Clarinet Reed Position

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18th- and 19th-Century Iconographical Representations of Clarinet Reed PositionAuthor(s): Ingrid E. PearsonSource: Music in Art, Vol. 25, No. 1/2 (Spring-Fall 2000), pp. 87-96Published by: Research Center for Music Iconography, The Graduate Center, City University of NewYorkStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41818363 .

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Music nArtXXV/

-2

2000)

18th- and

19th-century

Iconographical Representations of

Clarinet

Reed

Position

Ingrid E. Pearson

Kingston niversity

The various

epictions

f theclarinet

n

works f art

during

he

ighteenth

nd nineteenthenturieseflectts

increased

rofile

n

artmusic nd raditional

epertories.

he earliest

epresentationsppeared

n

a number f ources

including usic ncyclopaediasnd exicons, eneralworks freferencend didactic orks uch s fingeringharts

andtutors.1

n

these

ources,

he llustrationfthe larinet

sually

ulfilled

purely

nstructional

ôle,

ndicating

he

position

f he

finger-holes

nd

keys

nd

howing

he

omponentarts

f he nstrument.

Appearances

f he larinet

n

works f rt romhe

ighteenthentury

re

relatively

carce.Whilst everal xtant

depictions

reuseful s indicatorsf

ontemporaryerformingractices, any

rtistsf he

ighteenth

ndnineteenth

centuriesadno ntentionf

ccuratelyortraying

usical

ubjects,

ndwere ften ircumscribed

y

he imitationsf

the

particular

edium ithin hich

hey

were

working.

Any

bservationsrawn romn

experience

f hese

epresentations

ust ake nto ccount heir tatus

irstly

nd

foremostly

s works f rt

nly, endering

he

musicologicalmplications

f uch tudiesncidental.2

owever,

s with

organological

vidence,

conographie

aterialsanfunctions valuable orroborativevidence.

n

presenting

selection

of

conographical

ources,

ating

roma.

1

22 toca.

1

60,

n

which

person

s either

laying

r

holding

clarinet,

his

paper

iscusses

n

detailworks fboth

mbiguous

ndcertain eed

position.

Theclarinet as a productf heworkshopfJohannhristophenner1655-1707) t he nd f he eventeenth

century.

or hefirst

ixty

r so

years

f ts

xistence,

twas

played

lmost

xclusively

ith he eedunder he

upper

lip

that

s

reed-above).

layers

romhe

Hapsburg mpire

ere he irsto

adopt

henowuniversal

ractice

f

placing

the eed n he ower

ip

reed-below).3

tudentst he

ighly

nfluentialarisConservatoireere nstructedhus s late

as 1831.

Champions

f he eed-below

mbouchure,

ncluding

he

rolific

riternd ritic

rançois-Joseph

étis,

ndicated

a shift

way

fromechnical

lamboyance

owardsn

appreciation

f

onority

nd imbre. ost eed-above

layers

isit-

ing

aris,

or

xample,

ere

oundly

riticised.

y

themid-nineteenth

entury,

eed-abovelarinettistsere obe found

only

n

certain

arts

f

taly,

uch s Milan

n

the

north,

nd

Naples

n

he outh. he

popularity

f he eed-abovem-

bouchure as so

great

hat

n

Naples

tbecameknown s

4

la scuola

Napoletana'.5

The

sources. The

engravinghowing fashionably

martman

playing

clarinet,

roduced y

the

Nuremberg

artist ohann

hristoph eigel

1661-1726)

n

he eriesMusicalisches heatrum

ca. 1722),

emainshe arliestxtant

representation

f clarinettist

fig.

].6

The

position

f he urned

ings

n the

rofile

f he nstruments indicativef

a two-keyedlarinet.yvirtue f tsdate,Weigel' portrayals an mportantepresentation,lthoughhe rofilef he

clarinets much oo conical ndoboe-like obe true-to-life.

imilarly,

he eft nclinationf he

layer's

ead

ogether

with he

trange,

lmost

erpendicularngle

fhis

right

and ittle

inger

aise he

uspicion

hat hiswas not n llustra-

tion aken romhe rtist'first-hand

xperience.7

ndeed,

most

epresentations

f he

wo-keyed

larinetntil bout 60

provide similarly

nsufficientmount fdetail.Whilst he larinettist

ppears

obe

holding

he

mouthpiece

etween

both

pper

nd ower

ips,

he bsence ffurtheretail

n

this rea eems o

negate

somewhat aïve

ssumptiony

previous

riterhat

Weigel

s

in

fact

ortraying

he eed-above mbouchure.8

onetheless,

he

publication

f his et

of36 such

ngravings

as most

robably

ntendeds

merely

reflectionf n earlier

ublicationy

Mattheson,

hich

contrasts

usic-makingmongst

he

ristocracy

nd he

roletariat.9

©2000Researchenteror usic

conography

UNY

87

This content downloaded from 128.103.149.52 on Wed, 21 May 2014 19:39:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions






Ingrid

.

