Klarinet Archive - Posting 000042.txt from 1994/11

From: Lorne G Buick - Music TA <lgbuick@-----.CA>
Subj: Nat. schls. (pt.2)
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 00:23:21 -0500

Back again after a break to make a pot of coffee.... so if anyone's still
with me, here are some more excerpts from various articles in the Clarinet.

v21 n2 (Feb '94): Robert Klose relates his experiences playing his Boehm
system clarinet in Germany (he doesn't specify the make, but mentions that
it's French): "The two clarinets- French and German- really do look quite
different. They also sound a bit different, the German clarinet to most
ears being "darker", and the French clarinet "brighter". The Germans are
orthodox about this difference. Ads for clarinetists in German newspapers
often carry the caveat: KEIN BOEHM- No Boehm!"...

v20 n3 (May '93): Charles Stier, commenting on a pair of German-system
clarinets made by Buffet c. 1890:"The sound is definitely German, even
though made by a French company"

v19 n3 (May '92): Roger Salander, in his article on the Hammerschmidt
clarinet: "Koktan clarinets were the classic instruments of the Viennese
school which was world- famous at the time and is remembered even now. As
opposed to most of the world's major schools of clarinet playing, the
Viennese School remains almost unchanged until the present adn continues
to be known for its traditional sound."

v17 n4 (July '90): Walter Boeykens, in an interview: "The Boeykens school
is maybe not so different from other schools.... In comparison with the
German school, the difference is in the sound and phrasing, and the
staccato is not as aggressive...""In Europe twenty years ago there was
much difference in each country's sound. For instance, the English had
much, too much vibrato; the French played without vibrato; and the German
had a very hard staccato. But now, the different schools are more similar
in their playing." "Southern Belgium follows the French school more. The
sound is thinner and smaller."

v17 n3 (May '90): Dr. Herbert Vogg, discussing Alfred Uhl's clarinet works:
...Uhl wrote his pieces with the mellow, dark and "woody"colour of the
Austrian- German School of clarinet playing, often associated with the
Oehler system. This is in distinction to other schools associated with
traditionally brighter sonorities such as the British, French, and
American Schools, all of which generally use the Boehm system."

v17 n1 (Nov. '89): Vincenzo Mariozzi, in interview: "My way of playing is
the exact opposite of the traditional Italian style. I reject that style
as anachronistic. It was never really a school- there was never really an
Italian school... One can speak of a real school of clarinet playing in
France, because there you can find a certain uniformity in the way the
clarinet is played..."

v16 n1 (Nov. '88): Robert Marcellus describes at considerable length the
development of his tonal concept, and equipment choices- from Bonade's
"clear and vibrant" tone, an "even more refined" version of the " 'old'
French tone", through the influences of many clarinetists, to his
colleagues in Cleveland ("Szell had quite a bit to do with taking me out
or a slightly smaller French sound to a more even, fuller sound throughout
the registers, especially the high register")

Well, that's enough for me. It seems to me to be quite well established
that since the divergence of French and German clarinet design, there have
been at least two clearly distinct tonal concepts, consistently identified
with those two nationalities. In a word, the French sound is bright, the
German dark. More recently (ie since 1945 or thereabouts) there was (and
still is to a very limited extent) a clearly identifiable English school/
sound, built by players of the (large- bore) B&H 1010 who shared a sound
concept in
between the French and German extremes on the bright/ dark spectrum, often
using vibrato, and with that characteristic "bark" in the low register
(believe me, it's there- I've played it and if I had the hardware I'd
measure it for you!). And in North America another school has evolved,
again between the French and Germans in darkness/ brightness, but without
vibrato and placing more emphasis on consistency of tone, and centeredness
or focus of sound. These are concepts which are not easy to define in
words, but I'm sure most of us have heard them from our teachers, those of
us who are teachers pass them on, and clarinet, mouthpiece, and ligature
makers are forever quoting them at us to sell us their latest gadget! And
we buy it- we must think it means something!

I was going to say "it goes without saying" but since I'm about to say it...
that these days it is possible for all of us to listen to recordings of
clarinetists from all over the world, and (resources allowing) to go and
study abroad if we so choose. Therefore there are more and more French
players who don't sound "French", etc. This may mean that the national
schools are dying out. It certainly doesn't mean that they never existed,
or that they are not still identifiable as such. I'm sure there always
have been players who were not identifiable as to nationality by their
sound or style, but the existence of exceptions does not negate the rule!

Here is Pamela Weston's view, from the preface to her book
"Clarinet Virtuosi of the Present": "And what of the styles in which our
virtuosi play? Fortunately, in spite of so much cultural exchange going on
today, there are many fascinating varieties still to befound in different
countries. Traditionally, all clarinet styles derive from the original
'French' or 'German' schools of playing. America absorbed the best of both
schools when, at the end of the eighteenth adn beginning of the nineteenth
centuries, large numbers of both French and German musicians emigrated to
her country. She has developed and kept, resisting the influence of
vibrato- using players and jazz- oriented saxophones, a tone quality which
is firm and pure. British tone, until the advent of Kell, was insularly
tight-lipped. A lengthy period of instability which ensued after Kell
looks at last to be settling down.... Germany has basically retained her
traditional style and it is this that still predominates in Eastern Europe
and Russia."

Anyone who read all of that, my apologies for taking so much of your time,
but I hope you only read it if you found it interesting! :-) lgb