Klarinet Archive - Posting 000529.txt from 2003/02

From: myke cuthbert <cuthbert@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] Contrabass, contra-alto and alto, and "New Directions for Clarinet"
Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 12:10:58 -0500

> Philip Rehfeldt's excellent "New Directions for Clarinets" refers to the
> "contra-alto" clarinet. But it is immediately clear that he means just
> *regular* alto clarinet, as he immediately follows it with reference to "Eb
> and Bb contrabass". Well, the first question is WHY?-)

The voice part normally called "alto" is (or at least historically
was) a shortening of "contralto." (The distinction between altos and
lower contralto voices is recent). "Contralto" is itself a shortening
of the old latin designation "Contratenor altus". Before c. 1400 the
main voice parts were a top voice (superius) a lower voice (tenor) and
an added voice which moved against the tenor (contratenor). Later
when the norm was two contratenor voices, one was normally higher than
the tenor (contratenor altus) the other lower (contratenor bassus).
The latter became our bass.

At least we don't have the problem flautists do with old references to
bass flute (=alto flute) or flutes in D (=flutes in C).

Best,
Myke Cuthbert

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