 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: derf5585
Date: 2015-04-05 07:27
I was listening to Mahler -Symphony No 5 Rattle and at 6 minutes the clarinet section played their instruments horizontally. What gives?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4PzRI-bXBk
fsbsde@yahoo.com
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-04-05 07:37
Mahler wrote instructions for clarinets, oboes and French horns at various times to lift their "bells into the air" (Schalltrichter auf!). Done with full commitment it can make the sound courser and, my horn-playing friends insist, louder. It's an effect Mahler uses often.
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-04-05 07:55
Yeah, the idea is that clarinet sound is somewhat directional and you get more of it pointing directly at the audience. It's a somewhat minor point but Mahler seemed to like it.
..........Paul Aviles
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Author: derf5585
Date: 2015-04-05 16:36
For my next invention
A curving barrel so that when the mouthpiece is at less than a 45 degree angle the clarinet is horizontal.
fsbsde@yahoo.com
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-04-05 20:10
derf5585 wrote:
> For my next invention
> A curving barrel so that when the mouthpiece is at less than a
> 45 degree angle the clarinet is horizontal.
>
Well, (realizing that your suggestion was mostly tongue-in-cheek) keep in mind that even Mahler didn't want these instruments played that way all the time. It was an effect that he called for in specific places.
I heard a performance of the Mahler 5th a couple of weeks ago and was intrigued that I saw Jennifer Montone, the orchestra's principal hornist, raise her bell several times for particularly stentorian statements (I can't normally see the horns when I'm playing and they're largely screened from view when I'm in the audience). I couldn't quite see why lifting the horn would make it any louder, since the mouthpiece only rotated (which, since it's round, doesn't change anything) and the bell still faced the back of the stage. The hornists I was with assured me that it does make the horn louder). All I can think of is that maybe with the bell higher the sound bouncing off the back of the shell has fewer objects blocking its path back out to the audience. It seemed to me that if she had wanted to play louder, she could have without the Shaltrichter auf instruction. <shrug>
Karl
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Author: derf5585
Date: 2015-04-05 20:35
"Jennifer Montone, the orchestra's principal hornist, raise her bell several times for particularly stentorian statements"
Maybe the hornists should have their back to the conductor so the bell faces the audience.
fsbsde@yahoo.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-04-05 21:08
It was demonstrated fairly recently by the Halle Orchestra that this 'Schalltrichter Auf' posture adopted for oboes and clarinets not only makes for more direct projection, but also the tone is significantly modified - the player doesn't keep the same mouthpiece/reed to face angle as they normally do as they lift the instrument up which creates a far more raw, raucous or 'rustic' sound which is what is wanted as opposed to the normal smooth sound but a bit brighter.
And it's sad to see American oboists deeply entrenched with Tabuteau's legacy with their very cramped, praying mantis-like postures doing everything they can to retain the same low angle embouchure during these 'Schalltrichter Auf' passages by making themselves look even more uncomfortable by bending their necks right back. Just makes them look bloody ridiculous and has no effect on the sound.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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