Bass clarinet
The
bass clarinet is a
musical instrument of the
clarinet family. Like standard clarinets, it is usually pitched in B flat (meaning it is a
transposing instrument where a written C sounds as B flat), but it plays notes an octave below the more common soprano B flat clarinet and an octave above the
contrabass clarinet. Bass clarinets in other keys, notably C and A, also exist.
Most modern bass clarinets are straight-bodied, with a small upturned silver-colored metal bell and a curved metal neck. Early examples varied in shape, some having a doubled body making them look similar to
bassoons. The bass clarinet is fairly heavy and is supported either with a neck strap or with an adjustable peg attached to its body. While the upturned metal bell makes the bass clarinet look similar to a
saxophone, the two instruments are fundamentally different. Bass clarinet bodies are most often made of
grenadilla or
African Blackwood, or (more commonly for student instruments) plastic resin, while saxophones are typically made entirely of metal. (All-metal bass clarinets do exist, but are rare.) More significantly, all clarinets have a bore which is basically the same diameter along the body of the instrument. This
cylindrical bore differs from the saxophone's
conical bore and gives the clarinet its dark tone and low pitch; importantly it also causes a clarinet to
overblow at the twelfth compared with the saxophone's
octave.
The bass clarinet plays an octave lower than the B-flat soprano clarinet. While the range of the latter ends at a written low E (sounding D below
middle C), most bass clarinets have keywork to enable at least a low E-flat (sounding D-flat a half step above the
cello's lowest C), and most professional and advanced bass clarinetists own instruments with extensions down to a C a full octave below written middle C. At concert pitch this note is the B-flat below the second ledger line below the bass staff. This gives the bass clarinet a usable range of almost four octaves, quite close to the range of the bassoon; indeed, many bass clarinetists perform works originally intended for bassoon or cello because of the plethora of literature for those two instruments and the scarcity of solo works for the bass clarinet.
The bass clarinet has been regularly used in scoring for symphony
orchestra since the late 19th century, becoming more common during the middle and latter part of the 20th century. It is also used in
wind bands and
clarinet choirs, in
film scoring, and as a solo instrument in
jazz. In recent years, the bass clarinet has also seen a growing repertoire of solo literature including compositions for the instrument alone, or accompanied by
piano, orchestra, or other ensemble.
The bass clarinet has an appealing, rich, earthy tone quite distinct from other instruments in its range, drawing on and enhancing the qualities of the lower range of the soprano instrument.
|
Glicibarifono by Catterini, 1838. |
The earliest record of a bass clarinet is a description of an instrument invented by G. Lott in
Paris in
1772, though at least three primitive instruments exist that may date to the 1750s or earlier. The next bass clarinet to be described was by Heinrich Grenser, circa
1793.
Catterini produced his
glicibarifono, a bass clarinet in C with a folded, bassoon-like shape, in 1838.
Adolphe Sax, a
Belgian manufacturer of musical instruments, first designed the straight-bodied form of the bass clarinet in the early 19th century.
Orchestral music for bass clarinet is written using one of two systems.
* a) Conventional treble clef in B♭. This sounds an octave and a tone lower than written and therefore uses the same fingerings as the soprano clarinet.
* b) Bass clef in B♭. This sounds a tone lower than written. The player must, of course, be able to read bass clef. For music written in bass clef, higher passages may be written in treble clef to avoid the use of excessive ledger lines, but this should not be confused with system a), in which notes sound an octave lower than in system b).
System a) is used in orchestral music by most composers west of Germany and in all show, concert band and clarinet choir music. System b) is used chiefly by
Wagner,
Mahler,
Shostakovich and
eastern European composers, although there are exceptions.
Music is occasionally encountered written for the bass clarinet in A, e.g. in Wagner operas and Mahler symphonies; this music also tends to be written in bass clef. Very few modern players own a bass clarinet in A; most play these parts on the B♭ instrument, transposing them down a semitone.
It was not until the 1950s that classical performers began to adopt the bass clarinet as their primary instrument. The pioneer was the
Czech performer
Josef Horák (d.
2005), who is credited as having performed the first ever solo bass clarinet recital on
March 23,
1955. This marked a turning point when the instrument first became thought of as a soloist's instrument.
Because the repertoire of solo music for the bass clarinet was quite small, most bass clarinet soloists specialize in new music, while also arranging works composed for other instruments from earlier eras (such as the Bach Cello Suites). Beginning with Horák, many players have commissioned works for the instrument, and consequently there now exists a repertoire of hundreds of solo works, many by prominent international composers such as
Brian Ferneyhough. In addition to Horák, other specialist performers include
Dennis Smylie (United States),
Harry Sparnaay (
Netherlands, who has worked with important composers such as
Luciano Berio,
Iannis Xenakis, and
Morton Feldman),
Evan Ziporyn (United States), and
Michael Lowenstern (United States).
