Clarinet

“ It is an epic instrument, like horns, trumpets and trombones. The voice is like that of heroic love. This beautiful soprano instrument, so ringing, so rich in penetrating accents, when employed in masses, gains, when employed as a solo instrument, in delicacy, evanescent shadowings and mysterious tenderness what it loses in force and powerful brilliancy. Nothing so virginal, so pure as the tint imparted to certain melodies by the tone of a clarinet, played in the medium by a skilful performer. It is the one of all the wind instruments which can best breathe forth, swell, diminish and die away. ”

“ What could be more contagious than the exuberant first movement, in which one hardly knows which to admire the more, the felicity of such details as the clarinet cantabile, the Andante expressivo for solo piano, and the nobly polyphonic cadenza, or the broadly climactic plan of the whole? ”

“ A fulness of rich melody, a luscious charm of tone, original effects arising from the treatment of the clarinet, 'olympian' ease and mastery, distinguish every movement of this noble and attractive work, which, taking its hearers by storm on its first production, has grown more firmly rooted into the hearts of musicians and laymen with each fresh hearing. ”

“ The clarinet comprises four registers, which can be blended without perceptible break by the skillful performer. The first or lowest is dark and ominous. The second consists of four or five dull, weak, notes of inferior quality. The third or medium register is of singular beauty, combining nobility, tenderness, and that limpid quality for which the clarinet is distinguished. ”

“ Yet the very latest work, the clarinet quintet, shows the same freshness and originality of invention, wonderful thematic net-work, variety of distinctly expressed moods, and the finale displaying an unsurpassed skill in variations.
The two orchestra serenades are real gems of spirited, delightful, well constructed music, one being for complete orchestra, the other for violas, ’celli, basses, reed instruments and horns. Besides the lively first and last movements and adagios they contain each a scherzo and one of them two minuets. ”

“ This is exactly how a performer on a modern clarinet or oboe produces the higher harmonics of the instrument. [22] The small bore of the aulos in comparison to its length facilitated the production of the harmonics (cf. Zamminer p. 218) , as does also the use of a small hole near the mouthpiece, called in Greek syrinx (σῦριγξ) and in the modern clarinet the “speaker,” which when open enables the performer to overblow with ease the first harmonic of the lowest fundamental tones. ”

“ This is because three kinds of clarinet are employed, clarinets in A, B flat, and C. A clarinet in B flat means one whose pitch is a whole tone below the standard, so that when one plays the scale of C natural on it he gets the sounds of the scale of B flat, just as he would from a piano tuned a whole tone too low. A clarinet in A is a tone and a half below pitch in the scale of C. One in C produces the scale of C when played in C. The reason for using different kinds of clarinets is that it is difficult to play the instrument in remote keys. ”

“ II. Adagio sostenuto, E major, 4-4. There is a short introduction with sustained harmonies for strings. These harmonies are soon reinforced by wind instruments. The pianoforte enters with a figure over which the flute and then the clarinet announce the theme on which the movement is built. The opening phrase for the clarinet has much significance in this respect. The pianoforte now has the theme, and the accompaniment of a broken chord figure is given to violins (pizzicato) and clarinets. The pace is quickened for the working out of the subject and for episodic material. ”

“ All differ in tone and quality; the A one is softer than the B flat; the C is shrill. The B flat is the virtuoso instrument. In military bands the clarinet takes the place which would be that of the violin in the orchestra, but the tone of it is always characteristically different. Although introduced in the time of Handel and Bach those composers made no use of it. With Mozart it first became a leading orchestral instrument.
The Basset horn, which has become the sensuously beautiful alto clarinet in E flat, is related to the clarinet in the same way that the cor Anglais is to the oboe. ”

