วีดีโอ

I'd love to own a piccolo clarinet in D. For the moment, I can cover parts for piccolo clarinets in D and G on my instruments in Eb and Ab.

Even though we typically think of the instrument in F when we say "basset horn", this isn’t the case with the basset clarinet. A basset clarinet can be theoretically any clarinet with a basset extension (basset derived from Italian bassetto meaning "small bass"). I know people who own basset clarinets in C, Bb, A and G. So which instrument are you referring to, when you say "basset clarinet"?

@@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet To me, "basset clarinet" is the instrument Mozart wrote his concerto for.

Sure, and you’re right in thinking that, but the term basset clarinet could refer to an instrument in C, Bb, A or G. Mozart completed his concerto for a basset clarinet in A (even though it was drafted for a basset horn in G) but did also write music for other basset clarinets. For instance, in his last opera, La Clemenza di Tito, the original manuscript clearly shows a part for basset clarinet in Bb.

@@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet Thanks for the good info!

Yes indeed! The big thing is knowing/planning where to breathe, sticking to it, and maintaining an expressive legato over the breaks. As you say, sounds simple, probably isn’t.

This is not a compendium of all available clarinets as stated in the video description. The video is based on my personal collection and I simply have not yet had a need to acquire an alto clarinet because the basset horn can cover its range, and the alto clarinet has very little significant repertoire in the domain of orchestral and chamber music. I appreciate the potential that the instrument has, but I’m afraid I have other priorities.

This is not a compendium of all available clarinets as stated in the video description. The video is based on my personal collection and I simply have not yet had a need to acquire an alto clarinet because the basset horn can cover its range, and the alto clarinet has very little significant repertoire in the domain of orchestral and chamber music. I appreciate the potential that the instrument has, but I’m afraid I have other priorities.

You are absolutely right, I will talk to my video editor!

Feel free to try it out and let me know how you go!

@ I totally would, except I would need to acquire a Contrabass Clarinet first 🤣

Quick question: why do you capitalise contrabass clarinet and contrabassoon?

@ That is a good question haha. I’m not really sure, nor do I have a logical explanation for it. I guess my answer would be, “force of habit?” Haha.

It’s a joy to play but no, not easy.

In choosing this excerpt, I was looking for something that demonstrated the sound of the low register of the instrument. I am not saying in any way that this excerpt should be played on a contrabass clarinet. Yes Schönberg scored a contrabass clarinet in his Fünf Orchesterstücke but the part isn’t written in an idomatic way, appears only in one out of five movements and is scored for a contrabass clarinet in A. The part can be played on the common Bb instrument but I didn’t think it was a good fit for this video. I think that contrabassoons are more common than contrabass clarinets so you don’t need to feel you have to defend its territory, and no one in their right mind would replace cbsn with a cbcl in an orchestral setting. In hindsight, the contrabass clarinet solo from Heiner Goebbel's 'Surrogate Cities' would’ve also been a good choice, it’s just not that low.

@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet It's still a great video, I'm only gently ribbing you. I've sent it on to others to watch. You play especially beautifully, thank you for posting it 👍🏻👍🏻

Thanks! Generally transcriptions are a way for repertoire to become more well known and ultimately benefit the original instrument's cause.

Merci beaucoup! 😉

Yes, this is an important moment for this instrument. If I can just repeat here: this video is based on my personal collection of instruments. I apologise for the absence of the alto clarinet but it hasn’t been a priority. The alto clarinet simply doesn’t have the same standing of the basset horn in the classical music repertoire, and one solo from the wind orchestra repertoire isn’t going to change that.

If you like the Ab piccolo clarinet, check out Andreyev's Fin d‘études and Boneh's Municipal Shuffle. You won’t regret it.

@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet that I shall, thank you!

See the other comments on alto clarinet.

Thank you!

