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Post by pavane on May 23, 2023 12:29:03 GMT
Difficult to choose a title for this thread because one of the main feelings it inspires in me is extreme envy! Also difficult to know where to post it exactly, but I chose here because it's primarily about a clarinet. I like bass instruments, I like the sound and they always appeal to me in some strange way. Browsing around, I came across this video of someone buying a contrabass clarinet. These are huge! They come in a variety of styles, from so-called paperclip models that are fully wrapped around themselves to reduce the overall length to more-or-less straight ones that are very long indeed. You can get an idea of the difference here. The model in this video is one of the long ones. So why the envy? Not because he's bought a contrabass clarinet, I wouldn't mind one if I found it abandoned on my doorstep, but I'm not particularly keen and certainly wouldn't spend thousands on one. It's because he talks a bit about lyrical music played on the contrabass, and then proceeds to demonstrate with a piece of music for what he describes as "contrabass clarinet and string orchestra" which he goes on to play - all by himself. He plays the clarinet, and accompanies himself on harp, guitar, violin and cello. Aaargh!!! I'd be happy if I could play any one of them as well as he does. It's just not fair. And just in case that's not irritating enough, he composed the music.
You can see the video on youtube - best to jump in at about 1:20 as before that it's just about him buying it on ebay.
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Post by keff on May 23, 2023 13:24:07 GMT
Remarkable. Tend to be drawn to the "tune making" higher pitch instruments myself but since this thread is about the lower instruments I have noticed on a number of quiz programmes on the TV a question asking for the lowest instrument in the violin family. Double bass is the accepted answer which I believe is not altogether true because it is a member of the viol family. The question was asked the other day on The Chase.
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Post by pavane on May 23, 2023 14:31:54 GMT
I'm always intrigued by things seen on tv, read in newspapers, etc, because it's amazing how often you hear/read/see things that you know are incorrect. Of course, that only happens when the item in question is about something you know about, but I can't help wondering how true it is for areas about which I know very little, and I can't help concluding that the answer is probably that other things are frequently inaccurate too. I've heard of odd occurrences of people giving quiz answers that were deemed to be incorrect at the time but later allowed. I know double bass is much more closely related to viols than to violins - do you know which it is officially classified as? I could look that up I suppose!
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Post by Zi on May 23, 2023 15:03:38 GMT
Is that the largest clarinet ever?  |
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Post by pavane on May 23, 2023 15:42:45 GMT
Is that the largest clarinet ever? I don't know, but probably not. I presume there must be some clarinet equivalent to Adriana Breukink's sub-sub-sub-contrabass recorder - you will know the one I mean but for anyone who hasn't seen it, it's a big 'unLeaving aside one-off instruments, I noticed on the video that this particular contrabass is a relatively cheap plastic one that goes down to E♭ whereas most of the more expensive models probably go down to C, and it's surprising how much extra length a few more semitones add to the tube. There is a website here run by someone doing some sort of research into low clarinets and there's a picture of him with 3 different contrabasses of varying degrees of coiled-up-ness, and though I'm not looking at them side-by-side and the man looks shorter than the harp player, nevertheless the straight instrument does look to me like it's longer overall, presumably because it's a C instrument. |
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Post by keff on May 23, 2023 17:34:57 GMT
My Observer's Book of Music says this regarding the Double Bass (Contrabass).
'This is a hybrid between the old violone and violin family. It retains the characteristics of the viol in its shape, its tuning (in 4ths) and in its method of bowing.'
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Post by Zi on May 24, 2023 8:16:33 GMT
I wonder how people end up playing some of these less familiar instruments? As an aside, the Observer's Book was edited by Freda Dinn - she of recorder fame. Perhaps recorder players get everywhere...
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Post by pavane on May 24, 2023 9:43:56 GMT
Kef: thanks for the info.
