Low-range instruments > contrabass clarinet in B-flat

Range of the most common contrabass clarinets made by Leblanc “paperclip”, Selmer and Eppelsheim to low C [ c / C3 ] sounding [ Bb,, / Bb0 ]. Some instruments — eg. Leblanc “straight” & Vito models — have a range down to low Eb [ eb / Eb3 ] sounding [ Db, / Db1 ].

General

This is the lowest instrument of the clarinet family today, pitched one octave below the bass clarinet. Despite the size and cost of contrabass clarinets, they are relatively common coming in different shapes and sizes. A lot like the bass clarinet, the sound of the contrabass clarinet can be heard quite often in new music for small to large ensembles, but also film scores and more recent orchestral works. It has a very large range offering many different colours from subsonic rumblings to glassy high harmonics.

Nearby range and tone colour pairings: bass oboe, baritone saxophone, bassoon, contrabassoon, horn, trombone, bass trombone, percussion, cello, double bass

Distant range and tone colour pairings: high woodwinds, high brass, high/small percussion, high strings

—Video example in preparation—

Notable repertoire:

Gérard Grisey — Anubis-Nout (1983) for solo contrabass clarinet
Franco Donatoni — Ombra (1984) for solo contrabass clarinet
Richard Barrett — interference (1996-2000) for solo contrabass clarinet, voice & bass drum
Liza Lim — Machine for Contacting the Dead (1999-2000) for solo bass/contrabass clarinet & cello and ensemble
Dominik Karski — the outward impulse (2007) for solo contrabass clarinet & tam-tam

Transposition hacks

sounding > written: think a major second higher then two octaves higher [ + M2 + 2Œ ] • if the sounding notation is in bass clef, read as mezzo-soprano clef • if the sounding notation is in treble clef, read as tenor clef
written > sounding: think a major second lower then two octaves lower [ - M2 - 2Π]