 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: RobertWYu
Date: 2015-03-03 11:00
Hi everyone,
I was reading on the boards here about how some Shostakovitch Symphonies call for the bass clarinet extended range, such as his 4th or 7th. However, if I recall correctly, low C bass clarinets only came into mass production in the 60's, and before then there were only handmade extensions. (Speaking of which, what caused the production of low C bass clarinets?) Since Shostakovitch's 4th Symphony was written in the 30's, did bass clarinet players have to get a custom made extension to play the newly written piece? Or were there Russian bass clarinets that went down to low C back then? I'm thinking that the latter may have been true, as Shostakovitch presumably knew the range of the instruments that he wrote for and wouldn't write beyond an instrument's range. But if he didn't, did he expect a player to simply make it work, like Mahler and a bassoon low A? Additionally, since these antique extended range bass clarinets existed, why don't we see any in museums or an auctions?
Secondly. when did the double register key mechanism (the one with a vent on the neck) get invented, and when did it become widespread? All the old photos I see of bass clarinetists are of players using a single register key, and I'd imagine that it's very difficult to play some of the harder repertoire without the newer mechanism. I'm also a little surprised that whoever invented it didn't patent it, as I see all professional models have the mechanism.
Post Edited (2015-03-03 11:15)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-03-03 15:49
Oehler system bass clarinets were built to low C long before it was offered on Boehm system basses. They also had automatic speaker mechanisms with three vents, sometimes semi-automatic with two touches but to keep it simple for the player, they had just the single speaker touchpiece and the mechanism did the hard work for the player.
Simple system and early pro level Boehm system basses had two simple action speaker keys with the vents in the same places as you'll see on basses with fully automatic speaker mechanisms - the thumb touch directly above the thumbplate was used from throat Bb to upper register Eb and opened the lower speaker vent on the body, then that was released and the touchpiece to the right was used from E upwards which opened the vent on the crook.
This speaker mechanism was never developed into a semi-automatic one as you'll see on oboes whereby you can remain holding the lower speaker key down and open the upper one and the lower vent closes automatically, but they went from simple to fully automatic by fitting the linkages from RH3 and the throat A key to determine which vent should be open at any point depending on which note is played.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: ebonite
Date: 2015-03-03 16:29
There were also bassoon-shaped bass clarinets that had an extended range to low c. These were used in the 19th century but fell out of use. If Keith Bowen is reading this forum, he would be able to give more information. You can see some if you type "bassoon-shaped bass clarinet" into google images.
It's interesting to see that when Rimsky Korsakov wrote his "Principles of Orchestration" (1912), he seemed to be assuming that the bass clarinet goes to low c.
Look at Table B on page 12 of the pdf document (p17 of the actual text) :
http://tinyurl.com/kgsjeto
BTW, in the orchestral repertoire, there are earlier examples of extended range than the Shostakovich symphonies. Rachmaninov's "Isle of the dead" (1908) has a low c in the bass clarinet part. Strauss's "Death and Transfiguration" (1889) has a low D, and there is also a low D in at least one of the Liszt symphonic poems.
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Author: HANGARDUDE
Date: 2015-03-05 17:16
Before Shostakovich wrote the Low C, R. Strauss and Stravinsky wrote for Low Ds for the bass clarinet(Death and Transfiguration, Pertrushka). The Low D also has been seen occasionally in concert band pieces. Plus it is also useful for playing cello parts. While it has become a norm that the student and "short" basses have a range to Low Eb, IMHO it is only logical if they extend it to Low D, for the instrument will be far more useful and valuable. Perhaps the Left pinkie key would have done it. In fact I believe every low clarinet should at least have a Low D key. If the lower saxes have the Low A vent to extend the range, wouldn't it be logical if they do the same on the low clarinets?
Back to the reperatoire topic, Mahler would also have written beyond the existing range at that time. There is a passage in his 6th which the bass clarinet is intended to unison with the bassons down to Low C#, but Mahler omitted the Low C# on th bass Cl part, leaving it to the bassons only, though nowadays some bass clarinettists restore that omitted note. There also seems to be more omitted extended notes in his 7th, But that has yet to be verified.
Josh
Post Edited (2015-03-06 09:07)
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