 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-10-31 09:48
Last night I had the pleasure of hearing the Munich Symphony Orchestra perform the Mozart Requiem Mass. Naturally the clarinetists played on bassets which sounded great. With the absence of an oboe on stage, the band tuned to the first basset !!!! Is this typical? If not, it should be !
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-10-31 11:22
Last time I played Mozart's Requiem I had to give the tuning note as I was on 1st basset horn.
I wouldn't ever let that honour go to the trumpets!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-10-31 18:23
And bravo to you Chris as well.
Only reason I ask is that the oboe is considered to have a 'pre-determined' pitch. I would have thought the concert master might have taken back his pre-eminence in their absence.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-10-31 18:49
Oboe pitch is far from stable - the note A is only a fairly short length of tube (only LH fingers 1 and 2 closed so it issues from the LH3 tonehole on the top joint) and the tuning can be lipped up or down by the player a fair amount to suit - so as long as the oboist's reeds and chops are in good working order and they have a good ear or use a tuner, there shouldn't be any problem giving a stable and well tuned concert A for everyone to tune to.
A clarinet's (or basset horn's) concert A is far more stable due to the long length of tube involved, but the timbre isn't anywhere near as nasal, similarly with flutes (which will most likely be sharp).
I think the main reason why an oboe gives the concert A is due to the nature of it having a bright timbre which cuts through better - plus oboists can keep the note going for a pretty long time in a single breath (the oboe solo in the slow movement of Tchaikovsky's 4th can easily be played in a single breath), or for several minutes if circular breathing.
Maybe there's a genuine historic reason, but I think it's down to timbre.
The Requiem is hassle-free played on basset horn as at least one edition of it with parts transposed for soprano clarinet is written for Bb, A and C clarinets - so best being played on the one instrument especially if performed in a freezing church or cathedral.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2011-10-31 23:23)
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Author: donald
Date: 2011-10-31 19:21
Every time I've played the MR (on Clarinet and Basset horn, but of course never on Basset Clarinet!) the tuning note has been given by 1st Basset/cl player. dn
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Author: davyd
Date: 2011-10-31 20:47
For Mozart's 39th symphony in Eb, which doesn't call for oboes, 1st clarinet similarly gives the tuning note, or so was the case the one time I played it.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2011-10-31 21:15
Usually take the tuning note from the chamber organ for the Requiem. If one is not being used then usually basset horn or sometimes the leader of the orchestra.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-10-31 22:56
Chris, you've burst my oboe bubble.
I had taken as gospel from YEARS ago that pitch is pretty much set in the making of the reed. The player from whom I took this knowledge claimed to have a number of reeds ready at any given time of varying lengths to accommodate pitch.
It just goes to show, ya can't trust anyone these days.
....................Paul Aviles
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-10-31 23:35
I've considered making a simple tuning pipe from a scrap oboe top joint with two toneholes in it - one for the A (440Hz) and another a little further up the joint covered with a finger or by a closed key to give Bb when it's opened (for brass and saxes), or a complete undrilled oboe body (with the low Bb vent hole in the bell) for low Bb for tuning brass and saxes which I can keep with me in the absence of oboes. But the chances are I'll probably either forget to keep it in the case cover or forget to put reeds in, so not really worth all the bother.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2011-11-01 00:04
In general I find that the sound of German Basset Horns is much more satisfactory than the Boehm models -probably down to their more correct bore dimensions/relationships.
Of the Boehm models the narrow bore Selmer are IMO more suited to Mozart than the big bore models which in many respects are closer to (and sound more like) alto clarinets. I don't think I have ever heard the truly veiled and smooth sound so needed for the Requiem produced by the Leblanc or Buffet models.
Big problem with the Selmers are they are a pig to play using as they do a standard Bb mouthpiece. Perhaps if someone could produce a slightly larger bore mouthpiece (say 16mm) they would respond more easily.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-11-01 01:06
I lengthened the crook on my ancient ring key Selmer basset horn by around 7-8mm so a standard (unbored) Bb clarinet mouthpiece can be used, but the tuning on the lowest notes is very hit and miss - a D series (c.1988) basset horn wasn't any better around the lowest notes.
The altissimo notes on this ring key Selmer could do with having a perforated fingerplate for LH1 to bring the tuning down on altissimo E and F (although the throat G# key can be used instead for better tuning). The crook bore is 15.2mm but the body bore is around 16mm. Even though my old Selmer is a narrow bore basset horn (based on the very old Buffet design which it looks a lot like), it put a couple of Uebel basset horns to shame when I did a comparison.
The Buffet RC basset horns have a 17mm bore and use an alto mouthpiece whereas the Leblancs have a whopping 18mm bore - the same as their alto clarinets, so they do have a great deal of fatness to their tone which some may like, but not everyone.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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