rome, Paris.

During the late 1930's and early 1940's due to the grave political situation throughout Europe the shortage of materials and skilled workers led to a decline in the number of instruments manufactured - 35 in 1941; 19 in 1942; 8 in 1943. In 1945 Lucien Lorée's sudden death left Dubois with the problem of rebuilding the firm when the prestige of the Lorée name was beginning to decline. Throughout the early 1950's Dubois continued to produce a small number of instruments but there were many problems and as his health began to fail he became more and more dependant on his son-in-law Robert De Gourdon.

Robert had married Mademoiselle Dubois in 1935 and immediately began to work for his Father-in-law. Initially Robert was mainly involved with clarinets however it was inevitable that he would observe Lorée at work and absorb much of his approach and methods.

During the early 1950's De Gourdon had worked primarily on the bore of the oboes but subsequently had to learn every other process. About this time Marcel Tabuteau again began to make frequent visits to the Lorée shop spending long days working with De Gourdon. The close relationship between De Gourdon and Tabuteau had a decisive influence in ensuring that Lorée oboes continued to develop and when Dubois died on February 4 th 1957 the succession of Lorée passed to Robert De Gourdon. Through Robert De Gourdon's great efforts and dedication the quality of the Lorée oboe had again achieved a distinguished reputation.

The tradition of Father and Son working together was now continued by Robert and Alain De Gourdon. Alain literally grew up in the factory and after school would play on the floor of the workshop instead of going home. His toys were pieces of cork and instrument keys and he was gradually given small amounts of work to do. At the age of twelve Alain began to study the oboe with Gaston Longatte at the Conservatoire de Versailles gaining Premier Prix. Alain succeeded his Father in 1967 and today both he and his sister Anne are the driving force behind Lorée. Alain has initiated a number of changes in the manufacturing process now using modern technology to obtain greater consistency within the finished product. Alain is continually striving to produce the best instruments he possibly can, and relishes the challenge of solving any problems which may arise - in fact the more complicated the better. The Lorée factory is in Maganville about 30 miles West of Paris however the office and workshop is still situated in the centre of Paris at 48 Rue de Rome where Alain checks every Lorée instrument prior to sale. It is this personal attention to detail which enables the extremely high quality to be maintained as Lorée instruments could truly be described as a work of art.