 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-08-07 20:51
I confess I've only heard David Shifrin on one of his Mozart recordings using a basset clarinet (K. 581 with the Emerson String Quartet).
I also confess to not liking his tone very much. But I realize the basset clarinet is a very unique animal and is perhaps not the best horn on which to render an opinion of a player. So... does the basset clarinet give a player a vastly different tone than on a standard A? It's a mighty big honkin' piece of wood, so I imagine it comes with its own set of challenges, with perhaps tone quality being among them.
/on to look for more Shifrin recordings at the libraryh
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-08-07 21:27
Ralph - A bit over a year ago, I heard David S [in person at our OK Mozart, Bartlesville,OK] play both the Concerto and Quintet, fabulous facility and tonality. He played the Conc. on the Basset, but I noticed he played the Q on a "standard?" A, which surprised me. I had no chance to speak to him, wish I had asked him the "usual questions". Hunt for recordings! Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2003-08-07 21:47
I recently heard Sabine Meyer play the Mozart concerto on a bassett clarinet, Oehler system of course. I would describe the tone as a little more mellow than the standard Oehler A. I assume also she was using a German sized mouthpiece. To me the projection and dynamic range she produced on this instrument were comparable to a standard clarinet but the low C extension seemed to take some of the tops out of the traditional German clarinet sound but maintained the instensity characteristic of the school. Maybe the difference in sound is more pronounced on a Boehm system. My only experience is a couple of performances I did years back of the Mozart Requiem where we played Buffet Bassett Horns. I found a sacrifice in flexibilty on these horns and needed to use more tongue to achieve any sort of phrasing, even to the extent of breaking slurs. I also found that I needed to blow quite loud to even be heard. Maybe the Boehm bassett clarinet behaves in a similar way.
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-08-07 22:05
I've also heard Sabine Meyer's recordings on the basset, and she sounds vastly different than Shifrin, part of which I attribute to the Oehler.
Shifrin just sounds a bit too dark and ringy for my taste, especially in the first movement of 581. Though the CD jacket says nothing about his using a basset, he does venture down to low C in the first movement and in the variations. The CD also comes with the Brahms Quintet, and he sounds much different. I'm assuming it's the basset that gives him that ringiness. I do need to find more examples of his work.
I'm just kinda searching for someone who has a tone that appeals to me other than Marcellus. Harold Wright was great, but his vibrato bugged me sometimes. I have yet to hear Jon Manasse except in sound clips from Amazon, so I guess he's next.t
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
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Author: Wes
Date: 2003-08-09 02:37
At one time, I was thinking of extending my full Boehm A Buffet clarinet down to a low C to make a Bassett clarinet. With a temporary keyless tube added to the instrument, it just did not sound as good as I hoped, and the extension was not made for it. However, on a new Bassett clarinet, they may do some acoustic work that would make it sound all right. Good luck!
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