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Re: Extended-range bass clarinet history?

Author: LarryBocaner ★2017
Date: 2005-03-15 23:20

I got my first low-C bass clarinet in 1961 (Leblanc Mod. 517) but I'm sure they were in the catalogs somewhat before that. Apparently low-C's were common in Russia before they were worldwide. Shostakovich 4th Symphony and Khachaturian Piano Concerto both date from about 1935, and both mandate low C's for very important solos. Schoeck Bass Clarinet Sonata (Swiss) from 1931 requires low D.

My personal pet peeve is composers who write low C heavy parts in treble clef; too many ledger lines for comfort!

When I coached with Rosario Mazzeo at Tanglewood in 1951 (A.D.) he was then using a Buffet bass clarinet that he had fitted with extra length (mainly in the bell curving upward like a low-A bari sax) extending the low raange to written Bb--Ab concert pitch! It was this horn (and I do mean horn!) that Walter Piston wrote for in his 6th Symphony. When I returned to Tanglewood in '56 Mazzeo had abandoned that instrument for a stock low-C Selmer.

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