Klarinet Archive - Posting 000539.txt from 2003/03

From: JCountDown@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Clarinet Facts and some fun History
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 23:52:14 -0500

Some historical views
The clarinet's predecessor was the chalumeau--the first true single reed=20
instrument. It appeared in the late 1600's and wasn't very flexible and had=20=
a=20
range of about 1.5 octaves.

Johann Christoph Denner (Nuremburg) and his son, Jacob are attributed to=20
innovating the speaker key which gave the clarinet a larger register. The=20
clarinet overblows at the 12th, the other woodwind instruments overblow at=20
the octave. So, when you play with the thumb and first three fingers of the=20
left hand without the speaker key, you sound the note C. When you add the=20
speaker key, you do not get a C an octave higher, you sound a G, which is th=
e=20
interval of a twelfth. Because of his improvements of the chalumeau J C=20
Denner is said to be the inventor of the clarinet.

The clarinet is individual in the shape of its bore, as well. While every=20
other woodwind instrument has a conical bore (yes, even the flute!) the=20
clarinet has a cylindrical bore--it doesn't flare, even though the bell of=20
the clarinet gives that impression. This is why the clarinet overblows at th=
e=20
twelfth and is so laden with overtones, which contributes to its unique soun=
d.

In the late 1700's, many improvements were made to the clarinet--more keys=20
were added and the tone holes were experimented with--different cuts and=20
such. Iwan Muller (German) developed a thirteen keyed model. This clarinet=20
remained in favor until the late 1800's.

Klose and Buffet adapted the Boehm (flute) fingering system to the clarinet=20
ca. 1839-1843. This system is the one most common today, although there are=20
other fingering systems in use such as the Albert and Auler (mostly in=20
Germany.)

The basset horn is a type of clarinet usually pitched in F. This was the=20
instrument which Mozart composed his Clarinet Concerto and Quintet. His=20
friend, Anton Stadler was a virtuosic basset hornist and Mozart fell in love=
=20
with the mellow, dark tone of the clarinet.

Some of the more notable works for the clarinet are Mozart's Concerto and th=
e=20
Quintet, Brahms' Two Sonatas Op. 120 and his Quintet. The clarinet's tone is=
=20
really very complimentary to strings and vice-versa.

Some noted performers are Anton Stadler (late 1700's), Richard Muhlfield=20
(mid-to-late 1800's) and more recently Stanley Drucker (principle of the NY=20
Phil) Richard Stoltzman (freelance soloist) Larry Combs (principle of Chicag=
o=20
Sym.) James Pyne (noted pedagogue at Ohio State Univ.) Anthony Gigliotti=20
(principle of Philadelphia and pedagogue at Temple Univ.) and Jon Manasse,=20
young soloist, faculty at Eastman and recording artist.

Eddie Daniels, Pete Fountain, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman are probably th=
e=20
most famous of the jazz players.

To the top=20

Key system evolution
The standard Boehm system evolved from the flute Boehm (Theobald Bohm--umlau=
t=20
over the O) ca. 1830. Basic idea is to place the holes more acoustically tha=
n=20
for comfort--this was how the earlier system was set up--to fit the average=20
hand. With an intricate system of keys and springs, Boehm was able to produc=
e=20
a more in tune and stable instrument, even though the tonal quality suffered=
=20
from the pure sound of the earlier key systems.

This system has been used on the clarinet, saxophone, oboe and a hybrid is=20
used on the bassoon.

The Albert system of fingering on the clarinet is still in use by some (very=
=20
few) in the US and some in Europe. The problem with the Albert system is tha=
t=20
of cross-fingerings--the very thing that the Boehm system eliminated. These=20
are very complex and pose major technical problems in difficult passages.