Pearson,

epresentationsf

Clarinet eedPosition

1. Johann

hristopheigel,

usikalischesheatrum

Nuremberg,

a.

1722),

heet 4.

88







Music nArtXXV/1-2

2000)

2. Untitled

aintingy

P. Krämer

late

8th

entury).ödling,rivate

ollection.

A

similar

ngraving

f n aristocratic ale

playing

he larinet

ating

rom a. 1780deserves omment.t

ppears

within he ontext f a didactic

work,

s one of two llustrationsf the nstrumentontained ithin he

nonymous

English

method heClarinetnstructor

ca. 1780).

This

depiction

ombines arious eaturesf he

epresentationy

Weigel.10

hetwo

players' pparel

s

similar,

et

he

rofile

f he ell of he larinetnthe

nonymousepiction

s a

more rue-to-life

epresentation.

here s ittle oubt hat his eflectsn ncrease

n

he isseminationf he nstrument

during

he

nterveningifty

r so

years.

TheAugsburgrtist artinngelbrecht1684-1756) ompletedsetofengravingsetween 720 nd 1730.The

aristocrat

epicted

noneof hese s

playing

recorder,

ut

two-keyed

larineties

mongst

everalwoodwindnstru-

ments n an

adjacent

able.11he

body

f he larinets

partly

bscured

y

both n

open

music ook nd n

oboe,

how-

ever ts

upward acingmouthpieceppears

o be covered

y large,

widereed.This

may peculatively

e

interpreted

as the eed-above

osition.

similarrtisticicence bounds

n

John lueť s

portrayal

f clarinet

n

his

1

26

engraving

of title

age

forHandel'

opera

Alexander.

2

Scattered

mongst

everal nstrumentstthe oot f seated

arpist,

he

clarinetacks

ignificant

etail

n

he reas f

finger-holes,ey-work

nd

mouthpiece-

ocket.

espite

he act hat andel

doesnot

ctually

nclude he larinet

n

he rchestraor

lexander,

tsfirst ocumentedoncert

ppearance

n

London

alsotook

lace

n 1 26.

3

The naccuraciesnCluer'

depiction

ouldwellderive rom isdesire o

portray

his

elatively

novel nstrument

espite

lack offirst-hand

xperience.

89







Ingrid

.

Pearson,

epresentationsf


3. Attributedo

Dominique

oncre,

Estrade

ca. 1800-05).

aris,

Musée

ognacq-Jay,

nv. 009.

©PhotothèqueesMusées e a Ville eParis.

Two other

ighteenth-centuryngravings

arrant ention ere.

An

llustrationf n aristocrat

laying Baroque

clarinets oneof ixteen ifferentcenes obe found n a

single ngraved

heet,

hought

obe thework fJohanneter

Wolff.

4

The bsence f

necessary

mount fdetail endershis ource ot

articularly

seful

n

scertaining

nformati-

on about larinet

erformingractices.

owever,

he

ength

f he larinet'sower

oint

does seem o

suggest

three-

keyed

nstrument.nother

epiction

f ristocratic

usicians,

romhe econd alf f he

ighteenthentury,

eatures

a

boyperforming

n a

Baroque

larinet hilst is father

lays

cello andhis mother

ings.

The artist f his cene s

unknown,

nd similarackof nformativeetail

n

he

mouthpiece

rea

everely

imits he

conographical

alueof his

source.15

The earliest nown

ainting

f clarinets one of ixoil-on-wood

anels dorning

he rontf he hoir oftn he

parish

hurch fSankt

Magnus

n

Bad

Schussenried,ating

rom a. 1744-45.

