Klarinet Archive - Posting 000435.txt from 2006/03
From: "Shaw, Kenneth R." <krshaw@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Alto Clarinet in the Orchestra
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 12:02:41 -0500
Here is an interesting post by Al Rice, from the American Musicological =
Society list, on the use of the alto clarinet in the orchestra. Al gave =
permission for me to re-post it here.
Al Rice <arrice@-----.com>
Date: 12 mars 2006 19:55
Subject: Re: Fwd: [AMS-L] Alto Clarinet as Orchestral Instrument
To: Robert Adelson <robertadelson@-----.com>
Cc: bc178@-----.org
Dear Robert,
Thank you for informing me about Prof. Rosar's question concerning the
use of the alto clarinet as an orchestral instrument.
Yes, I would like to inform the AMS members that I am currently engaged
in writing a book concerning the organological and musical development
of the large size clarinets (clarinette d'amour, alto clarinet, basset
horn, and bass clarinet) from 1730 to 1860. I mention this in the
preface of my book The Clarinet in the Classical Period (New York: OUP,
2003).
There is much new information concerning the earliest alto clarinets.
They were first constructed and pitched in G during the 1770s (example
by J.F. Grundmann, Dresden dated 1775), 1780s-90s (Proff, Lyons, F.A.G.
Oberlender, Nuremburg), Anonymous 5-key (Berlin Museum). During the
early 19th century altos in F and E-flat were made by several makers
sometimes in a bassoon form, but primarily with curved barrels and
straight bodies. Ivan M=FCller's thirteen-key instrument of 1812 was
only slowly adopted by adventurous players at first in Paris during the
1820s-1840s. The most advanced 13, 14 and 15-key altos by Stengel,
Simiot, and many other makers compare well with the finest quality
clarinets and basset horns of the time. They are without doubt
excellent playing instruments. Altos in G were made as late as the
1830s (Ziegler 14-key alto in Milan, Castello Sforzesco Museum).
All the evidence indicates that these 18th and early 19th century altos
were used in chamber music, such as table music, wind band, and
military band music. During the 1820s through the 1840s M=FCller and the
theorist A.B. Marx were particularly enthusiastic about the use of the
alto clarinet in a quartet of 2 clarinets, alto and bass in order to
perform string quartets by Haydn and other composers. Berlioz'
contemporary, J. G. Kastner in his Suppl=E9ment au Trait=E9 g=E9n=E9ral
d'instrumentation (Paris, 1844, p. 25) praised Adolphe Sax's improved
alto clarinets in F and E-flat (unfortunately, these have not
survived). Kastner stated that "the alto clarinet is seldom used which
is a misfortune since it is necessary to complete the family of
clarinets. In military music and wind music the alto is used to great
advantage in substituting for the third and fourth clarinet parts."
John Newhill in his book "The Basset-horn and Its Music" 3rd ed. (2003)
suggests that the composer Georg Abraham Schneider (1770-1839) wrote
two concertos for "Corno di Bassetto" and orchestra. Number 1, op. 90
was published by Hofmeister in about 1818, and number two, op. 105 was
published by Simrock in 1819 to 1820. Since the compass of the first
concerto is from e to f3 and the second from e to e3, Newhill suggested
that they were written for Mueller's M=FCllersche bassethorn, an alto
clarinet developed in 1808 by Heinrich Grenser. This is certainly a
possibility, however, I am unaware of any other orchestral music from
this period that may have been written for the alto clarinet.
I think that it is possible but probably unlikely that composers in
Russia and France specified the alto clarinet in orchestral music
during the late 19th and early 20th century.
There is a much greater use of the bass clarinet by these composers at
this time.
Albert R. Rice
Albert R. Rice
American Musical Instrument Society
http://amis.org
Kenneth G. Fiske Musical Instrument Museum
(909) 621-8307 Claremont, CA 91711-5253
http://cuc.claremont.edu/fiske/
---------------------------------------------------------
> I found your posting on the AMS list very interesting. I would appreciat=
e=
=20
> your permission to forward it to the Klarinet list and the Clarinet
> board.
>=20
> Thanks very much.
>=20
> Ken Shaw
>=20
----------------------------------------------------------
Dear Ken,
By all means, please go ahead and post it and you can include my email
if anyone wants to correspond on the topic.
I did receive a follow up email from Bill Rosar. It turns out that we
went to school together at Claremont several years ago. He's
investigating a movie score written in 1935 by Max Steiner where he
specified the alto clarinet. We are just simply speculating on why he
used the alto.
Also, someone had suggested to Bill that the alto was used in opera
orchestrations during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and that
this was the source for Steiner's use of the alto. Although, it is
possible that some obscure composers may have done so, I tend to doubt
this. However, with some digging in libraries one may stumble accross
an alto clarinet part.
Yours, Al
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