Clarinets

introduction | piccolo clarinet in A-flat | piccolo clarinet in E-flat | clarinet in C | clarinets in B-flat & A | clarinet d’amore / basset horn in G | basset horn in F | alto clarinet in E-flat | bass clarinet in B-flat | contralto clarinet in E-flat | contrabass clarinet in B-flat

Mid-range instruments > alto clarinet in E-flat

General

This section is under construction. In the meantime please refer to this very interesting DMA thesis on the alto clarinet titled “The Unrealised Potential of the Alto Clarinet”.

Transposition hacks

sounding > written: think a minor third lower then one octave higher [ - m3 + Œ ] • read treble as if soprano clef
written > sounding: think a minor third higher then one octave lower [ + m3 - Π]

Mid-range clarinets (clarinet d’amore, basset horns in G and F, and alto clarinet)

The group of mid-range clarinets is less well-known when compared to the high- and low-range instruments but I am particularly fond of them. The definitions of and boundaries between mid-range clarinets were for a time unclear (i.e. clarinets d’amore, basset horns and alto clarinets were being made in all sorts of transpositions below middle C) but today, these have crystallised into a trinity of useful transpositions each a whole tone lower than the other (G - F - E-flat), and each instrument possessing unique sonic qualities: clarinet d’amore in G, basset horns in G and F and alto clarinet in E-flat.

At the time that instrument makers began experimenting with lower/alto clarinets, a trend was set in motion by the oboe family to do with bell shapes. The oboe d’amore had come about around 1717 and was used widely in masses and cantatas particularly in combination with plaintive, mournful music. The covered (=less rich in overtones) sound of the instrument has inspired composers to write for it, from Graupner and Bach through to Ravel and Debussy. Clarinet makers around 1740 began experimenting with bell shapes and found that the same kind of covered sound was attainable. Whilst the clarinet d’amore and its gentle sound didn’t enjoy the same success as the oboe d’amore, the instrument was employed in various guises until the mid-19th century.

The mid-range clarinets are the highest clarinets that exhibit slight bends over the course of the instrument on account of their size. The clarinet d’amore was the first instrument to exhibit a bend in the form of a curved metallic (mostly) or wooden (rarely) neck. The earliest basset horns however were first built in a completely curved form (much like the oboe da caccia) ending in a box — in which the bore makes several final curves — and a metal bell. The box enabled a range to low written C3 (c) (also known as the basset range, lit. small bass) and the metallic bell/horn was directly inspired by both the oboe da caccia and brass instruments, earning the instrument the name basset horn, which despite the modernisation of the instrument to look like an alto clarinet, has stuck. The modern alto clarinet in E-flat is considered to have developed after the d’amore and basset horn, even though low, straight clarinets (from nominal pitch G downwards) with flared, wooden bells in the 18th century were generally named alto clarinets. The alto clarinet was built in G, F and E, however developments in the regions now known as France and southern Belgium helped the instrument to migrate to its final nominal pitch of E-flat. Both the basset horn and alto clarinet have curved metallic necks and small, saxophone-like bells in the case of instruments manufactured in France, or upward pointing flared wooden bells if manufactured in Germany. A clarinet d’amore in G (Schwenk & Seggelke) and an alto clarinet in E-flat (Dietz Klarinetten) both with basset range to low C were invented in the 21st century. With technological advances making even better mid-range clarinets a reality and a resurgence of interest in rare instruments from both composers and clarinettists becoming evident, the future may be very bright for the often neglected and misunderstood mid-range clarinets.