Talk:Bass clarinet
From Academic Kids
The article states that the bass clarinet is used in "Valkyrian and Tristan, by Wagner" - I suspect this means that it is used in Die Walküre and is also used in Tristan und Isolde, but I don't know Wagner as well as I should, so I'm not sure - can anyone confirm? (There's no single piece called "Valkyrian and Tristan", of course.) --Camembert
I've removed the Mozart Requiem from the list of works that employ the instrument - I'm almost certain that it's the basset horn in that piece, which is sort of an ancestor of the bass clarinet (and I think it was sometimes called the "bass clarinet" in Mozart's day, though I'd have to look it up to be sure), but isn't the same instrument. I'm prepared to be proved wrong about this, of course. --Camembert
- Each time I've seen a live performance of the Requiem (maybe twice) the clarinet parts have always been taken by an instrument that looks as described: clarinets with crooked mouthpieces and bells, resembling a baritone sax. Whether these would be found on an authentic-instruments performance is something I wouldn't know myself.
- "Valkyrian and Tristan" seem to be inherited from the Swedish page. I am reasonably certain that these are the two Wagner works meant. -- Smerdis of Tlön
Oh this is funny, you wouldn't believe it, but I clicked on Recent changes and this was the first article that popped up and I play bass clarinet...I just had to say that because what are the chances of that happening on Wikipedia?--naryathegreat 00:55, Dec 22, 2004 (UTC)
- I've just checked the score of the Mozart Requiem, and it is basset-horns, not bass clarinets, that are written for. Basset horns are not all that common, so I suppose basses might be substituted nowadays as a cheat. Thanks for fixing the Wagner. --Camembert