I find the labels soprano and sopranino when it comes to high clarinets misleading. The Eb clarinet is a piccolo (=small) clarinet, just as it is called „clarinetto piccolo“ in Italian, „petite clarinette“ in French and „kleine Klarinette“ in German. They all refer to it as small. English speakers refer to the piccolo flute with this same word, piccolo, in instance the instrument is an octave higher. Oboists however refer to the musette in Eb or F also as a piccolo oboe, because it’s a small oboe. So whilst you may not agree with me, calling it a piccolo clarinet isn‘t wrong. As for your last question, the reason is that a basset horn covers and goes beyond the range of an alto clarinet. Also, I needed a basset horn and I have not yet once needed an alto clarinet, due to the fact that the instrument is predominantly found in wind orchestras.

It hasn’t been released yet!

You are correct: possibly the first use of the contrabass clarinet in the orchestra if I‘m not mistaken. Sadly though, the part for this instrument is incredibly boring, playing in only 1 out of 5 movements.

An instrument which, as far as I know, has never been built in A

This was most likely a similar situation to when Mahler first wrote for the Bass Clarinet in A - because Soprano Clarinets exist in both Bb and A, composers have a tendency to assume auxiliaries also function like this

Yes but bass clarinets in A were indeed built and played on.

@@TheodoreBrown314 Bass Clarinets in A and even C are very much real, though rare. Wagner was the first to write for Bass in A afaik

This seems to be the most frequent takeaway… No, I don’t yet have an alto clarinet but surprisingly can still sleep at night. 😉

@@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet ☺

The neck is gold plated brass. It’s adjustable (Leblanc basset horn necks are generally one piece meaning you can only pull out at the tenon), much like an alto or bass clarinet neck.

It’s not wood because I’ve not yet played a wooden neck that I think makes a low clarinet sound better.

Thank you!

@@davidrowe1004 definitely agree. I actually found his channel through another channel and was immediatey hooked after hearing him play. Plus, I’m obsessed and a bit jealous of his extensive clarinet collection haha.

If you refer to the accompanying video on @ScoreCircuit then we talk about this. I use the instrument as a clarinet d‘amore (with basset range) and a basset horn in G, depending on the repertoire and desires of the composer. The Turkish clarinet is indeed a clarinet in G, but always has a flared bell and mostly an Oehler system mechanism. I would say the sound of this clarinet and my d‘amore have very little in common. It’s somewhat unfair to refer to all G clarinets as Turkish clarinets, as there are references to clarinets in G in the music of Gossec, Mozart and other pre-19th century composers, long before the clarinet was introduced to Turkey.

And yes, I am of course more than aware that my collection of clarinets is incomplete. The video does not purport to offer a complete sound sample of all clarinets, just the ones that I own. There are plenty of videos of alto clarinets around.

​@@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet As I said my referral of the G clarinets as "Turkish Clarinets" is mostly colloquial rather than technical- I'm well aware the G clarinets/basset horns were used by Mozart and other pre 19th century composers. And pardon me for the Eb alto/basset remark- that was just a quip! That said, if I'm ever gonna get an Eb alto I intend to have it extended down to basset range- it could make use of one to expand its modern potential.

A low C alto clarinet is already in production: Dietz Klarinetten. You just have to come to terms with the Oehler system.

Thanks!

Thanks!

I will share this with my high school clarinets and other directors. 🎶

Do you have clarinets that go to high school? 😂

You're welcome, I'm glad they help!

The original draft was for a basset horn in G and not a basset clarinet in A. The concerto was originally conceived as a work in G major. This original manuscript (a scan thereof) is available on IMSLP.

Here‘s a link to the manuscript mentioned: imslp.org/wiki/Basset_Horn_Concerto%2C_K.584b%2F621b_(Mozart%2C_Wolfgang_Amadeus)

You might be referring to the Telemann Fantasia No. 2 for flute. This is an arrangement of the work of the same name but originally for viola da gamba. This is explained in the video description.

@@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet yeah I think you're right lol! I did realize that it was arranged differently for a different instrument, I just got excited because I recognized it's the same piece haha 😆

It's handy to also know the Telemann Werkverzeichnis number (TWV) so you don't confuse pieces with similar or even identical titles.

Glad you think so!

What is the tuning of that piccolo clarinet? A flat, i think.

Spot on!

Thanks a lot!

Thanks! I’m playing a Leblanc with a modified bore and Seggelke barrels/bell.

