 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BassetHorn
Date: 2006-03-27 20:59
With the acquisition of Morrie Backun's talent, Leblanc sends a strong message about revamping its product line.
What would earn my utmost respect for the company for its innovation and imagination is the revival of the octo-contra clarinets....
Who DOESN'T think this is just a pipe dream?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-03-27 21:09
I've only seen the one pictured on the front page of their catalogue (from the '80s), along with all their other clarinets. As well as the one in the contrabass compendium which is probably the same one. I wonder if elephants react to it?
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Author: Brent Goodsell
Date: 2006-03-28 00:11
I would lave to see them made, and I would love to own one.
Who could afford one?
Estimated price?
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Author: BassetHorn
Date: 2006-03-28 01:43
Can you imagine if John Williams got a hold of it and wrote for it in one of his big mega movie scores? He would have made Leblanc's work worthwhile.
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2006-03-28 03:17
Well, I hate to rain on the Kenosha lovefest here, but my experience with the larger horns would lead me to believe that the "octo-contra" would work, but that the tone quality/timbre that would issue out of the thing would be less than optimal (and that's being charitable).
Yeah, I know that (with a good mouthpiece and some care to select a good reed) you can get a mellow sound out of a well set up horn. I've played contra-alto (which is really the bass of the clarinet family, but let's not quibble) in a couple of shows, and even a plastic bodied horn can be made to do the job. And, my time with the Hovenagel designed "paper clip" horns has been even better (in part, I believe, because both were provided with a real mouthpiece).
However, even the top of the line in this neighborhood are more oriented towards the specialty use of a concert band or clarinet choir. It's a limited field for a very limited horn.
Put another way, if a company that offers the Ab sopranino clarinet can't sell them, it's unlikely that the octocontra bass clarinet is going to go flying off of the warehouse shelves.
Plus, the things are a bitch to carry. Twenty years ago, when I did On The Twentieth Century, covering the contra alto/"bass" part meant an extra four trips to and from the car each rehearsal and performance, one more heavy and cumbersome load to thread up and down the spiral staircase that accessed the pit, and one more setup to get ready and keep in playing condition -- all of this for precisely ONE stinking vocal number (and a short one too -- Our Private World) that could easily be covered on an extended range bass that I was already having to bring as well. A lot of work for very little additional musical effect (and the standard union doubling spiff for humping it all around).
Speaking of which, I'm in the midst of prep for a production of Wonderful Town. While I'm on the Bb clarinet/Bb bass clarinet/alto sax/baritone sax book, one of my sax players will be tootling away on bass sax as part of the festivities.
His book (bassoon/Bb clarinet/alto sax/bass sax) has the bass part in parallel with a baritone transposition, but most of the use of the bass is clearly for the comic effect and it shows up well. Too bad the case doesn't come with a recovery winch and derrick to handle the silly thing...
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
Post Edited (2006-03-29 17:13)
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Author: diz
Date: 2006-03-28 04:06
John J.
drool?? - you'd certainly probably end up with a sizeable amount saliva playing one.
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
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