Klarinet Archive - Posting 000027.txt from 2007/11

From: "Kevin Fay" <kevin.fay.home@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Legere reeds for alto clarinet?
Date: Sun, 04 Nov 2007 13:22:42 -0500

Bill Foss posted:

<<<I have successfully used a Legere Alto Sax reed on Alto Clarinet for 2
years now. Yes, it does work.>>>

It should, since the alto clarinet is an instrument that was invented to
give excess saxophone players something to do. It *started* with the
saxophone mouthpiece/reed in its design.

. . . not that I'm biased. Since the tessitura of the soprano and bass
clarinets overlap so much, though, IMHO there really isn't any reason for
the instrument to exist.

I can only think of one piece that actually uses it in the wind ensemble
canon, by V. Persichetti, and even then the name escapes me (Psalm for Band,
perhaps?)

Now that it exists, though, it's been used in jazz to some decent effect;
Joe Lovano has used it on a number of tracks.

What I don't like about the instrument is the design effect that it's had on
basset horns. Because some think it sounds "better" than the traditional
small-bore basset, LeBlanc and Buffet now produce bassets that are more
"alto clarinets in F" than a true basset - for me, they lack the distinctive
sound quality that the small-bore basset produces so beautifully.

This purely my opinion, of course.

kjf

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