Klarinet Archive - Posting 000059.txt from 1996/03

From: Tania Basham <btania@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Book on woodwind/clarinet origens
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 03:10:56 -0500

>Hi... I'm doing a paper for my Medieval + Renaissance Lit class (yes, I'm
>still in high school - we just have cool classes!) on the development of
>medieval and renaissance music. I have a few books, but their focus is
>on the development of music as part of the church service, into
>entertainment etc. There is a good deal of information on differnt
>styles of music and how theory changed, but I'm more interested in
>construction and use of woodwinds, especially the clarinet family. I
>know the modern clarinet wasn't invented till about 1700, which is after
>my time period, but I was wondering if anyone had any information about
>early reed and/or flute type instruments, from about 1000 - 1600, or even
>a bit later.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Scott
>
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>|Scott Lipcon [SLipcon@-----.net]| C++(++++) UB P+ L>++ 3 N++ W--- M++ -po+
>|http://www.tiac.net/users/slipcon/ | Y+ t--- 5-- j+ R- G'''' tv- b+ D+ B---
>+-----------------------------------+ e-(*) v+ h! r* n- y?
Try looking at the recorder. John Denner developed the clarinet around
1707. Check the Flute Journals from the late 70's (maybe earlier).
Several contained articles about what was wrong with the recorder. For
example it got softer in the lower register. It didn't have enough compass
(range) etc. Also check the spec's of the first clarinets against those of
Alto recorders. They are almost identical. John Denner was a world famous
recorder manufacturer. About the late 1600's and the early 1700's the
transverse flute begins to out sell the recorder and becomes popular for
use in orchestras. Then ask yourself this question. "Why would a world
famous manufacturer of an instrument suddenly begin to develop an
instrument he does not make.

If you take the mouthpiece and reed from the chalemaux (sp?) and blow it is
louder than any of the double reed tone generators. Now imagine you take
an Alto recorder remove the fipple, modify the bottom of the fipple to
accomodate the single reed mouthpiece expand the bell of the recorder so it
now has a flare add two additional keys and you have the first clarinets.

This was not a popular idea when I first proposed it back in the late 70's
in a college paper on the clarinet. However, it is an interesting
alternative to the standard theories that John Denner "improved" the
chalemaux or through divine insparation woke up one morning with the idea
of the clarinet.

Good luck, good hunting Derek Basham

Olympia, Washington
btania@-----.com