Zi: I always wonder the same thing. Schools tend to offer the usual array of instruments, obviously constrained by both the physical challenge to a young child posed by a very large instrument, and the fact that smaller instruments are much cheaper. A quick look at Thomann shows their cheapest oboe is about €1000 whereas their cheapest full-size bassoon is well over €6000 - they have smaller ones from about €3500 but that's still a lot more than an oboe. Obviously children will always start on smaller instruments and then some will choose to move to larger ones, but I doubt many schools have a large selection of bassoons to choose from. As for harps....
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Post by Zi on May 25, 2023 7:56:29 GMT
Hmmm... I wonder if most people end up playing what they first learn?
I meant to say to keff that I was amused and intrigued by The Observer Book and decided I must have a copy... so thank you for the mention...
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Post by keff on May 25, 2023 9:47:10 GMT
In addition to music, we have birds (of course), trees and furniture. There is a lovely second hand book shop in Carnforth ( I have previously mentioned that the station platform scenes of Brief Encounter were filmed there) which has a good stock of Observer's books. Second hand printed music too. From there I acquired a book of music "A Gateway to the Symphony" which contains the principle themes of twenty well known symphonies. Arranged for piano and published by Augener in 1939.
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Post by Zi on May 25, 2023 12:25:24 GMT
I didn't know there was a music one and I certainly would never have guessed there was a furniture one. Mr Z bought me some i-spy books (flowers etc) a couple of Christmases ago and I love those too. But the idea of someone armed with an Observer book, spotting musical instruments really amuses me...
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Post by pavane on Aug 19, 2023 18:24:14 GMT
This is apparently an Octacontrabasse and will play down to about the lowest limit of human hearing. No price given! I doubt that I shall be ordering one any time soon.
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Post by Zi on Aug 20, 2023 8:25:17 GMT
My hearing will stop quite a bit before that lowest level so don't think it would be much use to me... I suppose it would have the advantage that I might not hear just how badly I was playing it! This is very likely a stupid question but how do instruments like that get used? Do composers decide they want to add them to their instrumentation? Or do they wake up one morning saying: I must write a concerto for the octacontrabasse today... been meaning to do it for an age? or does their nearest neighbour play octacontrabasse and bemoans how little music there is for them and said composer takes pity? Or what?
And how do you learn it? Or even know about it? I'm trying to imagine Child waking up one morning and announcing they want octacontrabasse lessons and father turning the page of the newspaper saying,I'll sort that later today. There are three good teachers in the village...
You need the million pounds. I have some premium bonds and when there are things I know I will never do, I say: I'll get that when I win the million pounds. It kind of puts it all into perspective.
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Post by pavane on Aug 20, 2023 10:12:56 GMT
It is all quite intriguing. Herr Foag (whose clarinets I very much like and I would buy on if I had a spare few thousand lying around) says he has already taken 4 orders. Clearly these are people "in the know" because there is no mention of the instrument on his website, not even in the News bit. There can't possibly be any music for it, I don't think, because I'm not sure it even really exists. There's the odd grunt in a few recent works for contrabass clarinet - even the bass clarinet wasn't really a thing till about the start of the 20th century and its repertoire is far from vast. I presume these are going to be bought by wealthy people with an interest in composing/performing very new music. People also, presumably, blessed with substantial lung capacity.
It's really hard to guess at a price. Thomann sell Foag metal soprano clarinets for about €3200. Foag make a metal bass but I cannot find anyone who sells it and lists a price. I've seen a 2nd hand one for about £20,000. The OCB is clearly going to be a 6-figure sum. If I had anywhere near that kind of money I'd be more tempted to buy his contra alto because I think that would be nice and grunty but still able to play something. Or just his bass which imho looks great and would be genuinely useful. Oh well, maybe when my prize bonds come up
(I'd rather have the OCB clarinet and some change than Freddie Mercury's piano)
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Post by Zi on Aug 20, 2023 11:37:02 GMT
I'd not like the responsibility of Freddie's piano. Supposing something happened to it? Or Mr Z put his coffee cup on it?  I hadn't thought about lung capacity for such a big blowy instrument. But I guess it's something one would need to consider. |
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