In October
2005, the
First World Bass Clarinet Convention was held in
Rotterdam, Netherlands, at which Horák was the guest of honour and played in one of the many concerts given by the leading bass clarinetists from around the world (including all the aforementioned performers, as well as many others).
At least two professional bass clarinet quartets exist. Rocco Parisi's Bass Clarinet Quartet is an Italian group whose repertoire includes transcriptions of music by
Rossini,
Paganini, and
Piazzola.
Edmund Welles is the name of a bass clarinet quartet based in San Francisco. Their repertoire includes original "heavy chamber music" and transcriptions of madrigals, boogie-woogie tunes, and heavy metal songs.
The most familiar piece in
classical music using the bass clarinet is probably "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from
Tchaikovsky's ballet
The Nutcracker, in which its low tones contrast with the tinkling higher pitches of the
celesta. Other pieces featuring this instrument include:
*
On the Trail from the
Grand Canyon Suite by
Ferde Grofe has a few passages with prominent and solo bass clarinet.
* Concertos for bass clarinet and orchestra by
Josef Schelb,
Thea Musgrave and
Dietrich Erdmann.
*
Triple Concerto for clarinet, bass clarinet, and
contrabass clarinet by
Donald Martino*
Rapsodie espagnole, by
Maurice Ravel*
Die Walküre and
Tristan und Isolde, by
Wagner, have solos for the A bass clarinet.
*
Pelleas and Melisande, by
Arnold Schoenberg*
Symphony No. 3, by
William Schuman has a large duet for bass clarinet and snare drum in the final movement
*
Symphony No. 6, by
Dmitri Shostakovich, features a wild duet for flute and bass clarinet in the scherzo
* The slow movement to
Aram Khachaturian's Piano Concerto contains several bass clarinet solos
*
Chemins IIc by
Luciano Berio has a solo part for the instrument
* "
Afro-American Symphony", by
William Grant Still*
Karlheinz Stockhausen's
In Freundschaft (1977) can also be played on the bass clarinet (among other instruments).
* "
Symphony No. 2 (Genome) for Band" by Ryan Fraley (2004). Solo in the last movement.
*"
The Light Fantastic" for bass clarinet and
wind ensemble by
Andrew Rindfleisch (2003).
*
Music for 18 Musicians by
Steve Reich (1974-76).
*
Incantation and Dance by
John Barnes Chance features many bass clarinet solos.
*
The Rite of Spring by
Igor Stravinsky has several bass clarinet features.
*
The Noon Witch, symphonic poem by
Antonín Dvořák(1841-1904). The bass clarinet plays the witch's theme.
While the bass clarinet was seldom heard in early
jazz compositions, a bass clarinet solo by
Omer Simeon can be heard in the
1926 recording "Someday Sweetheart" by
Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers. Additionally,
Benny Goodman recorded with the instrument a few times early in his career.
Harry Carney occasionally played bass clarinet in some of
Duke Ellington's arrangements, beginning in the late
1930s. He rarely soloed on the instrument, however.
Eric Dolphy (1928-1964) was the first major jazz soloist on the instrument, and established much of the vocabulary and technique used by later performers.
Bernie Maupin emerged in the late sixtes as a primary player of the instrument, on
Miles Davis' seminal record
Bitches Brew as well as several records with
Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi group.
While the bass clarinet has been used often since Dolphy, it is typically used by a
saxophonist or
clarinetist as a second or third instrument; such musicians include
David Murray,
John Surman,
Bob Mintzer and
James Carter. Very few performers have used the instrument exclusively, but one such performer is the Baltimore-based American musician and bandleader
Todd Marcus. Klezmer clarinetist
Giora Feidman is known for idiosyncratic use of the bass clarinet on some klezmer and jazz tunes.
*"Clarinet",
The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments 3 volumes, ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan, 1984.
*Kennicott, Philip. "Notes on The Nutcracker".
Dance Magazine 64 (1990):76–
7 December 1990.
*Rendall, F. Geoffrey.
The Clarinet, Second Revised Edition, London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1957.
*
Sachs, Curt.
A History of Musical Instruments, New York: W.W. Norton, 1940.
*
World Bass Clarinet Foundation*
World Bass Clarinet Convention*
The clarinet family*
Edmund Welles*
Rocco Parisi's Bass Clarinet Quartet*
Harry Sparnaay An interview by Marco Mazzini in Clariperu (Spanish)