“ The clarinet and bass clarinet are made of wood and are used in both bands and orchestras, but the saxophone is usually made of metal, and, the tone being more [Pg 122] strident and penetrating, the instrument is ordinarily used only in combination with other wind instruments, i.e., in bands.
Since the fingering of the clarinet is excessively difficult the performer can play in only certain keys on the same instrument, hence to play in different keys clarinets in several keys must be provided, there being usually three in all. ”

“ In these experiments the reed was compelled to accommodate itself throughout to the requirements of the vibrating column of air.
Fig. 106.
The clarinet is a reed-pipe. It has a single broad tongue, with which a long, cylindrical tube is associated. The reed-end of the instrument is grasped by the lips, and by their pressure the slit between the reed and its frame is narrowed to the required extent. The overtones of a clarinet are different from those of a flute. A flute is an open pipe, a clarinet a stopped one, the end at which the reed is placed answering to the closed end of the pipe. ”

“ The capacity of the clarinet for melodious expression, tunefulness, and brilliant fluency, and for the union of force with melting tenderness, is skilfully taken into account; and as Mozart invariably brings the external into harmony with the internal, we find in this work that the grander and broader forms and the greater execution are the natural outcome of brilliant and original ideas. It is not too much to say that this concerto is the basis of modern clarinet-playing. ”

“ Overture, No. 3; and the genial attributes of the oboe which, though latent, had never before been exposed, are fittingly treated in the scherzos of the Pastoral and Choral symphonies. The clarinet was now a regularly constituted member of the orchestra, and specimens of characteristic writing for it are to be found in the slow movements of the symphonies in B flat and A, and also in the Finale of the "Eroica," where a judicious introduction of clarinet arpeggios lends warmth and color to the Melos. ”

“ Wind instruments produce very special effects in chamber-music, and need an exceedingly adroit technique on the part of the composer. Magnificent examples are Mozart’s trio for pianoforte, clarinet and viola, his quintet for pianoforte, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon (imitated by Beethoven) , his quintet for clarinet and strings, Brahms’s clarinet-quintet for the same combination, and his trio for pianoforte, violin and horn. ”

“ It carries the bass an octave lower than the bass clarinet, and is capable of great agility and of the finest gradations of tone. Richard Strauss, Weingartner, and other German musicians have promised to introduce it in future scores, and I dare say it will become a fixture in the orchestra. The great value of the clarinet color to the orchestra cannot be overestimated, and any increase in its range and intensity will surely be welcomed by composers. ”

“ BASS CLARINET, an instrument of the same construction as the ordinary clarinet, but speaking an octave lower. The one most generally used is that in B♭, but Wagner writes for one in A, and a third in C has been employed. They are all slow-speaking hollow-toned instruments, rather wanting in power. The clarinet quality is less marked than in the acuter forms of the instrument, insomuch that they more resemble an organ pipe of bourdon tone. ”

“ The names of the holes and keys on the clarinet are derived not from the notes of the fundamental scale, but from the name of the twelfth produced by overblowing with the speaker key open; for instance, the first key near the bell is known not as the E key but as the B♯. The use of the speaker key forms the greatest technical difficulty in learning to play the clarinet, on account of the thumb having to do double duty, closing one hole and raising the lever of the speaker key simultaneously. ”

“ The mouthpiece is flattened on one side, along which the reed is laid, leaving a slight opening so that when blown the reed vibrates against the mouthpiece and thus causes the sound. The clarinet has a much greater compass than the flute. ”

“ I look upon him as a person of remarkable musical ability. His performance on the violin, viola, violoncello, double-bass, clarinet, and also brass instruments, is really surprising. But where we see his real talent is in his conception and rendering of classical music on the piano-forte. Even in his own compositions he has shown much real talent. ”

“ The wood-wind choir could not reach its full measure of usefulness till it had acquired the clarinet, which has within itself a considerable range of tone-color, is a far more agile instrument than the oboe, and possesses in a far higher degree than any other wood-wind instrument the power of increasing and diminishing the volume of tone. ”

