Klarinet Archive - Posting 000134.txt from 2006/12
From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Basset horn vs alto clarinet
Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 13:02:11 -0500
While there are and always have been criticisms of the alto
clarinet as being an inferior instrument, there are no
significant reasons why this should be the case, though it is
often true in the case of instruments available to us. I suspect
that manufacturers do not invest the time and effort needed to
produce a superior alto clarinet -- particularly one that is in
tune from top to bottom -- but that is not synonymous with saying
that it is impossible to do so.
But the most significant reason why the two instruments cannot be
spoken of as brothers that differ only by the pitch of the
instrument, is that the alto clarinet does not have the lower
range of the basset horn, and there is no escaping the fact that
this is a significant flaw from the basset hornist's point of
view; i.e., you can't play a good deal of the literature. Try the
basset horn part in Strauss' Rosenkavalier, for example, or the
low several d-s and one low c in the Gran Partitta's second
basset horn part, for another.
It is, of course, very easy to fall into the hole of saying that
the alto clarinet sounds significantly different from a basset
horn, and I must admit to having said this irresponsible
statement myself whenever I hear the Mozart Requiem performed on
a pair of alto clarinets. In the final analysis, I don't think
that there are measurable differences in the sound character and
I really have to stop suggesting this to be a truism. It is
probably derived partly from jealousy in that the LeBlanc and
Buffet basset horns are made using alto clarinet technology, and
so any responsible basset hornist would be expected to clasp
their nose with thumb and forefinger and say, "Phew!"
A well-played superior-quality alto clarinet is not likely to be
distinguished from a well-played basset horn.
But until the alto clarinet can play the full range of notes
available to a basset hornist, and in tune, it cannot compete,
and the reason is as plain as the nose on your face. One is
obliged to have available the alto clarinet equivalent of a low
C, D-flat, and D as heard on a basset horn in F.
Now there is another matter, but my ideas on it are not fully
formed (though that doesn't mean I do not have an opinion which
shows you that not knowing something doesn't prevent you from
forming strong opinions). That is the matter of the bore size
and the effect of that bore size on the character of sound
produced by the instrument, to say nothing of the influence that
bore size has on mouthpiece size.
I have NEVER been satisfied with any instrument of the clarinet
family that is required to use a mouthpiece significantly bigger
than a B-flat clarinet mouthpiece, and that criticism includes
the bass clarinet mouthpiece. No matter how much bass clarinet I
played (and it was my tenured instrument in the San Jose
symphony), I never really felt as comfortable with that
mouthpiece in my mouth as with a standard B-flat clarinet
mouthpiece. Instead, I felt that an instant of inattention would
bring down disaster. I could be a little careless with a soprano
clarinet mouthpiece but never with a bass clarinet mouthpiece,
and this same problem existed on the LeBlanc and Buffet basset
horns, which is why I never bought them and never recommended
them.
Historically, Stadler's basset clarinet appears to have had a
standard clarinet mouthpiece, and since the technology (what we
can guess at) of his basset horn is presumed to have been
identical to the technology of his basset clarinet as well as all
of his other clarinets, then that instrument had a narrow bore
and a traditional mouthpiece. I don't want to argue this point
because nobody, myself included, knows that much about it. But as
I said, it's easy to give opinions when you don't know anything.
Dan Leeson
DNLeeson@-----.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Morgul [mailto:Morgul@-----.net]
Sent: Sunday, December 24, 2006 9:04 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: [kl] Basset horn vs alto clarinet
Collective wisdom,
At the risk of provoking a firestorm, please allow me to parade
my
ignorance.
Basset horns, Dan's and others, are highly regarded specialized
instruments.
Alto clarinets, on the other hand, are just as roundly reviled.
Why is this?
Is it because most alto clarinets are made for and played by
relative
neophytes in marching bands, thus having neither the quality nor
literature
nor expertise usually found in players of basset horns? Are there
significant differences in design and construction and,
therefore, tone
quality? Is there an inherent flaw in pitching one instrument in
F and the
other a whole step below? Is there such a thing as a
"professional level"
alto clarinet, and if so, who makes it, where/how is it used, and
by whom?
Thank you for your consideration. Nomex suit in place.
Stan
-----------------------------------------------------------------
--
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc.
http://www.woodwind.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org
