 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinet60
Date: 2009-06-16 21:00
I came upon a very old Couesnon hard rubber mouthpiece and was wondering if anyone knows which company might have made this blank? Perhaps Brad Behn, Greg Smith or one of our other fine makers might know?
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2009-06-16 22:25
Couesnon used many different clarinet mouthpiece blanks. Some of them were Chedevilles. Pictures or very accurate description would be helpful to identify this mouthpiece.
Vytas Krass
Custom clarinet mouthpiece maker
Professional clarinet technician
Former professional clarinet player
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Author: clarinet60
Date: 2009-06-18 16:49
Hi Vytas,
It's got a single line above and below, and the Couesnon logo beneath the lower ligature line in type that is curved slightly. Hope this helps...
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2009-06-18 17:22
Couesnon made nice stuff. I had an Eb clarinet from them that was decent.
Their mouthpieces tended to be of good vintage old rubber, not unlike Ched. or Lel., and perhaps they even came from their French neighbor.
You likely have stumbled onto a nice representation.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: clarinet60
Date: 2009-06-18 17:48
Thanks for the info. I was quite surprised when I found this mouthpiece as it was in original condition and played extraordinarily well, even compared to some of my other Cheds/Lelandais.
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2009-06-19 01:15
Does your mouthpiece have "A. Perier Conservatorie Paris" below the Couesnon Monopole logo? My original CM mouthpiece has it. Yes, it is a very nice mouthpiece indeed.
According to information found on several threads, August Perier was the Professor of Clarinet at the Paris Conservatory from 1918 to 1947.
Roger
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Author: heather_roche
Date: 2010-06-30 15:18
Not only that, but Perier was the teacher of Henri Akoka, the clarinettist who premiered the Quartet for the End of Time. This is particularly relevant because Akoka played a Couesnon mouthpiece (with the Perier facing) and Couesnon clarinet.
And apparently when Messiaen heard Guy Deplus play the Quartet (I suppose he's the second clarinettist to do it?) he was a bit disappointed that Deplus didn't sound like Akoka....
Be a nice experiment to play the Quartet with his set-up, I'd say.
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Author: William
Date: 2010-06-30 16:20
I think I once saw one of those mouthpieces on a school clarinet where I used to teach. A student dropped it and "it broke" (you teachers have all heard *that* before, right??) and I thought, 'good ridence'. Had I only known back then what........but we've all thought that, right?? Dang......
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-06-30 23:08
I've got one Couesnon "A. Perier" mouthpiece now, and have had probably half a dozen in the past. To make them playable for me, I have had to reface every one, the facings as received are too close and too short for my tastes. Nice interior dimensions and good quality rubber, though.
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Author: heather_roche
Date: 2010-07-01 12:57
Amazing how many of them seemed to have ended up in the States. Rather curious now, must have a look to see if I can get a hold of one here.
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2010-07-03 01:41
For me, I'm extremely happy using a Walter Grabner K14 mouthpiece on my 1969 Couesnon Monopole clarinet. An original Couesnon (A. Perier) mouthpiece was included with an earlier (1960) Couesnon Monopole clarinet I acquired. It is, indeed, a good quality mouthpiece. However, the Grabner K14 really brought my Couesnon to life.
Roger
http://www.amc.net/RogerMAldridge
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Author: clarinet60
Date: 2010-07-04 17:57
I recently had Richard Hawkins reface the Couesnon N3 mouthpiece, and it plays like nothing I've ever had (including quite a few Cheds, QS's, Kaspar, etc...). Could be a fluke, but I guess I lucked out. It responds in all registers extremely well, has wonderful evenness throughout, and a warmth that still projects. If you find one, it is certainly worth sending to one of the top refinishers to give it a good facing.
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