Gold-plated Leblanc contra clarinets

Over the last six months I’ve been busy upgrading my original Leblanc contralto and contrabass clarinets. These heritage instruments were built in the 1960s and have surely seen their fair share of action. I purchased my contrabass in 2008 and my contralto in 2021 from second-hand dealers and have been playing them in various orchestras and smaller ensembles ever since.

My labour of love is keywork: I insist on minimal play and noise in connecting keys, spending countless hours adjusting cork contact points, as well as attaining a polished matt finish on all spatula and round keys. Das Blashaus installed three hexagonal screw points on each instrument for adjusting the L23 and R123 axis, as well as a low Eb tonehole on the contralto. Musikhaus Hirsiger got rid of dints in the bore, gave both instruments a chemical clean and provided the instrument bodies with a polished matt finish. Galvanik Hofmann applied the gold-plating. Reed & Squeak have made custom cases, Wood & Winds custom key risers, ARCS a new contrabass spike for playing whilst standing and Rita Abgottspon has sewn black velvet and gold cord storage bags for the individual parts (cases, key risers, spike and bags not yet pictured).

New chart available: Underblown Multiphonics

Back in 2018, I collated the underblown multiphonic possibilities for B-flat and A clarinets and these are now available in a newly formatted PDF chart incl. written and transposed notations, fingerings and remarks. Underblown multiphonics are predominantly soft sounds that are accessible throughout the clarion and altissimo registers. This chart will aid composers and clarinettists in better understanding these very beautiful sounds.

New arrangement available: William Lawes Suite No. 1 in G minor

A new arrangement for flexible instrumentation is available in my shop. William Lawes was a composer of early 17th century consort music and is still today considered one of the most innovative English composers of the early Baroque period. This music has fascinated me for a long time now and I am embarking on a period of arranging these consort works so that they can be played in various instrumentations. That means, that each part appears in different clefs and transpositions, with the required range given at the start of each part. This could be a enriching concert experience or simply an interesting exercise for any group of 5 instruments.

The Suite No. 1 in G minor by William Lawes includes a score in C, and the 5 individual parts in 28 different transpositions or clefs.

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by!

This is a new home for the reference material I’ve been working on behind the scenes. Bit by bit existing material will be re-released here as new material is developed, and I hope this is helpful for your work as a clarinettist, other instrumentalist or composer. I also welcome suggestions for future posts: what are you finding difficult at the moment? What do you want to know more about? What is a topic on which there are very few or no online resources? Feel free to suggest any of the above and more using my contact form.

Enjoy!