Klarinet Archive - Posting 000593.txt from 1997/11

From: Simon_Aldrich@-----.ca (Simon Aldrich)
Subj: RC
Date: Sat, 15 Nov 1997 17:26:22 -0500

Peter Stoll said
>My understanding is that the RC is THE standard instrument in non-German
>system Europe; the R13 is infrequently seen there.

Absolutely. I go to Europe regularly with Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and I see
this firsthand. In France the other clarinetist in NEM and I do the tour of
woodwind shops. They don't say it in front of me but when the other
clarinetist (who is French) is by himself the vendors and repairmen ridicule
North Americans for playing R-13s.

We really experienced it this past October in France looking for Moennig
barrels.
They are supposedly not made for RCs so we got the full treatment of "well
these barrels are not used here. Over in North America they don't know what
they are doing. Nobody uses an RC even though it is a superior instrument"
etc. etc.
(By the way I'm not convinced that they don't have a point.)

So many of the good recording European non-German players play RC Prestige.

The other clarinetist in NEM plays RC Presige and I can tell you the higher
placement of the vent tube makes the twelfths in the left hand undeniably
better.
The clarion A B and C are dead on especially on the A clarinet, instead of
being
often unmanageably high on the R13. (As Tom Ridenour said in a recent post,
acousticians have been begging Buffet for two decades to raise the position
of
the vent tube).

Enough "venting" for now.

Regards,

----------------------------------------------------------

Simon Aldrich

Principal Clarinet - l'Orchestre de l'Opera de Montreal
Principal Clarinet - l'Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal
Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
Quintet Pentaedre
Les Vents de Montreal

tel/fax: (514) 843-7550
simona@-----.org