Vol. 2, No. 34

CONTRABASS-LIST

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Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 14:31:22 -0400 (EDT)

Contrabass-list Digest Volume 97 : Issue 34

Today's Topics:

Re: contrabass-list Digest V97 #33
Earlier Questions.............
FMP requires Deutschmarks in advance
Contrabass trumpet
FMP CD 84 - Holz fur Europa
Octobass Flute
BBBb Tuba
Re: More Questions.

Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 16:19:38 +0000
From: Marion Garver <mgrf@pacificnet.net>
To: contrabass-list@contrabass.com
Subject: Re: contrabass-list Digest V97 #33

Hi all,

I will be performing on a Kingma quartertone bass flute at the National Flute Association Convention August 14, 1997 in Chicago. The concert is called "Composers Performing" and it features myself and Jennifer Higdon as composers and performers.

I will be premiering a commission from Brit Mike Mower called 'A Night in Greenwich' for solo bass flute, Charles Morogiello's 'Muuhg Wedging Between', Shawn Pinchbeck's 'Transformation no. 1', a TBA piece by Ryan Francesconi and a few of my own compositions.

The concert is at 5 pm in the Grand Ballroom. I can't remember which hotel in Chicago it is being held in.

Haven't any news on my soon to be octobass flute. I do have Howell Roberts' new phone number now.

Thanks,
Marion Garver

Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:25:24 -0400 (EDT)
From: WilPryde@aol.com
To: contrabass-list@contrabass.com
Subject: Earlier Questions.............

Anyone have any suggestions for me?

Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 00:17:45, -0500
From: KUUP84A@prodigy.com (MR MARK A TRINKO)
To: contrabass-list@contrabass.com
Subject: FMP requires Deutschmarks in advance

Don't know if we have anyone from Germany on this list, but my friend Sibylle Gottschewski is there and she may advise us on FMP (she is an oboe player but she is a great one! :).

101233.522@compuserve.com is her address.

------- FORWARD, Original message follows -------

> Date: Thursday, 01-May-97 05:55 PM
> Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 16:06:39 -0700
> From: Grant Green <gdgreen@contrabass.com>
> To: contrabass-list@contrabass.com
> Subject: FMP CDs?

> Hi,

> Just surfing earlier, and ran across FMP's catalog. One CD in particular
> caught my eye: "Holz Fur Europa, Comite Imaginaire" (if the characters come
> through, that should be Holz f=FCr Europa: Comit=E9 Imaginaire), FMP
> CD84 (July 1995, Berlin). The musicians are:

> Peter van Bergen (bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, tenor sax, Ab clarinet)
> Wolfgang Fuchs (bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, soprano sax)
> Hans Koch (bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, soprano clarinet, soprano sax)

> I'm still trying to imagine a contrabass clarinet trio....

> Anyway, has anyone heard this CD yet? I'd order it just out of curiosity,
> but ordering direct from FMP requires one to prepay in Deutschmarks,which I
> find to be a bit of a hassle. Their web site is http://www.pro-web.de/fmp.

> Francis, they carry a lot of Peter Brotzman: you might like to check out the
> label.

> Grant

> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Grant D. Green gdgreen@contrabass.com
> www.contrabass.com Just filling in on sarrusophone
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

------- FORWARD, End of original message -------

Date: Fri, 02 May 97 09:39:00 BST
From: Francis Firth <Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk>
To: "'contrabass-l'" <contrabass-list@contrabass.com>
Subject: Contrabass trumpet

Grant,

If it's you who has the trumpet the major issue seems to be that of tone.

Daryl sent me a tape of himself playing his contrabass trumpet and it sounds rather Euphonium-like which is hardly suprising given Daryl's tuba playing background. If you listen to Carl's soundclip from his web page it sounds more trumpet-like. Clearly a matter of tonal conception although, of course, Carl has not only been playing these instruments but making them much longer than Daryl. This is not a question of musicality but of what you want the instrument to sound like.

I am sure that I have read somewhere (Summit Records' CD of Bass Trumpet excerpts) saying that you should try to make sure that a bass trumpet sounds trumpetlike and not like a trombone.

What do you think, Daryl (BTW I remain v. grateful for your tape)?

Francis
Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk

Date: Fri, 02 May 97 09:45:00 BST
From: Francis Firth <Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk>
To: "'contrabass-l'" <contrabass-list@contrabass.com>
Subject: FMP CD 84 - Holz fur Europa

Grant,

yes I do have this CD and I posted to the list about it in (perhaps) March. 3 contrabass clarinets together sound pretty cool although the music is pretty avant-garde European free jazz. Equally important Pere van Bergen plays the rare Ab piccolo clarinet on this recording (although it's a little difficult to distinguish in places from Wolfgang Fuchs's sopranino saxophone).

FMP CDs are reasonably easy to get in this country (if anyone wants to get any FMP titles I could do an exchange with them, although I think I owe Grant a free CD) although I haven't yet purchased the latest solo Peter Brotzman: No, Nothing at All, which I would expect to be pretty good.

If anyone wants me to tape a bit so that they can decide I'm sure that I could although I don't want to breach any copyright regulations

Francis
Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk

Date: Fri, 02 May 97 10:08:00 BST
From: Francis Firth <Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk>
To: "'contrabass-l'" <contrabass-list@contrabass.com>
Subject: Octobass Flute

Ok, let's try to explain the family tree of low flutes.