@@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet Sounds amazing :-)

If I understand your question correctly, in the normal playing position, the teeth of the lower jaw should not touch the reed. The flesh of the lower lip is placed in between the teeth and the reed (the reed rests on the lower lip). If you are performing teeth tones, the teeth of the lower jaw come into contact with the reed in a very gentle way, moving upwards along the reed to raise the pitch, and downwards along the reed to lower the pitch. The lips need to stay pursed around the mouthpiece in order to control the sound, and the airstream needs to be fast and focussed, regardless of the dynamic.

@@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet thank u sir ☺️

Shortly normal posititon i wont use my teeth to get sound just little lip pressure and correct air stream??

Don't use your teeth to create a normal sound on the clarinet. Teeth tones are a specific and limited sound set. If you are learning the clarinet, I suggest you ask a clarinet teacher or watch videos on how to play the clarinet.

Thanks very much for your kind words. I don’t think the basset horn is in need of a revival necessarily. It’s not as if the basset horn parts of works by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Richard Strauss etc. are just left out, they’re still played on basset horns: in most cases it’s unavoidable. Quite a few contemporary composers have written works for basset horn, but given the relative unpopularity of these works, many don’t register (yet) within the classical canon, a situation that I hope will change in time. The wind orchestra obviously prefers the alto clarinet in Eb but I do know of some wind orchestras in which the alto part is played on basset horn. Basset horns continue to be produced and further developed by the biggest and some smaller manufacturers. There are however only a few players around today performing on basset horn in a soloistic context, in part due to the fact that there are only a few good concertos and it’s difficult to acquire opportunities as a basset horn soloist. In my opinion, the true revival needs to occur in the minds of composers and commissioners in order to rethink the now very tried, tested and tired cohort of common clarinets (Eb/Bb/bass) and explore the possible colours in combining other clarinets, including basset horn.

@@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet In concert bands generally used the Eb probably because in orchestration it's easier to use the whole clarinet family. In sound and dynamics the basset is far superior to the alto clarinet. I think for start it would be nice some chamber music adaptations where the basset-horn can replace the F or Eb horn or cello. In the classic, early romantic era chamber music it is a good place to start. I think much more players will use it...but the price of a decent basset-horn is pretty much inhibitory for the average player

I think the transposition of Eb is in keeping with many of the instruments of a concert band, which is perhaps why the alto clarinet in Eb became cemented in this ensemble, and the basset horn in F remained an occasional character of the symphony orchestra and other smaller orchestras and chamber ensembles. We can't change history in this respect and that's completely OK. I'm more than confident however, that regardless of whether the instrument is an alto clarinet in Eb, or a basset horn in F, it only depends on how the instrument is made when it comes to how good it sounds (and the skills of the player of course). I'm sure that the top of the line alto clarinets (among others, Buffet, Selmer, Dietz [German system]) can sound exquisite with the right setup (good mp, lig, reeds) and some dedicated practice. My basset horn is a second-hand Leblanc on which that I had a lot of work done. This instrument wouldn't normally be classified as top of the line, but with attention to detail, financial investment and hard practice, you can turn an affordable instrument into something special. In terms of transcriptions/arrangements for basset horn, I think anything with a similar tessitura is worth looking into, just as long as one doesn't distort the relationship between instrumental parts, i.e. simply playing a concerto/sonata one octave lower without adjusting the voicing of the accompaniment is simple and utter nonsense.

Thanks! The sound of the basset horn depends on its construction: small, mid, large size bore, type of bell (metal or wooden) and neck construction. All of these factors also contribute to the sound of the clarinet d’amore so it’s difficult to generalise about the comparison in sound between the two instruments. To my mind however, the d’amore has a more mellow sound than the basset horn.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks Adam!

literally my first 2 thoughts <3

What was the third?

@@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet NSFW

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Clarinet Concerto KV 622, performed here on a basset horn in G

Thanks Marco, that means a lot to hear. The instrument has a lot of potential and hopefully this video displays some of it.

Thank you very much Marco!

Thanks very much! When I’m preparing a performance on Ab clarinet it takes a lot of time. It’s difficult to play but can sound really beautiful!

Why don’t you try turning up the volume?