Eb clarinet
| Eb clarinet | |
|---|---|
| engl .: E-flat clarinet , Italian: clarinetto in Wed ♭ | |
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| Eb clarinet, German system | |
| classification |
Aerophonic woodwind instrument with single reed |
| range | g to es '' '', noted e to c '' '' 
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The Eb clarinet or small clarinet , rarely also piccolo clarinet , belongs to the family of high clarinets and is about 49 cm long. Its sound is a fourth higher than that of the Bb clarinet. It is the highest of the clarinets in common use. In addition to the Eb clarinet, the D clarinet , which is only a semitone lower, is sometimes used in orchestral literature .
history
Originally there was a whole series of high clarinet tunings: The sopranino or piccolo clarinet in A flat is rarely found, even in the military music from which it originates; the high G clarinet is almost exclusively found in the Viennese Schrammelmusik and the high clarinets in F and E are no longer built.
Similar to the pairing of Bb and A clarinet, there is a clarinet in D for the Eb clarinet as a variant instrument to avoid keys with many accidentals, which is hardly common in the symphony orchestra . The minor clarinet is a transposing instrument because its sound is a minor third higher than notated. A part written for the D clarinet is usually transposed for the Eb clarinet . When the “little clarinet” is mentioned, both tunings can be meant.
function
The penetrating tone of the Eb clarinet in the higher registers serves in the symphony orchestra to support the piccolo flute and the high tones of the flute, making the tutti orchestra sounds more brilliant. It is also used when particularly high clarinet parts (in the middle to high three- stroke octave range ) are required, which would either be difficult to achieve with a normal Bb clarinet in terms of intonation or are no longer in the playable range.
Good players can soften the shrill and harshness of their sound so that a homogeneous sounding chord set is possible together with the other clarinets. As a solo instrument it is particularly suitable for parodic, burlesque effects.
Use in the orchestra
The most famous solo passage, the leitmotif from Till Eulenspiegel's funny pranks (1895) by Richard Strauss , is not written for the Eb clarinet, but for the D clarinet, and the composer expressly regrets the replacement by the Eb clarinet “you anyway has meanwhile been entrusted an important role in Liszt's Mazeppa and Wagner's Walkürenritt ”.
Use in military music
The Eb clarinet is considered to be difficult to play, especially the intonation is problematic. Because of this, many American brass music publishers have often not had Eb clarinet parts in their editions since the 1950s. Even small British bands had occasionally only played one flute around 1900. This trend is still unbroken today and means that the "tall wood" no longer has the strength that it often needs. As Richard Strauss already described in his theory of instrumentation, there is no substitute for the Eb or D clarinet. Even five or six metal Böhm flutes do not have the punching power of an Eb clarinet.
In his instrumentation theory for military music, Heinrich Saro even assumes two Eb clarinets, which were the rule in military orchestras not only in Prussia , but also in Austria-Hungary . Although he complains of intonation problems in the trumpet register because Eb and Bb trumpets do not mix well due to the different intonation possibilities of the thirds, he never mentions the high clarinets in this context. In the 19th century, many military bands probably still had conical wooden flutes that sounded very delicate and needed a counterpart in the clarinets. The repertoire also consisted mostly of arrangements, in which the high clarinets mostly took over the part of the violins. This left the flutes free for other tasks.
literature
- Walter Piston: Orchestration , New York: Norton 1955, pp. 164-165