The Auler (pronounced oiler) system is the preferred system in Germany. It i=
s=20
altogether different than the Boehm and requires cross-fingerings as well.=20
The Auler clarinet also has roller keys--like those found on a sax.=20

To the top=20

The Romantic Era
The Romantic Era can be viewed as the period when the clarinet came into its=
=20
own. With technical developments in keywork, improvements in the possible=20
range of the instrument and innovations in sound production and intonation,=20
the clarinet was bound to become a staple in romantic music. Composers began=
=20
to favor its voice-like cantabile, it remarkable range and its ability to=20
blend with strings, horns and the other members of the woodwind family. It i=
s=20
no wonder that the clarinet became a prominent instrument in the genres of=20
symphonic literature, opera, band music, chamber music and solo literature.
Prior to the 19th century, the clarinet had found a place in the works of=20
Mozart and other classical composers. There is not substantial literature fo=
r=20
the clarinet prior to the classical era. The clarinet was still in very=20
infant stages in the Baroque and Rococo eras. There is evidence that the=20
chalumeau, the precursor to the clarinet, appeared in the 16th and 17th=20
centuries.

Johann Denner, =E2=80=9Cinvented=E2=80=9D an improved chalumeau with seven t=
one holes and=20
two keys around 1690. The instrument had a range of a twelfth and had a low=20
sound for its relatively small 8 1/4 inch size. This =E2=80=9Cimproved chalu=
meau=E2=80=9D=20
was used by composers such as Telemann in Carillion for Two Chalumeaux and b=
y=20
Gluck in Orfeo.(Brymer 1976, 20)

In 1700, Johann Denner placed the two keys in such a way that one was capabl=
e=20
of overblowing the instrument at the twelfth, giving it a range of almost=20
three octaves. Around 1710, Jacob Denner, son of Johann, experimented more=20
with the placement of the keys and discovered positions that allowed for a=20
clearer upper register which was slightly easier to tune. This innovation is=
=20
said to have excited Baroque and Pre-classic composers, as now the richness=20
of the clarinet=E2=80=99s =E2=80=98clarion=E2=80=99 register, where it is mo=
st known for its=20
cantabile and voice-like timbre could be played with greater ease. The third=
=20
key, enabling the clarinet to play the third line b-natural was added around=
=20
1740.(Brymer 1976, 22, 27)

By 1740, Vivaldi had written three concerti grossi for two clarinets and two=
=20
oboes and Handel wrote an overture for two clarinets and corno di caccia in=20
the same decade. Karl Stamitz and Georg Fuchs wrote concertos for the member=
s=20
of the Mannheim Orchestra in the decade of 1780 and it is during this time=20
that there was significant experimentation with the bore and the cut of the=20
tone holes. The concertos by Stamitz and Fuchs demonstrate the ease with=20
which players could now pass from the low register to the high register.=20
Tuning and chromatic playing were still great obstacles, but the clarinet wa=
s=20
built in various keys to circumvent this problem.(Brymer, 1976, 31)

The players in the Mannheim Orchestra were more than likely oboe players and=
=20
doubled on the three keyed clarinet. By 1778 the five keyed clarinet had=20
appeared and most orchestral clarinet players were indeed clarinet players,=20
although the doubling of oboists on the clarinet continued for some time=20
after.(Brymer, 1976, 33)

It was for the five keyed clarinet that Mozart wrote his Concerto and=20
Quintet. It is amazing to imagine one playing the music of Mozart with all o=
f=20
his notes and modulations on an instrument that had only five keys. The=20
writing is extremely idiomatic in that the technical challenges and virtuosi=
c=20
displays sit well within the limits of the instrument. The concerto and=20
quintet were inspired by Mozart=E2=80=99s friend and fellow Freemason, Anton=
Stadler.=20
Stadler=E2=80=99s low register is what attracted Mozart most. Mozart often r=
eferred=20
to the beauty of the sound of the clarinet with its similarity to the human=20
voice, and once wrote to his father during a trip to Italy that he longed fo=
r=20
clarinets in their orchestras.