“ He took out patents for a keyed harp, and a piano and a guitar on a new system, but his efforts were mainly directed to perfecting the clarinet, especially the bass clarinet, and discovering new methods of boring brass and wood wind-instruments with a view to make them more exactly in tune. ”

“ For the acuter notes they use a smaller clarinet in E♭, which sounds a minor third above its written scale, and stands in three flats. In the orchestra an instrument in A, sounding a minor third below the corresponding note of a C instrument, is much used, and stands in three sharps. ”

“ The beak mouthpiece is exactly like that of the other clarinets but of larger size, and it is furnished with a single or beating reed. There are 13 keys and 2 rings on the tube, and the fingering is the same as for the B flat clarinet except for the eight highest semitones. ”

“ The latest development of flute and reed pipes is to be found in the flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon of the modern orchestra. Plates XXXVIII. and XXXIX. represent instruments that have been the immediate precursors of or are identical with the instruments named. One, the Dolciano or Tenoroon with a clarinet reed, is of unusual importance as possibly anticipating the invention of the Saxophone. ”

“ Its compass is more extensive than even the clarinet, and its tone fuller and more reedy. Mozart is the composer who has written most for this instrument. In one great work, his 'Requiem,' it replaces the clarinet, there being independent parts for two players. ”

“ Whenever a club walked he'd play the clarinet in the band that marched before 'em as if he'd never touched anything but a clarinet all his life. And then, when they got to church door he'd throw down the clarinet, mount the gallery, snatch up the bass viol, and rozum away as if he'd never played anything but a bass viol. Folk would say--folk that knowed what a true stave was--'Surely, surely that's never the same man that I saw handling the clarinet so masterly by now! ”

“ His works for wind instruments are totally different in style from those written for strings. There is something colossal, something almost superhuman (to take one instance) about his great serenade in C minor for hautboys, clarinets, horns, and bassoons. It moves with a deliberate solemnity that seems to belong to a different world from that of his works for strings with their quick play of checkered feeling. In Mozart's day the clarinet was a new instrument, but he divined its capabilities with inspired sagacity. ”

“ Due consideration having been given to these points, it will also be necessary to remember that the stopping of the seven open holes leaves only the two little fingers (the thumb of the right hand being in the ordinary clarinet engaged in supporting the instrument) free at all times for key service, the other fingers doing duty when momentarily disengaged. ”

“ As one who loves wind-instruments, I like to think that the flutes, oboes, and clarinets are the flowers of my vernal orchestra, decorating the great mass of stringed instruments with streaks and flames of colour.
In real music, we cannot say why certain sounds make an appropriate opening for a symphony ”

“ After the march tune has been repeated vigorously by the full orchestra there appears a pastoral interlude, scored originally for saxophones, but now usually heard in clarinets. This, in turn, is succeeded by a passionate song for strings, with brass and woodwind accompaniment. The second movement is a “Minuet,” whose principal theme is a brisk and strongly accented subject. In the trio section, the clarinet appears with a flowing lyrical episode. As the violins take this material over they become rapturous; the harp and woodwind provide intriguing accompanying figures. ”

“ Outside the strings the instruments are treated by composers as solo instruments, a single flute, oboe, clarinet, or other wind instrument sometimes doing the same work in the development of the composition as the entire body of first violins. ”

“ It is not too much to say that some orchestras are seriously injured by the presence of half a dozen vulgar-toned fiddles among the violins, by a very yellow clarinet among the wood, or a blatant cornet where a mellow trumpet ought to be. ”

“ Juxtaposition of strings and wood-wind which overweights legato or declamatory singing may nevertheless be employed if one of the groups forms the harmony in sustained notes and the other executes a melodic design, when, for instance the sustaining instruments are clarinet, and bassoon, or bassoon and horn, and the melodic design is entrusted to violins or violas—or in the opposite case, when the harmony is given to violas and 'cellos divisi, and the harmonic figure to the clarinets. ”