6

The

mportance

fwhat s nowknown

as southern

ermany

n he

arly istory

f larinet

aking

t hat ime s confirmed

y

he urvival f nstrumentsrom

the

workshop

f heOberlender

amily,

akers ctive

n

Nuremberg.17nfortunately

romWeiss'

depiction

f

pair

of

larinet-playingngelic

herubs

ery

ittlenformationanbe deduced

oncerning

larinetmbouchure

ractices,

s

both

layers ppear

o have oo substantial

part

f he

mouthpiece

n

theirmouth.

y comparison,

hemore

pparent

details f he

urnings

nd

profile

feach nstrument

dentify

hem s

three-keyed

larinets,

imilar o the

pecimen

n

D

by

Walch

Salzburg,

Museum arolino

ugusteum,

o.

8/2),

a. 1740-50.One

study

f his

ainting

otesWeiss's

portrayal

fboth and

ositions

left

bove

ight

ndvice

versa).18

iven he naccuraciesontained ithinll six

paint-

ings,

Weisswas

obviouslygnorantoncerning

etails

eculiar

o ndividual

nstruments,

uggesting

he ccidental a-

ture f he

depiction

f he larinettists'and

lacements.

90







Music nArtXXV/1-2

2000)

4. Untitled

nonymousngravingca. 1840-50).

ondon,

rivate

ollection.

An

untitled

id-eighteenth-century

ezzotint

y

he

Augsburg

rtist ohannlias

Ridinger

1698-1767)

ortrays

a

young

male larinettist.19eated ut-of-doorsn a

rock,

he

youth ppears

obe

playing three-keyed

larinet,

ince

the

rofile

f he nstrumentncludes

similarlylongated

ell

section,

oted bove

n

the

painting y

Weiss.

Thisworkhas

proven articularly

aluable o

organologists

ecause f he arewithwhich ertain etails avebeen

rendered.or

xample,

n

dditiono he ection elow he owest ittle

inger

ole,

ntowhich he hird

ey

was mount-

ed,

he

lugged

lternateolefor his

inger

s visible n the

ight

ideof he

larinet,

pposite

he

penpreferred

ole.

Thisfeatureonfirmsindingsrom xtanthree-keyedlarinetsndicatinghat choice fhand osition as available

toclarinettistst his ime.

discrepancymongst revious

riters

egarding

he

rofile

f he ackor ower ideof he

mouthpieceoint

s

highly ignificant

ince ll

argue

t s this

hape

which onfirmshe

layer's

se of he eed-below

embouchure.20

owever,

heres

simply

ot

nough

vidence o

support

uch laims or ts

hape,

ven fterhe

tudy

of an

enlargement

fthe

mouthpiece

rea ofthiswork.Other orroborativevidence ncludes hefact hat

lthough

marks

esembling

hose otches sed o ndicate here he wine inds he eed o he

mouthpiece

re

pparent,hey

re

carved nto he ection f the

mouthpiece

here ts diameterncreases

apidly.

n

other

words,

hecarvednotches

continues the

gradient

fthe

mouthpiece

urface ecomes oo

steep

or he

ying-on

fthe eed.As one writer as

suggested,

he itternthis

icturemay

have ven hosen o

pose

without reed n his clarinet.21hilstt s

certainly

possible

hat he

layer

s

using

he eed-below

osition,

o conclusive

roof

anbe drawn rom

idinger'

illustration.

91







Ingrid

.

Pearson,

epresentationsf


5.

Anonymousainting,

larinettiste

ca. 1840-50).

aris,

x. ollection. Thibault.

Guillaume oirioťsPortrait

f

he erceval

amily1767),depicts

he hildrenf n aristocratic

amily

t

play,

as traveling usicians bservedytheir arents.22small oyholds clarinett anangle f bout 30degrees rom

his

body,

withhis hands owards he

upper

nd of the

nstrument,

resumably

ot an accurate

epresentation

f

contemporaryerformingractices. espite

he

pparent

bsence f

key-work,

he

osition

f he urned

ings uggests

that his s most

ikely two-keyed

odel.That he

elatively

ovel larinets included ith nstrumentsore

ypical

of tinerant usic

makingmay

e ntendedoreflecthenoble tatus f he erceval

amily.

lackof

wine,

ecessary

in

binding

he reed onto the

mouthpieceoint,

eems to

imply

hat he nstruments

portrayed

ithout reed.

