Chalumeau

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Chalumeau without flaps after the Encyclopédie by Diderot & Alembert (1767), fig. Without reed

The Chalumeau (pronunciation: [ ʃalyˈmoː ]) (pl. Chalumeaux - from French Chalumeau , “shawm / reed instrument”, which in ancient Greek κάλαμος kalamos , German “Halm, Rohr” , Italian Salmoè, Scialumò, etc.) is a woodwind instrument with a simple reed . It is related to the clarinet , which was developed from the chalumeau.

The instrument has a cylindrical tube, seven front finger holes and a thumb hole. The pitch range of the historical Chalumeau is a major ninth. Since the beginning of the 18th century, two keys have usually been added to expand the range up to one decime. It was not overblown, but built for different voices in different sizes in f / c tuning. The chalumeau sounds an octave lower than a recorder of the same length. The sound is softer and more open than that of a clarinet.

The chalumeau is to be distinguished from the double-reed instrument shawm , whose name is etymologically related.

history

Two chalumeaux made of straws, Mersenne (1636)

The name chalumeau / shawm has been used for reed instruments with double and single reeds since the Middle Ages. Marin Mersenne used in his Harmonie Universelle (1636) the term for two simple instruments made of straws and for the melody pipe of the bagpipe (with double reed, also called " cornemuse "). He describes a Mirliton as "chalumeau eunuque" .

The instruments made from straws get their sound-producing tongue through an upward cut in the straw. The pitch can be varied with the help of finger holes. These are idioglotte reeds, the simplest form of single reed instruments , as they are known in many musical traditions in Europe, Asia and North Africa to this day. Their prehistory goes back to antiquity.

As an instrument with a flute-like body and simple reed, the chalumeau has only been documented since the end of the 17th century. The chalumeau is therefore only slightly older than the clarinet, which was developed at the beginning of the 18th century. Johann Christoph Denner (1655–1707), to whom the invention of the clarinet is usually attributed, also improved the chalumeau according to a biographical statement from 1730.

Instruments that were popular in England in the last decade of the 17th century under the name "Mock trumpet" had a seemingly original shape. With them, the reed was cut from the reed by a downward cut (idioglott). This form also appears in a picture by Reynvaan (1795). Unfortunately no instrument of this type has survived. The eight surviving chalumeaux have mouthpieces to which a reed is attached (heteroglott).

The instruments were built in different sizes for different voices and in different tunings. For larger instruments, flaps have been added to make it easier to grasp. Usually two opposite flaps were attached below the mouthpiece to expand the vocal range upwards. For the treble register, the range f 1 to a 2 is given (rarely overblown up to c 3 ), for the old register a fourth below (c 1 -f 2 ). Tenor and bass registers are each an octave lower. It is controversial whether surviving larger instruments with a bassoon-like kinked pipe are to be regarded as sub-bass instruments of the Chalumeau choir. The G tuning is mentioned more often, but other basic tones are also possible.

The key arrangement of a surviving chalumeau shows that the reed was attached to the top of the instrument, i.e. that it was touched by the upper lip while playing.

The lexicographers up until the middle of the 18th century described the sound of the instrument as unfavorably: “as if a person were singing through their teeth” ( Walther , 1708), “somewhat howling symphony” ( Mattheson , 1713). In the Encyclopédie by Diderot and le Rond D'Alembert , the tone is described as uncomfortable and wild when played by an ordinary musician. Only later judgments are more positive: “The tone of the same has so many interesting, peculiar, infinitely pleasant things that the whole scale of musical art would have a noticeable gap if this instrument were lost” ( Schubart 1784/85).

In the 18th century, chalumeau and clarinet coexisted and were perceived as different instruments. Chalumeaux had a wider paper and were used for the lower register. Clarinets had a narrower reed, an upwardly offset thumb hole with a metal sleeve (overblow hole) and were used for the higher register. The clarinet also differed from the straight construction of the Chalumeau by its pear and open bell. With the further development of the low register of the clarinet, the chalumeau was ousted from the orchestra.

18th century music

In the high and late baroque periods, the chalumeau found its way into civil and court music (temporarily). The earliest surviving works are duets for Mocktrumpet from the early 18th century in England. These pieces, written for music-loving amateurs, mainly imitate the fanfare-like sounds of the trumpet.

In German-speaking countries, the chalumeau was used in court orchestras. Two main focuses can be identified: In the first third of the century it was at the Vienna Opera (Fux, G. and A. Bononcini, Caldara, later Gluck ). Here the sound of the chalumeau was used in pastoral scenes, as well as to express tender and intimate feelings. The soprano chalumeau predominates. In the second third of the century, Telemann and, above all, Graupner used it as a second focus. They usually use the instrument in pairs, the lower registers preferentially stand out. Virtuoso passages are rare. Telemann's Passion (1728) Blessed Consider the Tenorchalumeau appears in the Aria It is finished in hochemotionalem context.

