Klarinet Archive - Posting 000102.txt from 2010/11

From: Martin Baxter <martinbaxter1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] RES: Orchestral Pitch
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:23:01 -0500

I have a nice old boxwood clarinet c1775 that has an extended mouthpiece tenon in order to adjust the pitch. This correspondence stimulated me to investigate it and I found it seemed best in tune with itself with the mouthpiece pulled out by about 4 mm. At this distance it plays at about A=443 Hz.
I won't guarantee this is exact; my embouchure may be wrong; but it does at least suggest that pitch in England at that date was probably similar to todays rather than the A=415 that some "experts" demand. Certainly it illustrates the complexity of the problem.
I also have a boxwood 1-key flute by Bainbridge of 35 Holborn Hill, which Bill Waterhouse reckoned dated from the early 1800's. This plays at A=439 on my tuner (again with the proviso that my flute embouchure may be suspect; I probably play flat). As the instruments are reasonably considered as contemporaries this would seem to suggest that English pitch c1800 was probably very similar to today.
Now who is going to shoot me down first?
Martin

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