Klarinet Archive - Posting 001165.txt from 1999/05

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] Clarinet in H and Mozart
Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 17:46:43 -0400

> From: MX%"klarinet@-----.63
> Subj: [kl] Clarinet in H and Mozart

>
>
> Are there any recordings of Mozart Idomeneo and/or Cosi fan tutte on
> period instruments where H-clarinet (American B-natural) is used?
> Do modern versions of this clarinet exist?
>
> Feodor

I know of no recordings of either Idomeneo or Cosi using the
clarinet in B-natural and, under this name, I do not believe
that they can be purchased. However, if one buys a B-flat
clarinet from the early part of this century that has the "HP"
engraved on the barrel, then what one buys is a "high pitch"
clarinet which is very close to one in B-natural.

If you insist on a clarinet that has a sound characteristic of
a B-natural clarinet, then try one in C. The B-natural
clarinet lies between the B-flat and the C clarinets in pitch
but, in my opinion, its sound would approximate a C clarinet more
than one in B-flat. This is speculation on my part, but I believe
that as clarinets are made shorter, they have a tendency to lose
the sound character of the next longer clarinet and gain the sound
character of the next shorter clarinet.

>
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=======================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
=======================================

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