Klarinet Archive - Posting 000219.txt from 2007/02

From: Arthur Acheson <arthur.acheson@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Kell
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2007 11:06:22 -0500

I have to agree with your conclusion re the recording equipment, I
was trying to find an alternative explanation.
Also supporting this conclusion, the teacher concerned never
compained about the pitch of other recordings so his gramophone could
not have been at fault.
Arthur Acheson
On 24 Feb 2007, at 15:46, Tony Pay wrote:

On 24 Feb, ACHESON ARTHUR <arthur.acheson@-----.com> wrote:

> While at college in 1957 our prof of music, who claimed to have
> perfect pitch, said the Kell version of the Mozart concerto was
> recorded on a Bb instrument and it therefore pained him to have to
> listen to it! I think the recording was issued in GB on Brunswick.

I'd never heard this -- but as a boy, I did play along with one side
of a
78rpm Kell recording on a Bb clarinet. I wrote here about it a few
years
ago, see:

http://test.woodwind.org/Databases/Klarinet/1999/05/000603.txt

I always thought it must have been because our gramophone had an
adjustable
speed control. But perhaps not. Can someone help with further
information?

> I have seen no mention of this in any of the correspondence and I
> wonder if
> it might have any relevance to the pitch of the Stravinsky referred to
> elsewhere. Could the recording equipment have been questionable?

No, I don't think so, Arthur. You can hear quite clearly that the
opening
notes are Bb(gracenote)CAD..G (rather than A(gracenote)BG#C#..F# as
written)
because of the timbres, and it's confirmed by other characteristic
timbres
throughout. (There's no low E, for example.)

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