Klarinet Archive - Posting 000223.txt from 2004/03

From: Roger Shilcock <roger.shilcock@------.oxford.ac.uk>
Subj: Re: [kl] reasons for basset clarinets
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2004 11:25:35 -0500

1) The temptation is to say: of course the sounds are different and
Brent must be right.
2) Mozart didn't write *all* his clarinet parts for Stadler.
3) Modern c clarinets are no more like classial C clarinets than is the case
for B flat or A clarinets - possibly less so, given the exaggerated size of the modern C instrument's tone holes.
Roger S.

n message <404752D3.4030608@------.net> klarinet@------.org writes:
> BEresman@------.com wrote:
>
> > Dan Leeson Wrote:
> >
> >
> >> The character of sound produced by any clarinet is affected by
> >>extensions, and I suggest that the effect is invariably positive. I have
> >>both a B-flat and an A that descend to low E-flat, and though I rarely
> >>use the notes, the character of the instruments appears to me to be
> >>improved by the presence of the extra length wood. By this I mean to
> >>say that I also have a pair of clarinets that do not extend to low
> >>E-flat, and I don't use them nearly as much as the ones that do. It's
> >>because the extra wood creates a positive effect on the sound character.
> >>
> >>I once asked a player why he enjoyed playing everything on an A
> >>clarinet. He did not even own a B-flat clarinet, but transposed
> >>everything. His answer was that the extra length of the instrument (as
> >>compared to a B-flat clarinet) allowed him to produce a character that
> >>was unavailable to him on shorter instruments.
> >
> >
> > But Dan, if the part was written for a "standard" length clarinet, how can
> > you justify using a longer instrument? The composer wrote specifically for
> > a regular clarinet, and may very well have had that particular sound in
> > mind. Seems to me that this is no different in essence than playing C
> > clarinet parts on a Bb instrument. DIfferent in degree, perhaps, but not
> > in essence.
> >
> > And while my tongue is somewhat in my cheek, there is a modicum of true
> > curiosity about this. I would not hesitate to do as you suggest, if i had
> > the instrument, but i am not a purist about that sort of thing.
> >
> > Brent Eresman
> >
> >
>
> OK. So what is a "standard length" clarinet. Anton Stadler had three
> basset clarinets, one in C, one in B-flat, and one in A. Which was the
> standard? Was there ever a standard length?
>
> When I used the term standard length I was, of course, referring to the
> length of the traditional, contempary clarinet used by most Americans. I
> have no idea if this length is the same as the length of the
> traditional, contemporary clarinet used by most Germans, Dutch, or
> Austrians for example.
>
> So before you insert your toungue in you cheek, you are going to have to
> be a lot more precise about exactly what a "standard length" clarinet
> is. For example, if I were to have a C clarinet of a traditional length,
> it would have a certain character for the long B-natural. I'm not sure
> that the character is measurable but if I were to play the instrument, I
> would possibly recognize the character achieved by a C clarinet.
>
> Then, what would happen were I to buy a C basset clarinet and play the
> long B-natural. The issue is this: will it still sound like a C
> clarinet even though the length of the instrument has been altered, or
> will that same note now sound as if it is being played by a B-flat
> clarinet because the character has been so measureably altered by the
> additional wood needed to get the low C (and which I am not using in any
> case)??
>
> To take this argument to the extreme, wil a long B-natural played on a C
> clarinet fo traditional length have essentially the same character for a
> C clarinet of any length, including one 10 feet long?
>
>
>
> --
> Dan Leeson
> leeson0@------.net
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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--
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---- John Gray ("Straw dogs")