Klarinet Archive - Posting 000021.txt from 2010/08

From: Jordan Selburn <jselburn@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Bass in A
Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:41:54 -0400

Dan -

Regardless of the intrinsic desirability of playing on the "right" =

instrument=A0(philosophically, I agree, which is one of the reasons why I o=
wn a C =

clarinet), I think you are minimizing the practical issues of owning a Bass=
in A =

compared to a C soprano to the extent of making such an analogy almost =

irrelevant.=A0 =

=A0
Compounding=A0the base cost disparity between the two instruments (probably =

5-10:1, assuming an A bass could even be found in the first place), there's =

simply much, much less usage of the A bass in the literature. An orchestral =

player will encounter parts for C clarinet on a regular basis; likely multi=
ple =

times per year for a full-time pro. That same full-time pro could easily go =

years without seeing a single=A0A bass part. I might be wrong, but it would=
n't =

surprise me if a major symphony bass clarinetist had call for an A bass few=
er =

than, say, 20 times=A0over the course of=A0their career. This disparity mak=
es the =

"cost per set" for the A bass perhaps 50-100 times that of the C soprano =

(ignoring resale, which I think is not unreasonable over a 40+ year usable =

life), and difficult to economically justify for all but a few very serious=
, or =

very wealthy, players.

It would be fun, desirable and perhaps even admirable to=A0own a bass clari=
net in =

A; it would have even saved me some huge headaches a few months back - but =

unfortunately I did not have the foresight to win the lottery the necessary=
=A0year =

(or more) before my gig and have one custom built.

Cheers,
Jordan

________________________________
From: Dan Leeson <dnleeson@-----.net>
To: Klarinet <klarinet@-----.com>
Sent: Mon, August 9, 2010 10:10:04 AM
Subject: [kl] Bass in A

Because of Keith Bowen's research work on the A bass clarinet, and also bec=
ause =

I owned and played an A bass in both the Rach 2 and anything else I could l=
ay my =

hands on (included Nutcracker ballet), I mention that the use of the C clar=
inet =

has an argument that is analogous to the use of the bass in A. =

While I am unable to state the reasons why many composers wrote for A bass =
(with =

Mahler being a special case, because he did so when there was no an obvious =

reasons for him to have done so; i.e., the Mahler 4th symphony), the fact i=
s =

that an A bass has a markedly and distinctly different timbre than the B-fl=
at =

bass.=A0 If the character of the two instruments were indistinguishable, th=
ere =

would be no reason for my suggestion, and transposition at sight would be t=
he =

normal method of operation.=A0 But I am beginning to think more and more th=
at any =

serious orchestral bass clarinetist should have both an A bass and a B-flat =

bass, just as many serious orchestral clarinetists have both an A and a B-f=
lat C =

clarinet (plus a C every now and then). =

After all, for the serious professional player, there is no need for an A o=
r a C =

clarinet.=A0 They would have only one instrument, the one in B-flat on whic=
h all =

parts would be played. Alternatively, an A clarinet might even be a better =

choice to have as the only instrument needed for performance. Many Italian =

players own only an A, due to the fact that, as you students, they could no=
t =

afford two instruments.=A0 So they bought only one, and it had to have the =

extended range (specifically for Peter and the Wolf, the original of which =
has =

the cat playing down to low written E-flat, the sixth note of the cat solo).

So why should the logic be different for the bass clarinet? And the answer =
to =

that question is cost, and the need to avoid shlepping two bass clarinets =

around.

If one were to seriously suggest that the Mozart concerto be played on a B-=
flat =

clarinet with the part transposed to the concert key of A major (or written=
B =

major for B-flat clarinet), there would probably be a variety of arguments =

against the practice, not the least of which is that the timbre of the B-fl=
at =

clarinet is not suitable for a performance of K. 622 (or K. 581, or the Bra=
hms =

quintet while we are at it).

And if that argument were acceptable, then it can also be put forward if on=
e =

were to use a B-flat bass clarinet for the Rach 2.

Cost could also be put forward along with difficulty of execution as reason=
s for =

having multiple clarinets, But I'll stick with timbre for the moment.

In effect, it defies logic to suggest that only a B-flat bass clarinet will=
do =

for orchestral playing.

Dan Leeson
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