Alto clarinet
| Alto clarinet | |
|---|---|
| engl .: alto clarinet , ital .: clarinetto alto | |
 |
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| Modern alto clarinet in Eb, French system. | |
| classification |
Aerophonic woodwind instrument with single reed |
| range | F to f '' 'or Es to es' '' |
The alto clarinet is a woodwind instrument from the clarinet family . Like the basset horn , it is tuned in Eb or F and thus lies between the (soprano) clarinet and the bass clarinet .
history
Today's clarinet developed from the chalumeau next to the basset horn , which was also tuned in F. An early design of the clarinet in alto was the clarinet d'amore ( "love clarinet") in G with a pear-shaped bell , the so-called Liebesfuß that the amore oboe d' had a model. It was created around 1730 and, along with the basset horn, is a predecessor of today's alto clarinet.
The first alto clarinets appeared in the early 19th century with the advent of wide- bore clarinets in F and later E for military bands in France (for example from the workshops of Cuvillier and Simiot) and Germany (1808 by Heinrich Grenser in Dresden and Wiesner). In England the alto clarinet in F is still played with a narrower scale and is known as the “tenor clarinet”. Another name is "baritone clarinet".
The contralalto and subcontraalto clarinet, which are tuned one and two octaves lower than the alto clarinet, remained experimental.
“Clarion” in Es, approx. 1820
Alto clarinet in Eb, ca.1860
Alto clarinet in F, mid-19th century
Construction
Like every clarinet, the alto clarinet consists of a mouthpiece (beak), a neck (pear), an upper and a lower part made of wood (mostly grenadilla , today also made of plastic or metal) with finger holes and a bell. The fingering is the same as that of the soprano clarinet, whereby the finger holes are usually covered with flaps because they are too big to grasp. Like the bass clarinet and today's basset horn, the alto clarinet has an upwardly curved metal bell and a backwardly curved metal neck. Overall, the instrument is 75–90 cm long. Often there are two overblown keys. The wall is thicker and the length of the length is narrower than that of the basset horn, and there is no expansion of the range down to C. Because of its weight, the alto clarinet is often carried around the neck with a cord.
The pitch range goes (sounding) from F to F ′ ′ ′ or from Eb to Eb '' '.
use
Today the alto clarinet is mainly used in brass music , for example as a component of brass bands and military bands as well as symphonic wind bands and clarinet ensembles. The alto clarinet is no longer included in British military bands. The sound is full and, unlike the basset horn, mixes well with other modern instruments. The alto clarinet rarely appears in the symphony orchestra , which Hector Berlioz regretted.
literature
- Albert R. Rice: From the clarinet d'amour to the contra bass. A history of large size clarinets, 1740-1860. Oxford University Press, New York 2009, ISBN 978-0-19-534328-1 , pp. 9-94.
- Nicholas Shackleton: Alto clarinet. In: Grove Music Online (subscription required). Retrieved June 23, 2017.
- Johan van Kalker: The history of the clarinets. A documentation . Verlag Textilwerkstatt Oberems, 1997, ISBN 3-9804301-1-1 , "The love clarinet and the alto clarinet", p. 180 ff .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Johan van Kalker: The history of the clarinets. A documentation . Verlag Textilwerkstatt Oberems, 1997, ISBN 3-9804301-1-1 , "The love clarinet and the alto clarinet", p. 180 ff .
- ↑ a b c d e f Nicholas Shackleton: Alto clarinet. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ↑ a b c d e f Curt Sachs : Reallexikon der Musikinstrumenten . 1st edition. Published by Julius Bard, Berlin 1913, "Altklarinette", p. 8 ( archive.org ).
- ^ Hector Berlioz : Instrumentation theory . Gustav Heinze, Leipzig 1864, p. 99 ( Digitized in the Google book search - French: Grand traité d'instrumentation et d'orchestration modern. Paris 1844. Translated by Alfred Dörffel ).