The five keyed clarinet remained the main clarinet in use in orchestras and=20
solo literature until Ivan Muller=E2=80=99s innovations came about in the ea=
rly 19th=20
century. Beethoven=E2=80=99s symphonies were probably played on 5 keyed clar=
inets=20
until a decade after he died. There were players in the early part of the=20
19th century that used multi-keyed instruments, but five keyed instruments=20
were still very standard.

Ludwig von Beethoven=E2=80=99s (1770-1827) early symphonies were often writt=
en for=20
clarinet in C, a higher instrument with a tone more like that of the modern=20
E-flat clarinet than of the B-flat clarinet. The parts written for the=20
clarinet in these symphonies are much like that of Haydn=E2=80=99s. The clar=
inet has=20
no major solos or truly idiomatic writing, they are used for harmonic suppor=
t=20
and do not feature many chromatic passages. It is in the fourth symphony=20
(1806) that the clarinet becomes a prominent color in Beethoven=E2=80=99s mu=
sic.=20
There has been speculation that because the clarinet is written in C, that i=
t=20
should be played in modern times either on a C clarinet or an E-flat clarine=
t=20
because the tone color was what Beethoven had wanted. (Leeson, 1971, 806)

Beethoven befriended the Viennese clarinetist Joseph Friedlowsky and often=20
asked for technical guidance on writing for the instrument. Though this=20
friendship resulted in no solo works for the clarinet, the clarinet did=20
acquire a more important role in Beethoven=E2=80=99s symphonies. Beethoven i=
s known=20
to have written very creative and technically demanding solos and solis for=20
the clarinet, requiring extremes in range, tonal control, technique and=20
dynamics. (Kroll, 1965, 67)

Beethoven=E2=80=99s Sixth Symphony is laden with solos for many wind instrum=
ents.=20
Near the end of the first movement, the clarinet has a solo passage that=20
requires great control of range, articulation and dynamics.

The andante movement provides the clarinet with the opportunity to sing in=20
cantabile style with great arpeggios spanning most of the practical range of=
=20
the instrument. In the Allegro movement, fear is struck into the hearts of=20
players with a passage of a downward D7 arpeggio in eighth notes requiring=20
rapid, crisp tonguing. The allegretto is noted for its =E2=80=98cuckoo=E2=
=80=99 motive.

Carl Maria von Weber contributed a great deal to the clarinet literature.=20
There are two concerti, one concertino and the well known solo in the=20
overture to Der Freichutz. Concerto No. 1 in f minor, Concerto No. 2 in=20
E-flat and the Concertino in E-flat were all written in 1811. The works were=
=20
written for the German virtuoso, Heinrich Baermann (1784-1847). The works al=
l=20
contain highly difficult and technical passages. There are arpeggios=20
throughout demanding great control of range. Some start at the absolute=20
lowest note possible on the clarinet and stretch to the highest notes that=20
one could reach even today. Few compositions written since match Weber=E2=
=80=99s=20
technical demands. Whereas Mozart favored the low =E2=80=98chalumeau=E2=80=
=99 range of the=20
instrument, Weber preferred the clarion (fourth line D to ledger line C)=20
register. He also seemed entertained by the fact that the clarinet could pla=
y=20
a range of almost four octaves. The third movement of the Second Concerto is=
=20
particularly notorious for its demand of technical facility.

With extended sections of sixteenth note triplets at a bright tempo to be=20
played with virtuosic lightness, Heinrich Baermann must have had incredible=20
technique to play these compositions on an instrument that had only five=20
keys. Ivan Muller may be considered the father of the modern clarinet. Born=20
in Russia, he moved to Paris in 1809 where many of the premiere woodwind=20
makers of the day were located. He began his innovations on the clarinet in=20
1806, three years after Beethoven wrote his Eroica Symphony, but did not=20
submit his =E2=80=9Cnew=E2=80=9D clarinet to the Paris Conservatory committe=
e until 1815.=20
(Kroll, 1965, 25-26)

