Klarinet Archive - Posting 000206.txt from 2010/05

From: "Dan Leeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Clarinet in C
Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 18:48:05 -0400

And some 15 years ago, when I first began banging on the C clarinet drum on
this web site, suggesting that clarinetists had no business deciding which
to use when playing but should respect the composer's request, there was a
great deal of rejection of my philosophy. I may have been a prophet ahead
of my time. Every symphonic clarinetist should have an A, B-flat, and C
clarinet at all gigs. It should be a condition of employment.

Dan Leeson

----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith Bowen" <keith.bowen@-----.com>
To: "'The Klarinet Mailing List'" <klarinet@-----.com>
Sent: Friday, May 21, 2010 3:30 PM
Subject: Re: [kl] Clarinet in C

>I have had an Amati C for several years, and also bought two in Prague for
> US friends. They do play nicely and are incredible value. I did some work
> on
> the intonation (following Clark Fobes valuable advice on his website); the
> oldest one needed a lot of work, but the more recent ones very little.
> They
> have had strong development in the last few years. They really are fine
> for
> the use you describe, and the conductor of my pro-am orchestra commented
> favourably when I and the professional first used them in Beethoven 5. He
> felt the different sound quality was striking and important. I have played
> them against the cheaper Noblets and Buffets and prefer the Amatis.
>
> I have recently indulged myself in a Wurlitzer C to match my Reform Boehm
> A
> and Bb, but that is because I am playing more Harmoniemusik, in which C is
> very common and exposed. And it was an indulgence.
>
> There are hundreds of works that call for the C. Clarinet manuals
> throughout
> the nineteenth century remark on the different tone: more penetrating and
> brighter, and how composers must allow for this. It is, in my view, a
> mistake to try to make a C sound like a Bb, or to play the parts on a Bb.
>
> Keith Bowen
>

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