The chalumeau is used as a soloist by the following composers:

  • Agostino Steffani (1654–1728)
  • Johann Joseph Fux (1660–1741): Concerto for organ, treble chalumeau and strings
  • Attilio Ariosti (1666-1729)
  • Antonio Caldara (1670-1736)
  • Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741): Concerto for oboe, chalumeau, violino, 3 Viole all'inglese in B flat minor; Sonata for oboe, violin, organ and chalumeau ad libitum in C major; Psalm 126 for soprano, 2 altos, viola d'amore, 2 Trumscheite , tenor chalumeau, violoncello, organ and strings
  • Giovanni Battista Bononcini (1670–1747)
  • Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679–1745): Lamentatio II on Holy Saturday for alto, violin, chalumeau, bassoon and basso continuo
  • Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688–1758): Concerto for soprano chalumeau and strings in B flat major
  • Christoph Graupner (1683–1760): among other things, Concerto for tenor and bass Chalumeau in F major; Concerto for 2 Chalumeau in D minor; Concerto for Chalumeau and Bassoon, Concerto for Chalumeau, Oboe and Viola in B flat major; Overture for 3 Chalumeau in C major; Overture for chalumeau, bassoon and strings; Trio for viola d'amore, chalumeau and strings; Trio for Bassoon and Chalumeau in C major; in addition, suites.
  • Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767): Sonata for two Chalumeau in F major; Concerto for two Chalumeau in D minor; Concerto for flute, oboe, chalumeau and strings in G major; Symphony "Il Grillo"
  • Johann Adolf Hasse (1699–1783): Concerto for oboe and chalumeau in F major; Sonata for chalumeau, oboe and bassoon
  • Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli (1710–1763): Concerto for Soprano Chalumeau in B flat major
  • Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764): Les Grands Motets
  • Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812): Concerto for soprano Chalumeau in F major.

Chalumeau today

Modern “pocketino” chalumeaux in different moods
Mouthpiece

A few years ago the chalumeau was rediscovered or "reinvented". Different designs serve different purposes. On the one hand, instruments for historical performance practice are being built for the music of the 17th and 18th centuries. On the other hand, the instrument is valued by folk and medieval formations because of its easy playability and characteristic sound.

Finally, instruments for instrumental education were developed to prepare the transition from recorder to clarinet or saxophone . A modern clarinet mouthpiece is usually connected to a recorder body. These instruments are sold under very different names (soprano clarinet, children's clarinet, clarineau, pocket clarineau or -Chalumeau, saxonet: sudden smile clarinet ). There are types with and without flaps, e.g. Sometimes with overblown flap, in different moods.

The Xaphoon, invented as a “pocket saxophone” with a bamboo body, and corresponding instruments made of plastic or wood (Woodensax) are also to be regarded as Chalumeaux. A combination of a clarinet mouthpiece and the metal body of the Tin Whistle is offered as a "Highland Hornpipe".

literature

Web links

Commons : Chalumeau  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Chalumeau  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. idioglott: The sound-producing tongue and the tube on which it strikes consist of one piece
  2. ^ Rice: Baroque Clarinet , p. 23. The first written evidence, an invoice for a "choir" of 4 instruments, dated 1687, Rice: Baroque Clarinet , p. 15.
  3. Lawson: Chalumeau gives 20 years, p. 172.
  4. ^ Rice: Baroque Clarinet , p. 27.
  5. ^ Rice: Baroque Clarinet , pp. 11-14
  6. Reynvaan 1795 Table 9
  7. ↑ For images and reviews, see: Rice: Baroque Clarinet , pp. 29–38
  8. The surviving instruments vary between 29 cm (soprano) and 50 cm (tenor) - a questionable bass instrument 140 cm - Rice: Baroque Clarinet , p. 29.
  9. ^ Rice: Baroque Clarinet , p. 32.
  10. ^ Lawson: Chalumeau , p. 27.
  11. Rice: Baroque Clarinet , p. 31. The “Mock trumpet”, which consisted of one piece, also had the sheet on the top (p. 14).
  12. Lawson: Chalumeau , pp. 20-23.
  13. ^ Rice: Baroque Clarinet , p. 43.
  14. ^ Lawson: Chalumeau , p. 172.
  15. Lawson: Chalumeau , pp. 29-38
  16. ^ Lawson: Chalumeau , p. 44
  17. ^ Lawson: Chalumeau , p. 78
  18. Comprehensive review in Lawson: Chalumeau , Appendix B, pp. 177–182