Possibly the most important contributions that Muller made were not in his 1=
3=20
key system, but in his cut of the tone holes and the composition of the pads=
.=20
The tone holes were undercut, meaning that they were not holes like a=20
recorder would have, but were raised and then cut so as to facilitate easier=
=20
fingering. By placing certain holes higher or lower, the intonation and/or=20
sound could be improved. The obstacle was that by putting certain keys highe=
r=20
or lower, the player could not reach them. Muller=E2=80=99s key system also=20=
allowed=20
for extra openings, further improving tone and pitch. This provided a series=
=20
of extra keys that could open and close in conjunction with the use of other=
=20
keys and without the need for six extra fingers. The pads on a clarinet to=20
this point had been made of felt. Muller=E2=80=99s pads were made of wool an=
d covered=20
with gut or leather. They did not fall off as easily and were more waterproo=
f=20
(an important factor to wind players) than felt.(Krolll, 1965, 27)

Muller presented his instrument of thirteen keys and gut pads to the Paris=20
Conservatory in 1815. They rejected it without debate. It was not that Mulle=
r=20
had invented something radical with too many keys; the problem that the=20
elders had was that it would eliminate the need for clarinets in various=20
keys. Muller=E2=80=99s clarinet boasted a fine tone, was in a convenient siz=
e pitched=20
in B-flat and could comfortably play chromatically and in all keys. (Brymer,=
=20
1976, 26) The elders preferred the difference in tone colors of the clarinet=
s=20
in various keys and claimed that it would be almost blasphemous to eliminate=
=20
them. (Kroll, 1965, 27)

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) composed his Symphonie Fantastique in 1830. Almos=
t=20
certainly the clarinetist in the orchestra was solely a clarinet player and=20
not a doubler, and undoubtedly played upon at least a thirteen keyed=20
clarinet. The clarinet was in a heavy state of transition in the middle of=20
the 19th century and players would often have extra keys put on their=20
instruments. There is no true standard than to say that most players used at=
=20
least a thirteen keyed clarinet and this is what most composers were writing=
=20
for. Berlioz=E2=80=99 Symphony Fantastique is most noted for its amazing D c=
larinet=20
part in the fifth movement. The section is now played commonly on an E-flat=20
clarinet as the D clarinet is practically obsolete.

Berlioz is noted for his innovative orchestration and use of orchestral=20
timbre. His use of the clarinet and its newly extended technical=20
possibilities opened the door for much more use of the clarinet in future=20
compositions. Berlioz understood the variations in tone color, articulation,=
=20
dynamics and range, not only throughout the instrument but throughout the=20
entire family of instruments. The clarinet=E2=80=99s versatility was now in=20=
full=20
bloom.

The collaboration of Hyacinthe Klose and Auguste Buffet was an important one=
=20
to the world of the modern clarinetist. Klose and Buffet selected ideas of T=
.=20
Boehm and his flute key system and applied them to the clarinet. Because=20
there are fundamental acoustic differences between the flute and the clarine=
t=20
(the flute overblows at the octave and the clarinet at the twelfth) one coul=
d=20
not put a strict Boehm system on the clarinet. Klose and Buffet applied the=20
ring-key system. The rings are placed over the open tone holes and attached=20
to a series of springs and keys that one could not reach with the fingers.=20
The additional keys cover or open holes that bring certain problematic notes=
=20
better in tune and give other problematic notes a better tone. The patent fo=
r=20
this instrument was granted to Buffet in 1844. The French model clarinet has=
=20
changed little since then. The so called =E2=80=9CBoehm=E2=80=9D clarinet ha=
s 17 keys and 6=20
rings to this day.

