Klarinet Archive - Posting 000416.txt from 2005/06

From: George Kidder <gkidder@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] Basset clarinets are regular orchestral instruments
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 08:23:44 -0400

At 05:40 AM 6/20/2005, Joe wrote:
>John Dablin wrote:
>
>>Is this true? In Walter Piston's "Orchestration", published 1955, he
>>writes "Bass clarinets have been made with a downward range to D,
>>sounding C, and modern Russian composers give evidence of in their scores
>>of the existence of bass clarinets descending to C, sounding B-flat, the
>>range given by Rimsky-Korsakoff, A bass clarinet constructed by Rosario
>>Mazzeo, of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, provides two further semitones,
>>down to B-flat, sounding A-flat. At the present time, however, one cannot
>>with certainty count on having sounds lower than C# on the bass
>>clarinet". (I presume he meant C# concert). Later he refers to an excerpt
>>from Shostakovitch 7th symphony: "the written C# cannot be reached by
>>most instruments". This suggests to me that, in the USA at least, low-C
>>basses are a relatively recent development.
>
>
>What Piston writes seems pretty accurate for 1955. I recall reading about
>the low C range in the Cambridge Companion to the Clarinet. I think the
>story was along the lines that, from late in the 19th century it became
>common for the major French manufacturers to supply instruments descending
>only to low Eb (for military band use), and to offer extensions for those
>who wanted the low C range. (A friend in London has a beautiful old
>Selmer bass---with a wooden bell!---that was extended in this
>manner.) The actual effect was that the low C range died a death for
>quite some time until the demands of, amongst others, Shostakovich,
>brought it back as the professional standard.
>
>I don't have my copy of the Companion close to hand (it's currently in a
>different country from me) so maybe someone who does could check the
>details? I think it's in one of the early paragraphs.
>
> -- Joe

One instrument does not set or break a trend, but: I own a low-C Kohlert
which was certainly made before 1936, and possibly many years earlier. It
was not extended. Neither is it a great horn! But its existence implies
that there was a use for the lower notes at that time, at least in the mind
of the first owner.

George

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