Concert Flute
Alto Flute in G
Bass Flute in C
'Contrabass' flute in G.: It is not quite clear whether such an instrument exists. The Pinschofone appears to be a bass flute in C extended to its low G. It is played vertically (although, naturally, with horzontal head) and presumably the extension keys need to be operated by the right thumb?). This instrument has been recorded solo by Pierre-Yves Artaud on an old out-of-print LP and on a Neuma CD listed in the contrabass-l discography. It is illustrated on Grant's page (picture taken from Artaud's books on the flute)
'Bass' Flute in F: This instrument is made by Kotato & Fukushima and is pitched below the bass flute. Robert Dick plays a solo on it on his CD Worlds of If and there is a duet for 2 of them (double tracked) on his CD Third Stoone from the Sun. This is, I think, illustrated on Grant's page (picture taken from Kotato & Fukushima publicity leaflet).
Octobass Flute in C.: This instrument was designed for Pierre-Yves Artaud and introduced by him at Darmstadt 1984?. It is played in the same way as a normal flute so the tube is 'tripled'-up as far as I can remember. This is a true contrabass 2 octaves below the concert flute. There is a picture (taken from Artaud's book) on Grant's page. He has recorded with it Cage's Ryoanji on the Neuma label (see discography ).
Contrabass Flute in C.: More recently developed than the octobass this is a vertically-played flute with a triangular top section bringing the head into its normal horizontal position. Several people play one notably Matthias Ziegler and the instrument may be heard to good effect on his CD Marsyas's Song (see discography). I think that Grant has a picture of one on his page made by Kotato & Fukushima - although there are other makers, notably European, who make the instrument - (Grant's picture taken from Kotato Brochure). This instrument is extensively used in flute choirs (Joueurs de Flute, Japan Flute Orchestra).
Subcontrabass Flute in G.: I don't know who makes this instrument but it is 2 octaves below the alto flute and is played by Michael Heupel a German jazz/avant-garde flautist (although the same type of instrument may also be played in a group supporting the contrabass saxophone CD recently mentioned on this list by Alfredo Bonamini of Orsi). He plays it solo on a flute compilation Double CD (see discography), with guitarist Uwe Kropinski on some tracks of an album called Africa Notebook and in the Group Pata Music lead by Norbert Stein (they have a 'net home page ). In the Pata Music he uses it as a (very effective) substitute Double Bass (Contrabass for you Americans on the list). There is an illustation of the instrument, I think, on the front of the Africa Notebook album which may be available through CDWorld or CDLand or CDNow .
Double Contrabass Flute in C: Same pitch as a contrabassoon this is made by Kotato & Fukushima and is illustrated by Grant on his page from their publicity leaflet. It is basically a vertically played flute with a lengthy upward-pointing u-turned foot, a huge triangular top section and a horizontal head joint. Apparently it takes some practice just to make it sound. I don't know of any solos but Grant has already given details of its use in the Piacere Ensemble where it provides an impressively solid bass.

Francis
Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk

Date: Fri, 02 May 97 10:15:00 BST
From: Francis Firth <Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk>
To: "'contrabass-l'" <contrabass-list@contrabass.com>
Subject: BBBb Tuba

Sax himself made a single specimen of this instrument as a member of his Saxhorn family, although I am not sure whether it survives, as well as a Saxhorn Bourdon in the EEEb above (see Wally Horwood: Adolphe Sax).

There is a list of such gigantic instruments in Clifford Bevan's book: The Tuba and its Family, which discusses monster tubas in more than 1 place, and an ealy issue of T.U.B.A. Journal has a feature on the Harvard Sousa monster Tuba.

I think that there is a surviving EEEb at Paxman in London, where one was certainly found in the 60s or 70s (illustrated in, I think, The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments although I'd have to check the details of this title). It is, I think, this size of instrument that is used in Hoffman's Musical Festival performance of Annie Laurie Variations by Gordon Jacob for 2 piccolos, harmonium, hurdy-gurdy, heckelphone (has quite a good solo), 2 contrabassoons, contra-alto and contrabass clarinets, subcontrabass tuba, contrabass serpent (anaconda).

Francis
Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk

Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 09:45:29 EST
From: "Daryl Fletcher" <daryl@www.walker.public.lib.ga.us>
To: contrabass-list@contrabass.com
Subject: Re: More Questions.

On 1 May 97 at 17:33, contrabass-list-request@contr said:

> Does anyone on this list make brass instruments because I have
> heard that making your own instruments(Especially if you are a
> Tuba player :-) can some-what reduce the price,AND you can make
> it suit your individual needs better.

If you haven't seen it already, take a look at Carl's Home-Built Tuba Page at http://www1.tip.nl/users/t012748/tuba.index.html

Carl Kleinsteuber is THE expert on this subject, and he's really great about answering questions. He's also on this list.

If you search the contrabass-list archives from earlier this year, you'll find a little bit about the contrabass trumpet he made for me.

Daryl Fletcher                        |  Cherokee Regional Library 
Technical Services Librarian          |  PO Box 707
daryl@www.walker.public.lib.ga.us      |  LaFayette, GA 30728
http://www.walker.public.lib.ga.us/    |  706-638-2992

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