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Basset horn
Basset horn

The basset horn (sometimes written basset-horn) is a musical instrument, a member of the clarinet family. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The clarinet is a Musical instrument in the Woodwind family The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word

Contents

Construction and tone

Like the clarinet, the instrument is a wind instrument with a single reed and a cylindrical bore. A wind instrument is a Musical instrument that contains some type of Resonator (usually a tube in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing A single-reed instrument is a Woodwind instrument that uses only one reed to produce sound A reed is a thin strip of material which vibrates to produce a sound on a Musical instrument. The bore of a Wind instrument is its interior chamber that defines a flow path through which air travels and is set into vibration to produce sounds However, the basset horn is larger and has a bend near the mouthpiece rather than an entirely straight body (older instruments are typically curved or bent in the middle), and while the clarinet is typically a transposing instrument in B flat or A (meaning a written C sounds as a B flat or A), the basset horn is typically in F. The mouthpiece of a Woodwind instrument is that part of the instrument which is placed partly in the player's mouth A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which written notes are played at a pitch different from concert pitch, which a non-transpositing instrument such as a Finally, the basset horn has additional keys for an extended range down to written C, which sounds F at the bottom of the bass staff. Its timbre is similar to the clarinet's, but darker and less brilliant. In Music, timbre (ˈtæm-bər' like timber, or, from Fr timbre tɛ̃bʁ is the quality of a Musical note or sound that distinguishes different Basset horns in A, G, E, E flat, and D also were made; the first of these is closely related to the basset clarinet. The basset clarinet is a Clarinet, similar to the usual Soprano clarinet but longer and with additional keys to enable playing several additional lower notes [1][2]

To confuse matters, the basset horn is not a horn; its name probably derives from the resemblance of early, curved or angled versions to a horn. The notion that it was invented by a person named Horn appears to be fanciful. Some of the earliest basset horns, dating from the 1760s, bear a maker's stamp claiming they were invented by A. and M. Mayerhofer of Passau, but while this claim has not been discredited, it remains unproved. Passau ( Latin: Batavis or Batavia, also Passavium; Italian: Passavia; Czech: Pasov) is a town in [3]

Repertoire

A number of composers of the classical period wrote for the basset horn, and the famous 18th century clarinettist Anton Stadler played it. The dates of the Classical period in Western music are generally accepted as 1750 to 1810 Anton Stadler ( 28 June 1753 &ndash 15 June 1812) was an Austrian Clarinet and Basset horn player for whom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was by far the most notable composer for the basset horn, including it in the Maurerische Trauermusik (Masonic Funeral Music), K. 477, the Gran Partita, K. The Maurerische Trauermusik (or Masonic Funeral Music) in C minor K This is a complete list of the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, listed chronologically. The Serenade No 10 for winds in B flat major, K. 361 is a Serenade by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart scored for thirteen instruments (twelve winds 361, the Requiem, K. The Requiem Mass in D minor ( K 626 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in 1791 626, and several of his operas, like La Clemenza di Tito which features the great Servilia's aria Non più di fiori with basset-horn obbligato, and chamber works. La clemenza di Tito (The Clemency of Titus K 621 is an Opera seria composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with text after Metastasio He wrote dozens of pieces for basset horn ensembles. His famous concerto for clarinet and orchestra in A, K. Mozart 's Clarinet concerto in A major, K 622 was written in 1791 for the clarinetist Anton Stadler. 622, was originally sketched out as a concerto for basset horn in G. Other early works for basset horn include a concerto for basset horn in G and small orchestra by Carl Stamitz, which has been arranged for conventional basset horn in F, and a concerto in F by Heinrich Backofen. Karel Stamic ( May 7, 1745 - November 9, 1801) who took the German form of his name Karl Philipp Stamitz and is now better known as

In the 19th century, Felix Mendelssohn wrote two pieces for the basset horn, clarinet and piano (opus 113 and 114). Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and generally known as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3 1809 &ndash November 4 1847 was a German Composer These were later scored for full orchestra. The instrument was largely abandoned until Richard Strauss took it up once more in his operas Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier, and Capriccio, and several later works. Richard Georg Strauss (11 June 1864 &ndash 8 September 1949 was a German Composer of the late Romantic era and early modern era particularly noted See Mourning Becomes Electra for a reference to the 1967 opera based on the 1931 Eugene O'Neill play Der Rosenkavalier ( op 59 ( The Knight of the Rose) is a comic Opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original Capriccio is the final Opera by German composer Richard Strauss, subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music"

Other works

Basset horn soloists and ensembles

The Prague Trio of Basset-horns, based in the Czech Republic, has a repertoire of music (originally written for, or transcribed for, three basset horns) by composers including Mozart, Scott Joplin, and Paul Desmond. The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Scott Joplin (between June 1867 and January 1868 &ndash April 1 1917 was an American musician and Composer of Ragtime music Paul Desmond ( November 25, 1924 - May 30, 1977) born Paul Emil Breitenfeld, was a Jazz alto saxophonist and

Trivia

The Italian name for the instrument, corno di bassetto, was used by Bernard Shaw as a pseudonym when writing music criticism. George Bernard Shaw ( (26 July 1856 &ndash 2 November 1950 was an Irish Playwright. A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias)

Notes

  1. ^ Lawson, Colin (November 1987). "The Basset Clarinet Revived". Early Music 15 (4): 487-501.  
  2. ^ Rice, Albert R. (September 1986). "The Clarinette d'Amour and Basset Horn". Galpin Society Journal 39: 97-111.  
  3. ^ Nicholas Shackleton. "Basset-Horn", Grove Music Online, ed. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an Encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians L. Macy (accessed 22 Nov 2006), grovemusic.com (subscription access). Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  4. ^ Oakland Symphony performs a clarinetist's 'Dream'. Inside Bay Area (21 March 2007). Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Retrieved on 2007-03-21. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem.

See also

External links

Recordings

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