Clarinet

Towards the end of the 17th century, the firm of JC Denner in Nuremberg, experimenting with recorders and shawms, developed a new instrument to occupy a range above the shawm. Eventually, this instrument with a tone like a small natural trumpet acquired the name 'clarinet' (little clarino) and it can be used as a trumpet substitute, and may be heard in Vivaldi's oratorios and concertos, pitched in the trumpet key of C. By the end of the 18th century, shawms became obsolete, and larger clarinets were developed to replace them. The smooth lower notes of the clarinet are still referred to as the chalmeau register, chalmeau being an alternative name for the shawm.

By the mid-18th century, clarinets were current throughout Europe and were in particular popularity in Paris, sometime replacing oboes in orchestral works. Vivaldi's concertos had treated clarinets like trumpets, allowing them out only in pairs, but by 1740, solo clarinet concertos were being composed by JM Molter, J Stamitz and Mozart. Mozart much admires the clarinet's tone, and once lamented, "If only we had clarinets in Salzburg!"

Steady advancement in the number of keys improved the clarinet's range and tone, and by 1840, it was ripe for its final major stage of development. Basing his improvements upon Boehm's work on flutes, the instrument-maker Louis-August Buffet introduced many modifications which, with later refinements, resulted in the clarinet of today. Its range of tonal production is extraordinarily broad, a fact exploited by many recent composers. The range of the clarinet's family is also wide, from the tiny octave clarinet of the mid-19th century to the subcontrabass instrument of about 1930.

Midi: Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A

The clarinet is suited to the expression of sorrow even when it plays a merry air. If I were to dance in prison, I should wish to do so with the accompaniment of the clarinet. -- Andre Gretry

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