I'm very happy to be a clarinet player. I own a bass, Bb, A, C and Eb. I played the alto, contralto and contrabass in college. Professionally, I've played the Bb regularly; both the Eb and A on several gigs; the bass quite often and the C only once (for "Rigoletto"). When people heard I had a C, however, I was happy to lend it out when they came calling. Got a few gifts cards as a token of thanks!
Thanks for your comment, and great that you enjoy playing different kinds of clarinets! I’m playing quite a lot of C at the moment (Wagner, Verdi, Adam, Beethoven) and I think the sound lightens up the woodwind section’s "feel".
The A clarinet solo is one of the most beautiful solos for any instrument ever. I've never played it, but I'm sure that while it appears simple, it's not at all easy to play.
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.
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.
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
@@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.
No Heffalumps and Woozles for Contra? Darn 🐻🍯 Great video, mate! Sounding excellent on all of them - definitely some of the better demos I've seen for the Ab and G clarinets
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.
Just wondering if your clarinet d'amore in G(or as I colloquially call the "Turkish Clarinet") actually a different instrument than the G basset horn, or is it actually the same one just with the barrel & bell swapped? Great playing as always! PS Just one member missing: the Eb alto clarinet (or Eb basset horn if you can obtain one down to Low C 😉)
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.
@@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet Yes, I know both Dietz as well as Leitner und Kraus make a Low C alto. I did have experience with the Oehler system(bore+fingering) some years ago, albeit on bass only(via an instrument by Martin Foag).
I must admit, I am not the biggest fan of clarinets, but I really like your tone and although I am not THAT fond of them, I really enjoy your basset horns :)
Contrabassoonists unite: get your own repertoire! 😁 I'm sure if an orchestra played Mahler 9, there'd be a contrabassoon around. Didn't Schoenberg write for the contrabass clarinet?
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 👍🏻👍🏻
ive never seen anyone call an eb a piccolo clarinet i thought it was sopranino? also how do you have a basset horn but no alto clarinet? arent altos way more common then bassets?
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.
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"?
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.
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.
I'm very happy to be a clarinet player. I own a bass, Bb, A, C and Eb. I played the alto, contralto and contrabass in college. Professionally, I've played the Bb regularly; both the Eb and A on several gigs; the bass quite often and the C only once (for "Rigoletto"). When people heard I had a C, however, I was happy to lend it out when they came calling. Got a few gifts cards as a token of thanks!
Thanks for your comment, and great that you enjoy playing different kinds of clarinets! I’m playing quite a lot of C at the moment (Wagner, Verdi, Adam, Beethoven) and I think the sound lightens up the woodwind section’s "feel".
As a composer, literally loved this video. So helpful for me to just get snapshots of each of these instruments in one video :)
Glad it was helpful!
The A clarinet solo is one of the most beautiful solos for any instrument ever. I've never played it, but I'm sure that while it appears simple, it's not at all easy to play.
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.
Also, the first version of Schoenberg's 5 pieces for orchestra used a contrabass clarinet in A.
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
You are an excellent player! Great video.
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.
Excellent vidéo !
Congratulations !
Merci beaucoup! 😉
Oh this is so great man!
Thanks!
Little correction, the A clarinet solo from Rachmaninov's Symphony 2 is in the third movement, not the second.
You are absolutely right, I will talk to my video editor!
That was Fun! ❤
Great vídeo!!!! Good job 😮
Thanks!
I will share this with my high school clarinets and other directors. 🎶
Do you have clarinets that go to high school? 😂
No Heffalumps and Woozles for Contra? Darn 🐻🍯
Great video, mate! Sounding excellent on all of them - definitely some of the better demos I've seen for the Ab and G clarinets
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!
Lincolnshire Posy III- alto clarinet solo
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.
Dude you are amazing (also handsome) I really enjoyed the video after getting home from work, helped me relax
No Eb Alto yet I see. 😢
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 ☺
Just wondering if your clarinet d'amore in G(or as I colloquially call the "Turkish Clarinet") actually a different instrument than the G basset horn, or is it actually the same one just with the barrel & bell swapped? Great playing as always!
PS Just one member missing: the Eb alto clarinet (or Eb basset horn if you can obtain one down to Low C 😉)
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.
@@RichardElliotHaynes.clarinet Yes, I know both Dietz as well as Leitner und Kraus make a Low C alto. I did have experience with the Oehler system(bore+fingering) some years ago, albeit on bass only(via an instrument by Martin Foag).
i see why squidward loved playing the clarinet! beautiful instrument
I must admit, I am not the biggest fan of clarinets, but I really like your tone and although I am not THAT fond of them, I really enjoy your basset horns :)
Thank you!
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽😮
For Contrabass, what about the Contrabassoon Solo in Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand? 😅
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.
😎
Contrabassoonists unite: get your own repertoire! 😁 I'm sure if an orchestra played Mahler 9, there'd be a contrabassoon around. Didn't Schoenberg write for the contrabass clarinet?
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.
ive never seen anyone call an eb a piccolo clarinet i thought it was sopranino? also how do you have a basset horn but no alto clarinet? arent altos way more common then bassets?
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.
I had heard of the basset horn, but what about the basset clarinet?
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!
Why no alto Clarinet
See the other comments on alto clarinet.
Where is the Alto Clarinet?
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.
I dare you to play "The Lick" in all of them!
Subbed. Beethoven 8 is not easy, let me tell you 😅
It’s a joy to play but no, not easy.
Where’s the D clarinet?
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.
Alto Clarinet? ☹️☹️☹️
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.