Klarinet Archive - Posting 001267.txt from 1997/08

From: David Ross <David Ross@-----.bitnet>
Subj: basset clarinet
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 11:50:45 -0400

Dan Leeson wrote:

>Mozart did write begin a concerto for basset horn in G, but
>abandoned it, deciding to write for a clarinet in A. It was
>a clarinet of extended compass and the name of "basset
>clarinet" was given to the instrument by Jiri Kratchovil only
>30 or so years ago, maybe even more recent than that. When
>Stadler did it, he played it on what he called "a clarinet."

While my friend Dan Leeson is probably correct in crediting
Kratchovil with bringing the term "basset clarinet" into modern
usage, I should like to record that in 1796 (within Stadler's lifetime),
a rather obscure write named Johann Ferdinand von Schoenfeld
published a book titled "Jahrbuch der Tonkunst von Wien und Prag."
In this there is an entry on the Stadler brothers, where it is noted
that the brothers are "not only excellent artists on the usual clarinet,
but also on the basset clarinet" (p. 58). Clearly Schoenfeld got some of
his facts wrong (only Anton played basset clarinet), and may have
even got confused with instrument names. But the term "basset
clarinet" is clearly there--to my knowledge the singular occurrence
of this term for the next 150 years.

David Ross
dross@-----.edu