Nonetheless,

divergence

xists

mongstrevious

cholars

egarding

he ctual eed

osition epicted,

ith eed-above

and eed-belowoth

eemingly

vident.23he

obviouslytylisedetting

f he

ainting

nd he nlikelihoodhat he

oy

holding

he clarinet as ever a

player

f the nstrumentean that hiswork f arthas little o contributeo an

investigation

nto

ighteenth-century

larinetmbouchure

ractices.

92







Music nArtXXV/1-2

2000)

6. Francescoisantefterhe

rawingyFilippo

alizzi,

viggianesica. 1853-60).

One of hemost

nambiguousepictions

f he eed-above

osition

s

presented

nKrämer'

painting

f n

elderly

manwith clarinet nder isrightrmfig. ].

24

The nscriptionMünchen' nder he rtist's amemay ndicate hat

the

ubject

f hisworkwas a musician f

German,

ossibly

avarian

rigin,

hilst hedomestic

etting

f he cene

and he larinettist's

lothingupport

he

ssumption

hat e was an tinerant

layer

r ven dilettante.25hemost n-

usualfeaturef his

ainting

n

terms fclarinet

conography

s the

osition

f he

ong ouchpiece

or hefourth

ey,

which uns

arallel

othe

ight

ideof he nstrument.

n

all other

urvivingepresentations

f his

esign

f

four-keyed

clarinet,

he hank f hefourth

ey

s found n the ther ideof he

nstrument,

ndicationhat rämer'

portrait

s of

a

player

housed he

ight

bove eft and

osition.

iven hat larinets ith ive

eys

adbeenmade ince he

1760s,

the

lderly

larinettist

n

his

icture

mbodies

erformingractices

loser o hemiddle f he

ighteenthentury.26

his

indicateshat he eed-abovembouchureas still

n

use

n

ate

ighteenth-centuryermany,rimarilymongstlayers

of he

previous eneration

nd hose rom on-art usic raditions.

The

subject

f a

portraity

Pierre azin remains ne ofthemost

nigmatic

f

eighteenth-century

larinettists.27

Known

nly

s

Villement,

his larinettistas

painted

n

1780

holding

hat s

probably five-keyed

larinet. he

key

at the

op

of he nstrumentor ' is

clearly

isible,

ndevidence fthe

ouchpiece

f he

key

for

-sharp/d-sharp"

t

the rontf he nstrumentnd suggestionn the ightand ideof he nstrumentfone of he ong ouchpiecesor

the

keys

for /b' and

f-sharp/c-sharp"

an be detected. renchmakerswere

mongst

he arliest o manufacture

separatemouthpiece

nd

barrel,

featurefVillement'clarinet.28

lthoughontemporary

ith he

epresentationy

Krämer,

his ource

epicts player

f he

ounger eneration

ho lso favouredhe eed-abovembouchure.his eed

position

s confirmed

y

the

overwhelming ajority

f

documentary

nd

organological

ourceswhich ttest o the

prevalence

f his mbouchure

n

French-speaking

reas tthis ime.29

n

the

ight

f uch

vidence,

t s most

nlikely

that he

ight

rea tthe

ip

of he

mouthpiece

fVillement'clarinets the

eed,

nd

not,

s one writer as

suggested,

a reflectionf the

mouthpiece's

orsal ide.30 his

hypothesis

s

supportedy

the

imilarity

f this rea

n

both his

portrait

nd heKrämer

ainting,

iscussed bove.

93







Ingrid

.

Pearson,

epresentationsf


A

painting

f n

early ineteenth-century

treet

cene,

most

ikely

n

Belgium

r he

Rhineland,

ntitled Estrade

has much

n

common ith imilar

epictionsyLouis-Léopold oilly

1761-1845).

t has

recently

een ttributedo

Dominique

oncre nd s

thought

o datefrom hefirst ive

years

f henineteenth

enturyfig.

].31

he clarinettist

seatedon a

platform

n the eft ide of the cene s most

ikely laying

n instrumentith ive

keys.Upon

close

examinationf he

mouthpiece

rea,

thin

liver,

esembling

reed,

anbe detected

acing pwards.

ince his

ighter

strip

oesnot over hewhole f he

op

ection f he

mouthpiece,

t s

unlikely

obe a

portrayal

f

ight.

hereforet

is

probable

hat he larinettist

ortrayedy

Doncre s

using

he eed-above mbouchure.

Contemporaryith he aintingbove s ananonymousngravingepictingclarinettisttrest uring practice

session

fig.

].

