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The alto clarinet is a wind instrument of the clarinet family. It is a transposing instrument pitched in the key of E♭, though instruments in F (and in the 19th century, E) have been made. It is sometimes known as a tenor clarinet; this name especially is applied to the instrument in F. In size it lies between the soprano clarinet and the bass clarinet, to which it bears a greater resemblance in that it typically has a straight body (made of Grenadilla or other wood, hard rubber, or plastic), but a curved neck and bell made of metal. All-metal alto clarinets also exist. In appearance it strongly resembles the basset horn, but usually differs in three respects: it is pitched a tone lower, it lacks an extended lower range, and it has a wider bore than most basset horns.
The range of the alto clarinet is from the concert G♭ in the second octave below middle C (i.e. bottom line of the bass clef) to the middle of the second octave above middle C.1
Modern alto clarinets, like other clarinets in the family, have the Boehm system of keys and fingering, which means that this clarinet has virtually identical fingering to the others. However the alto clarinet has an extra key which allows it to reach a low (written) E♭, and a key pad played by the left-hand index finger which has a vent which may be uncovered for certain high notes.
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History
Invention of the alto clarinet has been attributed to Iwan Müller and to Heinrich Grenser.2 It may have been invented independently in America; the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a bassoon-shaped alto clarinet in E♭, cataloged as an "alto clarion", attributed to an anonymous American maker circa 1820.3 This instrument bears a strong resemblance to the "patent clarions" (bass clarinets) made from about 1810 by George Catlin of Hartford, Connecticut and his apprentices.4 Later, back in Europe, Adolphe Sax made notable improvements to the alto clarinet.5
Use in musical ensembles
The alto clarinet has not been commonly used in orchestral scoring. It is used mostly in concert band and plays an important role in clarinet choirs. A few jazz musicians, Hamiet Bluiett, Vinny Golia, J. D. Parran, Petr Kroutil, Joe Lovano and Gianluigi Trovesi among them, have played the alto clarinet. In his Treatise on Instrumentation, Hector Berlioz said that while the alto clarinet has a distinctive sound, "unfortunately it is not to be found in a well-constituted orchestra."
Notability
The alto clarinet band part remains in a wealth of 20th century wind band literature. Band directors looking to add color to a large clarinet section will often move clarinet players to this instrument. Many times the alto clarinet serves an important role in the harmonic scoring of the clarinet section within the broader scope of the concert band.
There is a notable alto clarinet solo in Percy Grainger's famous piece for wind band Lincolnshire Posy.
An important orchestral example is Igor Stravinsky's Threni.6
Joseph Holbrooke has written an elaborate part for alto clarinet in his Symphony No. 2 Apollo and the Seaman.78
In the wind band and clarinet choir the alto clarinet can add tonal strength to the emsemble: the weak "throat" notes of the soprano clarinet (written G to B♭) have the same pitch as the full notes (written D to F) of the alto clarinet.
Abandonment in some ensembles
Since at least the late 1940s, there has been discussion over whether the alto clarinet could or should be eliminated from the standard wind band.9 The arguments usually used include its relatively low volume, unremarkable tone,10 and fact that its part is nearly always doubled by other instruments,11 and the expense. Many junior high school and high school bands have ceased using the instrument for these reasons.
References and notes
- ^ It may be noted that this corresponds to the entire range of a choir of human voices, from a moderately low bass almost to the highest notes of a soprano
- ^ Rendall, F. Geoffrey (1957). The Clarinet (Second Revised Edition). Ernest Benn, 145-6.
- ^ Libin, Laurence (1995). "Alto Clarion". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (The Metropolitan Museum of Art): 53.
- ^ Eliason, Robert E. (1983). "George Catlin, Hartford Musical Instrument Maker (Part 2)". Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society 9: 21–52.
- ^ Shackleton, Nicholas. The development of the clarinet. In Lawson (ed.), Colin (1995). The Cambridge Companion to the Clarinet. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 32.
- ^ Pauli, Hansjörg (Autumn, 1958). "On Strawinsky's 'Threni'". Tempo New Ser., No. 49.: 16–17+21–33.
- ^ The woodwind section in Apollo and the Seaman includes three oboes, cor anglais, E♭ clarinet, two B♭ clarinets, alto clarinet in F, bass clarinet, three bassoons and a contrabassoon
- ^ Forsyth, Cecil, Orchestration, 1955, London, Macmillan & Co. pp. 282-285
- ^ Sawhill, Clarence E. "The Problem of the Alto Clarinet" and Rohner, Traugott. "Shall We Eliminate the Alto Clarinet?". In (1972) Woodwind Anthology. Evanston, IL: The Instrumentalist, 208-212. (Both reprinted from The Instrumentalist, 1948.)
- ^ Unremarkable tone may arise when the instrument is handed to players of the soprano clarinet who are not accustomed to the tone production, which requires more support of breath; and more so if an economical plastic instrument is played: remarkable tone may be produced on a good quality wooden alto clarinet by an experienced player
- ^ The part may be doubled by instruments for the reason that the band may not have the instrument or the player
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