Klarinet Archive - Posting 000023.txt from 2010/08

From: "Dan Leeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Bass in A
Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:19:39 -0400

Of course I am minimizing the practical issues. These are real but do not
concern me. The issue is what we, as musicians are obliged to do, which is
to try and reach the highest playing level as best we can, and that means
bending to the composer's will, not substituting our judgment for his (or
hers). For those who are rich, it is a small reach. For those who have
fewer resources, the problems approach the insurmountable. But compared to
the purchase of a bassoon or, worse, a contrabassoon, a bass in A in not
such a terror.

I am speaking about what's right and what's wrong. And we clarinetists are
hell bent for doing everything to minimize the expenditures that are needed
to do what the composer requests.

It is not our business to do as we wish for any reason whatsoever.

Dan

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jordan Selburn" <jselburn@-----.net>
To: "The Klarinet Mailing List" <klarinet@-----.com>
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2010 4:41 PM
Subject: Re: [kl] Bass in A

Dan -

Regardless of the intrinsic desirability of playing on the "right"
instrument (philosophically, I agree, which is one of the reasons why I own
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.

Compounding the 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
multiple
times per year for a full-time pro. That same full-time pro could easily go
years without seeing a single A bass part. I might be wrong, but it wouldn't
surprise me if a major symphony bass clarinetist had call for an A bass
fewer
than, say, 20 times over the course of their career. This disparity makes
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 own a bass clarinet
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
year
(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
because
I owned and played an A bass in both the Rach 2 and anything else I could
lay my
hands on (included Nutcracker ballet), I mention that the use of the C
clarinet
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 is
that an A bass has a markedly and distinctly different timbre than the
B-flat
bass. If the character of the two instruments were indistinguishable, there
would be no reason for my suggestion, and transposition at sight would be
the
normal method of operation. But I am beginning to think more and more that
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-flat C
clarinet (plus a C every now and then).

After all, for the serious professional player, there is no need for an A or
a C
clarinet. They would have only one instrument, the one in B-flat on which
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 not
afford two instruments. 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-flat
clarinet is not suitable for a performance of K. 622 (or K. 581, or the
Brahms
quintet while we are at it).

And if that argument were acceptable, then it can also be put forward if one
were to use a B-flat bass clarinet for the Rach 2.

Cost could also be put forward along with difficulty of execution as reasons
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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