On Jun 6, 2007, at 8:23 AM, Christopher Smith wrote:
On Jun 5, 2007, at 9:37 PM, John Howell wrote:
At 11:17 AM -0400 6/5/07, Christopher Smith wrote:
I WOULD like to see Trumpet in Eb in the instrument list. When I do
orchestra transcriptions from the 19th C, there is a lot of Eb
trumpet, and I got caught the first time.
But were these Eb alto, same pitch as the British brass band solo Eb
cornet, or Eb basso, like the low F trumpet that was also common?
High Eb is what I meant, between the piccolo and the Bb in size, like
the British Eb cornet. Very common instrument. I wouldn't call that
pitch Eb alto, as I would reserve that name for the alto horn
transposition.
For the tenor trumpet in Eb, see the Rite of Spring, where it has an
important solo. I think this instrument scarcely exists anymore, tho.
The last few performances of the Rite that I've seen have all used a Bb
bass trumpet for this bit. The Eb tenor trp., BTW is the direct
descendant of the single-shank slide trumpet of the 15th-18th cc.
For that matter, I don't see a piccolo trumpet in Bb in the instrument
list either, only in A. Most of the players I know prefer to play the
A when they can, but the Bb is common, too.
The instrument is also found in G, F, and (high) C. All these
instruments were designed to play the 2nd Brandenburg Concerto, but the
piccolo trp. (in whatever key) has since come into its own as an
independent instrument. When I write for it (wh. is often) I call for a
4-valve instrument in Bb; the 4th valve takes the sounding range down
to middle C, making the instrument more useable alongside regular
trumpets.
Frankly, for MIDI purposes I see no point to having separate Bb and A
piccolo-trp. sounds--esp. inasmuch as trumpeters notoriously use
whatever instrument they feel like regardless of what the composer
wrote.
Nor, for that matter, do I see much sense in attempting to
differentiate D and Eb clarinet sounds--especially since we are talking
about artificial *imitations* of these sounds in the first place. In
order for such a distinction to be justifiable, the D midi-instrument
would have to sound more like a real D clarinet than the latter does to
a real Eb clarinet--and I don't believe that would ever be the case.
Clarinet in D would be good, too.
??????? Never seen one, and never seen a part for one. Where do you
find it?
Mahler, Berlioz, among others. Late 19th C stuff. Yup, it's rare these
days, but you see it in historical repertoire.
It is used extensively in the Rite of Spring. Also, it is worth noting
that D seems to have been the preferred key for the earliest clarinets.
Molter wrote a whole set of 6 clarinet concertos, all for the
instrument in D.
Andrew Stiller
Kallisti Music Press
http://www.kallistimusic.com/
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