Klarinet Archive - Posting 000079.txt from 1994/10

From: Steve Prescott <mipresc@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Petrouchka
Date: Mon, 10 Oct 1994 11:20:05 -0400

Dan,

From: Journal of the American Musical Society Volume 13,1987.
"The Typology and History of the Bass Clarinet" John Henry van der
Meer.

According to his extensive article, the bass clarinet, being at
first a wind-band instrument, with a downward compass to low E must
have proved unsatisfactory as early as the 18th century (because of
the missing low notes). He goes on to say that "perhaps as early as
1760 Anton and Michael Mayrhofer devised at Passau what may be a
bass clarinet with a limited compass extension." An english bass
clarinet in Bb in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, according to the
article, extends down to C. This 18 key bass clarinet (acc. to
Geoffrey Rendal, The Clarinet as stated by van der Meer) was
possibly invented by George Wood of London in 1833.

Please read the article if you get the chance it is very
interesting.

Steve Prescott
Instrument Repair Tech./Clarinetist
Indiana State University
mipresc@-----.edu