32

The

player

eems o have

five-keyed

larinet

n

his

possession.

smallnarrow

eed,

ound o the

dark-wood

outhpiece

ith

wine,

s visible

n

inewith he '

key

nd

finger

ole,

clearly ndicating

he

player's

preference

or he eed-above mbouchure.hebound olume f

music,

esting

n the

bureau,

esemblesonatas ot

unlike hose

riginallyublished

n

Lefèvre'sMéthode f 1802.33

n

fact,

his

layermay

wellhavebeen studentf

Lefèvre ttheParisConservatoire.

In

a manner

emarkably

imilar o the

ithograph

iscussed

bove,

contemporaryainting

rom 801

byBrigide

Vincent fBordeaux lso

depicts

musician ith

five-keyed

larineteated

n

frontf n

open

bookofmusic

n

what

appears

obe a domesticnvironment.34hilst he

markings

n he arrel f he nstrumentndicatehattwas a

product

of he

agetworkshop

n

Bordeaux,

o clarinetsurvive

y

thismaker.35hereed s hidden rom iewbecause f he

angle

twhich he rtist as chosen o

portray

he

mouthpiece

f he larinet. one he

ess,

t s most

ikely

his

layer

was also

using

he eed-abovembouchureue o he

ngle

f he eak ection f he

mouthpiece

nd he rench

rigin

of he ource.

The rôleof he larinetnthemilitaryandhas been he ubject fmuch revious cholarship.36lithography

Trentenskyating

rom 823

depicts Hungarian

andon

parade,marching

nd

performing.37

he

buildings

n

the

background

re

probably

arracks,

n

frontf

which,

igh ankingrmy

fficialsn horse-back

ppear

obe

nspecting

the

roops

f oldiers

marching

othemusic f he and. ive out f he ix clarinettists

n

he rontow re ll

holding

theirnstrumentt an considerable

ngle

romheir

ody.

An

exception

s the

layer

hird romhe eft and ndof he

row,

whose larinets held

ignificantly

loser o his

body

han hat fhis

colleagues.

t s

possible

hat hedifference

in

posturemongst

he larinettists

ay

esult romhe rtist'

portrayal

f heir orward

ovement,

onethelesst eems

equally ikely

hat hese

layers

erenot ll

using

he ame eed

osition.

s noted

bove,

laying

ith he eed-above

embouchurean often ecessitate

olding

he larinet urtherrom he

body,

factwhich

ppears

o

correspond

ith

the

majority

f

players

n

this llustration.

Similar o the ource iscussed bove s an

anonymousithograph

hich

resents

woviewsof

regimental

lari-

nettistsrom heAustrian

rmyca. 1840-50).

8

In

the

icture

n the

eft,

he larinettists

depicted acing

heviewer.

The

player

s

stationary

nd

ppears

obe

in

concert'.Whilst e

appears

obe

playing five-keyed

larinet,

ischoice

of eed ositions not pparentromhe llustration.herightand llustrations more nformativeoncerningeed o-

sition. rom he

rofile

f he

larinettist,

he

oncavity

f he

mouthpiece

ndicateshat he eed s under he

pper ip.

Thisuse of he eed-above

osition

s confirmed

y

hewide

ngle

etween he nstrumentnd he

layer's ody.

The

position

f he

layer's

eet ndicateshe rtist's

ttempt

o

depict

im

laying

hilst

marching.

hedifferentniforms

of he wo larinettistseem o

suggest

differencefrank.

Contemporary

ith he

previous

ource s an

anonymous id-nineteenth-centuryainting

ntitled larinettiste

which llustratesclarinettistt

practicefig.

].39

his

portrayal

asmuch

n

common ith hat f

Weigel's ngraving,

suggesting

similar

egree

f affluence. he artist as taken

reat

are

n

depicting

everalmusical

bjects

n

this

painting,ncluding

clockwork etronomef he

hape atentedy

Maelzel

n 1

16,

violoncello nd

bijouupright

piano.

The clarinet

ppears

o have hirteen

eys; ight

nthe

pperoint

ndfive nthe ower. hereed s attachedo

the

mouthpiece

ith metal

igature.40

here s little oubt hat his

layer

sedreed-above

mbouchure,

ince thin

yellow

eed anbe seenon the rontideof he

mouthpiece. lthough

he

dating

f hiswork an

only

e

approximate

until he rtists

identified,

t s an

mportant

estamentothe ontinuationf he eed-aboveradition

n

themiddle f

thenineteenthentury.hatmanytalian layers, otablyhose rom outhernegions, mployedhe eed-above m-

bouchure ell nto he wentieth

entury,uggests

hat his

ainting ay

well

originate

rom hat

ountry.41

During

he

ighteenth

ndnineteenth

enturies,

any

tinerant usiciansndorchestral

layers

fnote amefrom

Viggiano,

town

n

he outherntalian

egion

fBasilicata.42

n

engraving

ntitled

viggianesi epicts

our

musicians,

oneofwhom s a clarinettist

fig.

