Klarinet Archive - Posting 000265.txt from 1994/02

From: Cary Karp <nrm-karp@-----.SE>
Subj: Re: Albert system clarinets
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 1994 19:26:13 -0500

On Fri, 18 Feb 1994, Dan Leeson wrote:

> Subject: Albert system clarinets
>
> Wonderful topic, Cary. Before we begin, a question for my own
> benefit.
>
> Is an Albert system clarinet the same thing as an Oehler clarinet?
>
> Just want to know so that I don't leap on a horse and ride off in
> 2 different directions at once.

Nope -- Albert and Oehler are two different animals. The latter is the
present-day German instrument (or at least its prototype). The former is the
one used by the old New Orleans clarinetists and in a variety of current
traditional ("folk") contexts. They differ both in the degree to which
their key systems are articulated and in substantial points of tonehole
and bore scaling.

I'm interested in what anyone has to say about either. I have a Bb Albert
made by Albert Jr and a C Albert stamped "Albin Klose". It's easy enough
to confirm that they neither sound nor feel like Boehm instruments, but I
don't feel able to muster the time or effort necessary to meet them on
their own terms.

I toyed with the idea of buying an Oehler system instrument last time I
was in Germany but balked at the price given that I wasn't going to find
the time to get into it, either. Those babies are *expensive*! Wurlitzer
makes a German scale instrument with French keywork (!) that is highly
regarded over here. Problem is you gotta order 'em unseen and that a
single one costs as much as a pair of the best French instruments.

German clarinet dealers have large selections of Oehler system
instruments and few, if any, German classical clarinetists use
anything else. The jazz people there use Boehm instruments.

I remember seeing a film about the Dorsey brothers which ended up with
them playing a reconciliatory duo concerto in front of an orchestra. I
was quite surprised to see Jimmy using an Albert system instrument. He
made it sound just like a Boehm, and I always thought that clarinetists
who wanted that sound opted for the admitted extra technical flexibility
of the Boehm's key system. I also remember an old Conn catalog listing
Albert scale instruments with Boehm keywork.