Klarinet Archive - Posting 000564.txt from 2001/02

From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] An absolutely mind-blowing event!!
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 12:27:44 -0500

With the assistance of a Canadian clarinetist who had a copy of the
tape, I obtained the 1-hour film, "The Enigma of K. 621b." While one
can quibble about some technical details, the film is an absolutely
remarkable picture of a determined clarinetist (Gilles Thomé who is
either French, Swiss, or Belgian) and what he decided to do in order to
play the Mozart clarinet concerto on a basset horn in G.

I know nothing about the origin of this film. It was shown on
Australian TV where a friend brought its general contents to my
attention. I then posted on Klarinet and received some sketchy
information about it and finally the address of a Canadian who had a
copy, though in a format unacceptable to US VCRs.

On finally receiving a copy of the tape I played it through and sat in
absolute astonishment. In an English language voice-over the narrator,
who is supposed to be Thomé, spoke of his interest in the G-basset horn
version of the work but was stopped by the fact that such an instrument
was simply unavailable, and there were only 3 examples in the world of
such a device.

Further complicating his search was the realization that the manuscript
of K. 621b calls for a low C#, a note not known to be present on any
basset horn, in F or in G at that time and nowhere else called for by
Mozart in anything for basset horn. To me this issue was a straw man.
If Mozart wrote a low C#. then whoever the concerto was destined for had
the note so it was not central to the problem even though Thomé made it
such. It really impacted him to the extent that the instrument he
intended to build had no predecessor model to help him locate the place
for a low C# hole.

So, off Thomé goes around Europe looking for various things to help him
understand the entire situation. First he goes to Winterthur to examine
the manuscript of K. 621b, absolutely the right thing to do even in the
face of the fact that a copy of that manuscript is published. Still,
there is nothing like examining the original for ink color, pagination,
watermarks (which could have been looked up in Tyson's book on Mozart
watermarks), etc. And in any case it gives one goosebumps to see such
a thing so I am in complete understanding why this was his first step.

Next he went to several museums in German to examine and to play various
basset horns. He certainly looked at the only three in the world that
were in G. And, remarkably, one of them had a bell exactly like the
previously unknown one on Stadler's basset clarinet; i.e., at an
absolute right angle to the instrument's body and shaped like an English
horn bell, not at all like a clarinet bell. It also had a vent hole the
size of a dime in it which one can use to get a low B-natural, though
nothing was said about this on the show.

All the while this adventure is going on, you hear Mozart's clarinet and
basset horn music being played on the very instruments that you are
seeing. I'm sure that they had to kill themselves to get these basset
horns and clarinets into shape to be able to be played, but they sounded
gorgeous!! A bad note here and there, and some few intonation problems,
but a real revelation in terms of sound character.

Next, Thomé went to see H.C. Robbins Landon, the Haydn/Mozart specialist
who lives in Vienna (though he is an American). And with Thomé speaking
French and Landon speaking English, I'm not at all sure what information
was conveyed between them. But Landon's stuff was very good and Thomé's
comments translated, so you can understand the technical gist of what
was taking place.

Finally, Thomé goes to a castle in Czechoslovakia or Hungary (where he
speaks French and they speak Czech, so how the hell did they understand
each other) and he sees three perfect basset horns made by Lotz in
absolutely mint condition. The metal was still shiny. These are the
old style basset horns with a bend in the middle, not the curved ones.

Finally, he builds a basset horn in G, and about the first half of K.
621b is done on original instruments, very beautifully too, by the way.
He is an excellent player, whoever he is.

This film is an absolute treasure for clarinetists. I don't know how
you are going to get it if you are interested, but sell your children,
mortgage your home, but get it anyway you can, that is, if this kind of
stuff interests you.

The Enigma of K. 621b with Gilles Thomé. I don't know where or by whom
it was made and can't read it off my TV screen because I am dealing with
a copy that was made from a copy that was made from... You get the
idea.

My copy shows that it was shown on Australian TV because, following the
final scenes, a TV lady comes on and tells me about the joys of Sydney
or Adelaide or someplace in Australia.

WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE FILM.

By the way, Thomé makes a big deal about the low D# also being present
and required in the G basset horn, but I don't know what this fuss is
about. The low E-flat is required in the second basset horn part of the
Gran Partitta and that dates from 1784 so why should the basset horn in
G NOT have a low D#? It's the same bloody note and a completely
non-problem issue.

Oh yes, the clarinet quartet of the Gran Partitta is played on the film
with three players. Stuff like that, which will get by no clarinet
player who ever lived. Artistic licensee, you know.
--
***************************
** Dan Leeson **
** leeson0@-----.net **
***************************

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