The German clarinet maker Oskar Oehler of Berlin used a key system based ver=
y=20
much on Muller=E2=80=99s clarinet. The sound of German clarinets differ prof=
oundly=20
from French clarinets. It is a darker, denser sound with a very cylindrical=20
quality. The difference is in the bore, though the key system probably has=20
some influence over the difference in sound quality. Oehler=E2=80=99s clarin=
et has 22=20
keys, five rings and finger plate. With these additional keys and mechanisms=
,=20
the tone and pitch of certain notes is dramatically improved. The drawback i=
s=20
that the technique required is far more complex. Quite often French, British=
=20
or American compositions are more difficult or simply do not work on the=20
German (Oehler) system with the same being true of the opposite. It is=20
perhaps more pronounced in the method and technical studies books of each=20
individual school of playing.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) is possibly the most important figure in chamber=
=20
music for the clarinet in the 19th century. Brahms wrote two sonatas, a trio=
=20
and a quintet for the clarinet. Brahms was exposed to the lyrical=20
capabilities of the clarinet by the playing of Richard Muhlfield, an=20
extraordinary Viennese clarinetist with the Meiningen Orchestra. The=20
technical possibilities of the clarinet had been written well for by the=20
likes of Weber and Rossini in his Introduction, Theme and Variations for=20
Clarinet and Orchestra. It was the lyrical, singing quality that had been=20
overlooked for so long.

Although the Brahms=E2=80=99 Op. 120, no. 2 is the more popular of his two s=
onatas=20
for clarinet, Op. 120 no. 1 will be examined. It makes outstanding use of th=
e=20
technique of a player; the performer is required to play in all the register=
s=20
of the instrument, as though playing a stringed instrument. The works are in=
=20
fact also regularly performed on the viola. Grand sweeping lines begin with=20
the piano in the opening four measures of the work. The clarinet then takes=20
the line with very melodic intervals in tenths over two different breaks in=20
the instrument=E2=80=99s range. The work becomes increasingly chromatic and=20=
stays for=20
a good deal of the development in the key of B-flat minor, a key that might=20
have been unthinkable sixty years prior and most unpracticed thirty years=20
before. The second movement, Andante, is clearly a tribute to the fine=20
singing quality of the clarinet. It sounds as a lullaby and one could easily=
=20
imagine it vocalized. The third movement is a quasi-minuet and trio. The tun=
e=20
is reminiscent of folk music and songs Brahms might have heard in biergarten=
s=20
of the time. Brahms, having spent a good deal of his early life in Hamburg i=
n=20
brothels and drinking establishments, must have heard very folksy clarinet=20
playing throughout his lifetime. The third movement does not lack class or=20
mock the clarinet, rather it is a polished and complex dance movement. The=20
fourth movement is finale in the most complete use of the term. It requires=20
the player to again display his range and control of it, but also explores i=
n=20
detail the differing types and qualities of articulation.

Brahms wrote his clarinet sonatas in 1894, three years before his death. The=
=20
works stand not only as sonata writing in its greatest light, with masterly=20
control form and development, but remains some of the most beautiful and=20
personal music that Brahms composed.

There is much literature for the clarinet written during the Romantic period=
.=20
For instruments such as the flute, oboe or violin, there has been literature=
;=20
solo, chamber and orchestral, from all classified periods of Western music.=20
The clarinet, still in its infant stages through the Baroque and much of the=
=20
Classic periods, did not come to the fore in literature until the early 19th=
=20
century. There were many improvements to be made on the clarinet before it=20
could perform the demands that players and composers alike desired.

Inventors and players including Ivan Muller, Hyacinthe Klose and Auguste=20
Buffet set new standards for clarinet playing. This laid the path for=20
composers to write more creatively and brilliantly for the clarinet.

The largest body of work for the clarinet was still to come in the twentieth=
=20
century. Clarinetists and historians do not argue that the most important=20
technical development and increase in importance of the clarinet occurred in=
=20
the Romantic Period.

Bibliography
Brymer, Jack. Clarinet. New York: Schirmer, 1976.
Downs, Philip. Classical Music. New York: W. W. Norton Company, 1992.
Kroll, Oskar. The Clarinet. New York: Taplinger, 1965.
Leeson, Daniel. Woodwind Anthology. Edited by The Instrumentalist. The Use o=
f=20
the Clarinet in C. New York: The Instrumentalist Company, 1983.
Rice, Albert. The Baroque Clarinet. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992.

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