Klarinet Archive - Posting 001176.txt from 2000/02

From: "Dee D. Hays" <deehays@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Albert system clarinet page
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 17:11:15 -0500

----- Original Message -----
From: "Leighton Bingham" <cassus@-----.com>
Subject: Re: [kl] Albert system clarinet page

> Christopher Tyle wrote:
>
> > Hi, I've just put together the beginnings of a page on Albert system
> > clarinets and some of the great New Orleans clarinetists who played
them.
>
> Christopher, What is the story on the Albert system? OK this I have
figured out.
>
> 1. It is an older system, 2. It had difficult fingerings 3. It is little
used
> today.
> What I would like to know 1. What was the sound like? 2. Was the tone
different
> than todays horns? 3. Was it in tune more or less of the time. 4. Is it
still
> used anywhere?
> --
> Leighton Bingham
> Abusus non tollit usum
>

The Albert system was developed at the same time as the Boehm system was
being applied to the clarinet. So in reality the Albert system is not older
but was essentially a parallel development. The Albert was a descendent of
the older Mueller system and continued to be developed into the Oehler
system now used in Germany. Meanwhile, Klose modified the Boehm system
(originally developed for the flute) and applied it to the clarinet. In
much of Western Europe and the Americas, the Boehm system eventually
displaced the Albert system instruments but even then it was many decades
before the Boehm system made any real headway (it was adopted early on
however by the national conservatories in France). Perhaps it was consumer
resistance as at the time players were accustomed to the Mueller type
designs and the Albert was a logical enhancement while the Boehm involved
re-learning a number of fingerings. Finally, however, the Boehm succeeded
in displacing the Albert system here in the US from the very late 1800s
through the early 1900s.

Here's some dates (from Rendall's "The Clarinet"):
1839 - Preliminary model of the Boehm system shown at Paris exposition
1843 - Klose writes his method book for the Boehm system
1844 - Boehm system for clarinet patented by H. Klose and Auguste
Buffet

1808 - Mueller initiates a series of improvements to the clarinet,
including keys and improved
tone hole spacing. Prior to his work, clarinets generally
had 6 keys or less.
1845 - Mueller adds rings to the lower joint of his 13 key clarinet
1846 - E. Albert continue to perfected the overall design/spacing of the
13 key clarinet originally
developed by Mueller. His horns came to be called Albert
system.
1860 - Carl Baermann & G. Ottensteiner develop an advanced Albert
system. This is the instrument
that later continued to be developed by O. Oehler.
1864 to 1873 -- In this time frame, Baermann produces his method book
for the
Mueller/Albert/Baermann style

The Albert system is not more difficult just different. It does have fewer
alternate fingerings available as a result of the fewer keys. Thus it is
"less friendly" to play in keys of many sharps or many flats making such
music more difficult to play in some cases. On the other hand, there are
certain combinations of notes that are actually easier to play on the
Albert.

I can't comment on what the tone or intonation differences are as I haven't
gotten around to restoring the Alberts that I have in my mini-collection but
here are some thoughts on it in general. The tone isn't really dependent on
the key system used. It is a function of bore diameter, diameter to length
ratio, bore shape, tone hole design, etc. It happens that the Boehm system
was applied to clarinets developed by the French, who had a certain concept
of sound and thus their clarinets were designed to have that sound. The
Albert system was applied to instruments being developed in Germany, again
instruments already designed to have the sound preferred there. It would be
possible to build an instrument with the Boehm key system but the sound of
the Albert. I'm not sure but I think such instruments are available but I
couldn't tell you who makes them.

As far as tuning, I would imagine that some were better than others. No
doubt then as now there were some quality clarinet makers and some cheapy
clarinet makers.

Also, if you are going to put information on a web page, hunt out the
scholarly research on the history of clarinets. What you find on a mailing
list like this is going to be based on people's memories of what they read
somewhere. It could easily be remembered incorrectly or inaccurately. F.
Geoffrey Rendall's "The Clarinet" has an extensive section on the history of
clarinet development.

Dee Hays
Canton, SD

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