Mid-range instruments > clarinet d’amore / basset horn in G
Range of the modern clarinet d’amore and the basset horn in G. Historical clarinets d’amore have a range down to low E [ e / E3 ], sounding [ B / B2 ].
General
The modern clarinet d'amore is a very recent development in the clarinet world. The sound of this instrument is perhaps the most gentle of all the clarinets but it can dominate the texture, should it have to. The clarinet d'amore was an instrument used from the late 18th to mid 19th centuries predominantly in chamber music and operas. Its covered sound was unobtrusive but very lyrical and warm. It is the only clarinet with a pear-shaped bell. The modern instrument exhibits a basset range and is extremely agile in all registers. As with most low clarinets, there are few limits to its sonic capabilities. There needs to be more music written for this instrument to ensure it doesn't disappear from the concert stage again.
This instrument can be used as a basset horn in G by changing the setup of the bell. This significantly changes the character of the sound of the instrument.
Nearby range and tone colour pairings: alto flute, oboe d’amore, cor anglais, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, bassoon, flügelhorn, horn, alto trombone, mid range percussion, viola, cello
Distant range and tone colour pairings: extremely high or low sounds from any instrumental group
Video example (18th century)
Notable repertoire (clarinet d’amore in G):
Henri Joseph de Croes — Partitas (ca. 1780) for two clarinets d’amore, two violas and double bass
Johann Simon Mayr — Gloria patri & Sacrificium (ca. 1830) for vocal soloists, clarinet d’amore and orchestra
Chris Dench — Ghosts of Motion (2020) for solo clarinet d’amore
Sachie Kobayashi — être (2022) for clarinet d’amore and ensemble
Notable repertoire (basset horn in G)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Basset Horn Concerto in G Major KV 621b/622 (1791) for basset horn in G and orchestra
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Mi lagnero tascendo KV 437 (ca. 1783) for two sopranos, bass, two clarinets in A, basset horn in G
Carl Philipp Stamitz — Basset Horn Concerto in C Major (ca. 1800) for basset horn in G and orchestra
Transposition hacks
sounding > written: think a perfect fourth higher [ + P4 ] • read as if mezzo-soprano clef
written > sounding: think a perfect fourth lower [ - P4 ]
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.
Bass clef
Bass clef has been used since the 18th century when writing for clarinets capable of producing notes in the basset range of the instrument (written Eb3 to C3 or e♭ to c). As basset clarinets, today’s clarinet d’amore, basset horns and some very few types of alto clarinet fall into this category, a brief excursus into the use of bass clef when writing for clarinet is necessary at this point.
Almost all music for clarinet is written in treble clef due to the practice of playing the clarinet as a transposing instrument, i.e. a written middle C4 (c’) always sounds different depending on the clarinet played (see Transposition above). Earlier examples of music for clarinet show us that sometimes bass clef was used to delineate the context of musical material in the lowest register of the instrument (chalumeau) in contrast to higher passages in eg. the clarion register, that were written in treble clef. Ensemble or orchestral works in which the clarinet part essentially played the role of a bass or tenor voice for the duration, may have been written entirely in bass clef. Over time various conventions evolved that any low clarinet player must be able to navigate. The most common of these are French, German and Italian:
French notation: if bass clef is used at all, it is written one octave lower than the standard transposition, utilising the whole stave. Treble clef is read as normal. (see the above example)
German notation: bass clef and treble clef are written one octave lower, meaning that the clarinettist needs to play passages in treble clef one octave higher.
Italian notation: bass clef and treble clef both adhere to the instruments standard transposition, however much of the bass stave is rendered unusable.
If you as a composer or arranger want to use bass clef for a low clarinet part either in-part or entirely, I would recommend that you use bass clef as shown in the example above, in which the passages in bass clef are notated one octave lower. This enables a smoother visual transition from bass to treble clefs.