].

From he nstrument's

ey-work,

t

ppears

hat he larinets a

five-keyed

odel.43

The musicians' ostumesndicate hat

hey

reof

peasant

tock.

A

certain mount f rtisticicense as beenused

n

the

ortrayal

f he nstruments.or

example,

he

harp

oesnot

ppear

o have

ny trings

or he

layer's

eft and o

pluck,

nd heviolin s held t an

angle

hatwouldmake

erformance

ifficultor

ongperiods

f ime. heholeson

the

pperoint

f he larinetre

over-sized,

nd he

layer's

ands re oofar

part

obe realistic

epresentation.

ow-

94







Music nArtXXV/1-2

2000)

ever,

omedetails remore

ccurate,

amely

hedarker oodusedfor he

mouthpiece

nd he

urning

hich

eparates

the ower

oint

from hebell. The evidence

resentedy

this

icture

s

important

o an

understanding

fnineteenth-

century

eed

position

ince t ndicates hat he eed-above

echnique

as used

by traveling

usicians,

ndtherefore

featured

n

the

erformance

f raditionalndfolk

epertoire.

Conclusions.

A

lack of

uniformity

nd true-to-life

ccuracy

n

portrayals

f the clarinet

n

eighteenth-

nd

nineteenth-centuryconographical

ources ntended

rimarily

s works f rt

ompounds

he

roblem

f

constructing

a visual ccount f he eed-aboveradition.

otwithstanding,

uch

epictionscknowledge

he o-existencef his eed

position ith he eed-belowmbouchure,hich stoday mployed ythemajorityf clarinettistsorld-wide. he

presence

fthe

five-keyed

larinet

n

many

fthese

epictions

estifiests urvival ell nto henineteenth

entury,

despite ontemporaryrganologicalevelopments

uch s the

hirteen-keyed

larinet

eveloped y

wanMüller

1786-

1

54)

andothers.44

ikewise,

he dvancedmodel

ainted y

he

nonymous

id-nineteenth

entury

rtist

fig.

],

con-

firmshe se of imilar larinets

y

known eed-above irtuosiuch s the

Neapolitan layer

erdinandoebastiani.45

These

conographical

ources re lso useful

n

the

way

n

which

hey

nteract ith vidence

rovided y

written

sourcematerials. he

mplicationresented

nthe

aintingy

Krämer hat he eed-abovembouchure as stillnuse

insouthern

ermany

nthe ate

ighteenthentury

ssures

pecial ignificance

nthe

ight

f he

carcity

fGerman-

language ocumentary

vidence romhat rea.46 he

presence

f he eed-abovembouchure

n

he

nonymousainting

Clarinettistes

contemporary

ith ts

spousal

n

tutors

y

Sebastiani,

aetano

abanchi,

ndFerdinando

usoni,

ll

ofwhichwerewritten

n

the econdhalf f henineteenth

entury.47

heseworks f rt

rovide uring

he

ighteenth

century,

he eed-abovembouchureas

practisedyprofessional

nd mateur

layers

romll social lasses.

They

lso

provide

valuable

limpse

f ts

particularongevitymongst ractitioners

ffolk nd raditional usics.

Despite ts urrenturvivalmongst nly paucityfplayers orldwide,he eed-above mbouchureffordss

a

glimpse

f he ichnessnd

diversity

n

clarinet

laying

romhe

ast.

n

particular,

or

oday's erformers

n

period

clarinetshereed-above mbouchure

rovides

n

historically

erifiablend viable lternativeo

today'spractice

f

placing

he eed n the ower

ip.By allowing broadening

f he vailable

alette

f

rticulatory

olours nd

imbre,

the

technique hallenges layers

o

present

much

repertoire

n

a mannermore

befitting

f the term

historically

informed'The fact hat

layers

ere till

sing

he eed bove mbouchurentil

elativelyecently

erves s a

timely

reminderf he ichnessnd

diversity

e seem ll too

willing

o

ettison.

