Yeah, yeah, and the English horn isn't really English, and, for that
matter, the bass clarinet is really a tenor instrument. But we go to
war with the instrument names that we have. Gunther was right to
insist on "contra-alto" for the Eb instrument and "contrabass" for
the Bb instrument, because too many people already refer to the Eb
instrument as a "contrabass clarinet," which causes no end of
confusion. (For instance, Full GPO has a contra-alto clarinet sample
and no contrabass clarinet sample, but they mistakenly refer to the
instrument as a contrabass clarinet.)
The two sub-bass clarinets in Eb and Bb are two very different
instruments and they need different names to distinguish them. The
most widely-used names for them are "contra-alto clarinet" and
"contrabass clarinet," so if you want to be understood, those are the
terms you have to use.
Cheers,
- Darcy
-----
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Brooklyn, NY
On 07 Jun 2007, at 2:59 PM, Raymond Horton wrote:
John Howell wrote:
>Better? [alto clarinet vs basset horn] Or just different? And of
course the matter of low range, although the extension to low C
>would take care of that. I suspect that very few band directors
assign their best players to alto clarinets, and like every member
>of the family it is an individual instrument and has to be learned
and mastered on its own terms.
Just listen to them, side-by-side.
And contra means against, not double. And alto means "high" or
"above," of course! The original "Contratenor altus" means
"against the tenor - above." This begat "contralto", which begat
"alto" Now "contra-alto" means "double alto?" Nonsensical!
At least "Contratenor bassus" which became "contrabass" means
"against the tenor - below," but everyone thinks it means
"doublebass. " Ask the third bassoonist what instument he plays!
("I play contra." "Against whom?")
I know I am starting to sound ridiculous, but goodness, the "contra-
alto" clarinet is just carrying this silliness too far.
RBH
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