Klarinet Archive - Posting 000258.txt from 1994/10

From: Dick Williams <dwilliams@-----.EDU>
Subj: national schools
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 21:47:39 -0400

You guys really get into interesting stuff.
I don't know whether are "national" schools of clarinet. I think
most of can tell the Oehler sound from the Boehm. They are very
different phsysical instruments. The German and Austrian mouthpieces
are so much more closed, have very long lays and tapered rails; the
reeds are shorter(!) and narrower at the tip. The acoustics is simply
not the same as the setups used in France, England & the American
countries. I note that this is a difference in physical properties
of the instruments; it is not a "national" school. I recall going
to hear the top German military band play. Almost all the clarinetists
were Italian! The did play on Oehlers with German mouthpieces and
string ligatures.
On the other hand, some bands and orchestras have distinctive sounds.
Many times I have heard on the radio a recording and marvelled at how
much the strings sounded like Vienna, only to discover that it was the
Vienna Orchestra. Gigliotti(SP?) had an article about this as is related
to Philadelphia several years ago.
Most of us have a sound we are trying to achieve. I am usually aiming for
a sound like my teachers had but modified by having heard the sounds of Coombs,
Marcellus, Shaw and Meyers (each of whom, I think produced or produces a
marvelous sound quality). I think that if most of the players in a region
are trying to produce a certain sound quality, maybe that IS a "national"
school of sound. Of course, not everyone in the area will GET the same
sound--they may not even have the same goal in mind--but, I guess we
could still call it the regional sound. I know that in the LA area I hear
a lot of clarinet that has some of the qualities of Mitchell Luries'
marvelous sound. I don't remember hearing that as much back east.
Do I seem confused? You betcha! But it is really interesting stuff.