 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: KenJarczyk
Date: 2018-10-10 04:52
Tony Pay,
I had occasion to listen to the Crusell Clarinet Concerto 1 this afternoon.
Quite marvelous, so fluid! The sound intrigues me, may I ask/assume this was on a 1010, with matching mouthpiece? Very individual and gorgeous sound.
Thank You.
Ken Jarczyk
Woodwinds Specialist
Eb, C, Bb, A & Bass Clarinets
Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones
Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2018-10-10 15:49
Thank you very much, Ken.
It was interesting to revisit this 1993 recording after 25 years – I haven't listened to it for at least 10, and was struck by the fact that the Crusell concerti (and the Weber ones) are now available on Spotify. (I couldn't find my copy.)
All these performances are on period instruments – gut strings, hand-horns, and so on. My own instrument for the Crusell was a copy of a 9-key Grenser boxwood instrument by Daniel Bangham of Cambridge, now of Cambridge Woodwind Makers and owner of Wood Wind and Reed, also in Cambridge.
Crusell played on an 11-key Grenser himself. Neither of us had the benefit of Moba cocobolo barrels, Moennig reverse-taper or not – or of Silverstein ligatures and Legere reeds, not to mention Yamaha cutting-edge technology. SO last-but-one and last century...;-)
Tony
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: seabreeze
Date: 2018-10-10 17:50
Nice to see that Daniel Bangham not only makes historical clarinets, he offers the public a course in how to make them. https://www.cambridgewoodwindmakers.org. Participants in the two-week endeavor make a copy of a 5-keyed Simot of Lyon French clarinet (circa 1805), and while they may not have Legere reeds, cocobolo barrels, Silverstein ligatures, and the tech machinery of Backun and Yamaha, they do have a choice of Zapato boxwood, African blackwood, or European boxwood; keys are brass. Sounds like fun for handy people.
Post Edited (2018-10-10 17:51)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2018-10-10 18:13
Unfortunately Daniel stopped making instruments himself on a regular basis years ago. But as you say, he engages in passing on his expertise to others in the courses, and in enabling other instrument makers to do likewise.
He's been an indefatigable enthusiast for music and craftsmanship (against many odds) over the years, and we owe him a great debt of gratitude.
It would be nice for him, and us, to think that his contribution and our subsequent performance and recording endeavours added up to more than just 'fun'; though of course much fun was had in the process.
Tony
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: seabreeze
Date: 2018-10-10 19:16
Making wooden musical instruments by hand can be anything but "fun." It can be debilitating. (Though making just one or two that way might be fun). The excellent San Francisco woodwind tech Daniel Deitch, after 17 years of hard work making Baroque wooden flutes, gave it up because, as he says, "I injured myself repeatedly building instruments the hard way, completely by hand, spending far too many hours reaming, scraping, bending, filing, and sanding" (from his website).
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2018-10-10 21:29
And of course, playing them can be anything but fun too.
The real satisfaction comes rather from people like Ken appreciating our performances, and what they can deliver of what the music has to offer.
This BBoard, on the other hand, seems to me to be rather more concerned with 'the latest kit', and its supposed necessity as promoted by its beneficiaries.
By the way, Daniel – ever the modern man – invested quickly in a computer controlled lathe, and so on. I think he also outsourced what he could of his keymaking. He stopped routinely making instruments because he had a young family and it just wasn't cost-effective compared with his retail business.
Tony
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
