Klarinet Archive - Posting 000206.txt from 2011/03

From: "Dan Leeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Basset Horn Question
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2011 10:45:46 -0400

Nancy, except for one brief statement in your note, we are quite in synch.
The single difficulty I have is when you suggested that the basset notes are
not part of the system. If you mean a fixed and universally accepted
system, I agree. But if you say that they are foreign to the use of the
basset horn, that is a different story since the basset horn is not a basset
horn without them. Le Blanc, which used to (and may still) make such an
instrument, called it "the Clarinet in F. It was an instrument pitched in F
that simply went down to low E. I played one and behind which there is an
interesting story.

Leinsdorf was conducting a major orchestra and playing the Stravinsky
symphonies of wind instruments, which has a part reading "clarinet in F."
At one point in the rehearsal, he looked over at the player (who was using
his basset horn) and asked, "What are you playing on?" The player took one
look at the part and immediately answered, "This is a clarinet in F."

Leinsdorf said, "that's good. In Europe it is sometimes played on a basset
horn."

Dan Leeson

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nancy Buckman" <nebuckman@-----.com>
To: "The Klarinet Mailing List" <klarinet@-----.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 8:46 PM
Subject: Re: [kl] Basset Horn Question

> Dan,
>
> I am sorry for the miscommunication, and can see where typing on a
> computer
> whose battery is about to die might just take me with it! What I meant to
> say was that basset horns do not have a standard fingering system for the
> basset notes, but that does not make them any less of a basset horn. The
> Boehm system for fingering is the same on any Boehm (full or modified)
> system instrument. The four basset notes, and their alternates, are not
> part of the system. Those will, in fact, be different from maker to
> maker,
> as well as within a given maker's own models (the Fox horns). It then
> becomes the musician's problem to deal with the fingering subtleties of
> those notes.
>
> I played many different brands of basset horn (including yours and Keith's
> Fox models) before choosing my own (Leblanc), which was chosen expressly
> for
> the layout of the basset note keys. A modified Boehm system clarinet may
> go
> to low E or E flat, or might have a left hand Eb/Ab key, and maybe even a
> right hand C#/G# trill key. But the basic system is standard for all
> modified Boehm clarinets. The basset notes are not part of the system
> though, and can be in any layout the manufacturer chooses. My point was
> that Tom should not have any difficulty writing for basset horn just
> because
> it is an F instrument, or because he has never played it. If he
> understands
> clarinets and composition, the two should be mutually compatible.
>
> And because he was wise enough to ask about the clef issue, those of us
> who
> play basset horn probably will not have any nasty little surprises waiting
> for us, as we play his music. I will admit that while I can read all
> clefs,
> I would prefer to stay within a given clef, instead of having to change my
> mindset every few bars. I am quite proficient on piano, so bass clef is
> not
> a reading problem per se, but it is difficult for me, personally, to have
> to
> switch from clef to clef when playing. I have exactly the same problem
> when
> I have to switch from F recorders to C recorders, and that has nothing to
> do
> with clefs. Thanks Tom, for being thoughtful enough to ask. I am most
> appreciative, as I fully expect to play your music, even if you choose to
> change clefs within the piece!
>
> Nancy
> --
> Nancy Buckman
> AACC Symphony
> Opera AACC
> Early Music Society of Northern MD
> nebuckman@-----.com
> _______________________________________________
> Klarinet mailing list
> Klarinet@-----.com
> To do darn near anything to your subscription, go to:
> http://klarinet-list.serve-music.com

_______________________________________________
Klarinet mailing list
Klarinet@-----.com
To do darn near anything to your subscription, go to:
http://klarinet-list.serve-music.com