What

egree

fhistorical

ractice

nformsur

music

making

f

we are

rigidly

elective

n

our

willingness

o embrace he

echniques

f

past

ras?

Notes

Thanksre ue oDavid oss, icholashackleton,nd olin

Lawsonorssistance

n

he

reparation

f hisrticle.

1

Joseph

riedrichernhard

aspar ajer,

useumusicumhe-

oretico

racticum,

as stNeu-er

ffne

er heoretisch-nd

ractischer

Music-Saal

Schwäbisch

all:

Georg

ichael

ajer, 732), .

39;

Recueile

lanches

ures

ciences,

es rtsibérauxt es rts écha-

niques,

veceur

xplicationParis,767),

:

plate

;

François

lexan-

dre ierree

Garsault,

otionaire,

uMémorialaisonné

Paris,761),

p.

646,

late

1;

Valentin

oeser,

ammee

larinette,

vec ix uos

(Paris,769),

itle

age,

nd he larinetnstructor

London,

a.

780),

facing.

1.

2

James

cKinnon,

Iconography'

n

Musicology

n he 980s.

Ed.

y

. Kern olomannd laude .Palisca

New

ork: a

Capo

Press,

982), .

92;

nd

Ann

uckley,

Music

conography

nd he

semioticsf isual

epresentation',

usicnArt XIII/1-2

1998),.

.

3

For

description

f ariouserms

doptedy revious

riters

to escribeeed-position,eeAlbert.Rice,Historyf he larinet

to 820

Ph.D.

iss.,

laremontraduate

chool,

987),p.

08-9.

SeeDavid

harlton,

Classicallarinet

echnique:

ocumen-

tary pproaches',arly

usic VI/3

August988),.

396.

5

Rey

M.

Longyear,

Clarinetonorities

n

arly

omanticu-

sic',

heMusicalimesXXIV/1682

April983),.

225.

6

'Clarinett'rom ohann

hristopheigel,

usikalisches

Theatrum

Nuremberg,

a.

1722/R1961),

heet4. hisllustrations

well s the

ccompanyingaption

s

reproduced

n

Kurt

irsak,

ie

Klarinette:ine

ulturgeschichteBuchloe:bermayer,992),

nd

English

ranslatation

y

ail

chambergerBuchloe:bermayer,994),

p.139, l.1.Moreecentlythas ppeareds the rontoverf he

paperback

ditionfColin

awson,

he

arly

larinet:Practical

Guide

Cambridge:ambridgeniversity

ress,

000).

7

See lso avid

ugene

oss,

Comprehensiveerformance

Project

nClarinetiteratureithn

Organologicaltudyf

he

Developmentf

he larinetn he

ighteenthenturyD.M.A.

hesis,

University

f

owa,

985),p.

9-80.

8

Thomas

ebhard,

tudienum larinettensatznd stiln en

konzertantenerkenon

eorg-Friedrich

uchs,

eteronWinternd

Franz anzi

Hildesheim:

lms,

998),.

33.

9

A.R.

ice,

bid.,

.

204.

10

The larinetnstructor

London,

a.

1780),acing

itle

age.

11

Martin

ngelbrecht,

Flotten,autbois,lachinett,

agot,

nd

Clarinett.' fromarii

eneris

nstrumentausica.

eproduced

n

Sydney

ecknd lizabeth.

Roth,

usicn rints

New

ork,

965),

p.81, l. 2.Afurtherourceepictingclarinety ngelbrecht,ncollaborationithohann

hristoph

teudnernd aul

ecker,

ppears

inKonradasse

d.,

atalog

uden

ammlungen

esHändel-Hauses

unHalle. V:

Bildsammlung-Hogarth-GraphikHalle:

ändel-Haus,

1966),.

124;

nd olkerothel

d.,

Musikn

ayern:

I.

Ausstellungs-

katalogugsburg,

uli isOktober972

Tutzing:

ans

chneider,

1972),.

172,

o.

36,

l.

15.

Unfortunately

hisource

isplays

si-

milarly

nsufficientmountf etail.

12

JohnCluer,

Alexander'

London,726),

itle

age. eproduced

in

Gottfried.

Fraenkel,

ecorativeusic itle

ages New

ork:

Dover,

968),l.

53.

13

August

reudenfeldnd rancis

osenberg,

ho erewo la-

95





Clarinet Reed Position

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