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| Contrabass-L: a list for discussion of contrabass *anything*|
|To subscribe, email gdgreen@crl.com with "subscribe contrabass"|
|in the subject line |
|_______________________________________________________________|
EDITOR'S NOTE: Let's welcome two new subscribers, Al Norman and Peter Koval.
From: Francis Firth
<Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk>
Subject: Reposting of
info. for contrabass-l
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 96 08:42:00
BST
Grant,
I'm reposting the following which you obviously didn't get.
Francis
Steven asked about "Licks and Brains".
I
have a recording of this on the Donemus label. It's fairly
avant-garde and lasts about 10 minutes. It's supposed to
sound as if someone had just picked up a bass sax and was
learning to play it - breathing sounds, tongue slaps
gradually moving into tongued scales and longer notes. Leo
van oostrom turns in a pretty good performance (I think as I
do not have the score). The details of the recording are in
the discography.
I also have the Rollini small groups which I bought in the Uk. I can check out suppliers if you like. I also have several other Rollini recordings, some on LP with University Six and Varsity Eight (or is it the other way round?) and with Fred Elizalde and the London Savoy Jazzmen? I'd have to check the details.
There is quite a nice LP of bass sax solos by Spencer Clark but again I'd have to check the details.
For those interested in low recorders there is a new recording of Vivaldi's Seasons. While the music or this piece may be of little interest and one might wonder what is the point of YET ANOTHER recording it is my Marion Verbruggen and the Flanders Recorder Quartet. The important thing is that among other recorders they use a subcontrabass recorder in C (same pitch as bassoon/cello) specially made by F. von Huene. The recording if on harmonia Mundi HM907153.
For those interested in music for low flutes I came across a piece for flute orchestra by Kent Farbach: Beneath the Forest Canopy : for large flute ensemble (1989) for the following: 2 picccolos, flautino in G, E Flat Flute, 4 concert flutes, 3 alto flutes in G, 2 bass flutes, pinschofon [bass flute in C with extension down to low G], contrabass flute in G [I've not come across one of these other than the Pinschofon], octobass flute.
If you want to see a picture of the Leblanc octocontralto clarinet look at Leblanc's home page in the Leblanc Bell directory, the 50 years special double issue. There is a picture of what they call an octobass clarinet (they also refer confusingly in the text to the octocontrabass clarinet. IMHO, the latter should be used as organologically more accurate). In fact, it looks like half of the picture of the octocontralto instrument I have mentioned elsewhere on the list as appearing in an issue of Woodwind World from 1971. All they have done is to cut off the figure of Vito Pascucci who also appeared in the photo in the magazine. However, they seem to have misnamed the instrument in doing this, unless the original article was wrong (however, leon Leblanc did write to me to tell me that they launched an Octocontralto Clarinet in E Flat at around that time).
That's all for now.
Francis Firth
Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk
From: Francis Firth
<Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk>
Subject: Octocontralto
Clarinet
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 96 08:58:00 BST
In a previous posting I wrote:
>"There is a picture of what they call an octobass clarinet (they also refer
>confusingly in the text to the octocontrabass clarinet. IMHO, the latter
>should be used as organologically more accurate). In fact, it looks like
>half of the picture of the octocontralto instrument I have mentioned
>elsewhere on the list as appearing in an issue of Woodwind World from 1971.
>All they have done is to cut off the figure of Vito Pascucci who also
>appeared in the photo in the magazine. However, they seem to have misnamed
>the instrument in doing this, unless the original article was wrong
>(however, Leon Leblanc did write to me to tell me that they launched an
>Octocontralto Clarinet in E Flat at around that time)."
I have now received a 'hard' (print) copy of the articl;e mentioned above and in that the instrument is definitely posted in the photograph as an octocontralto instrument. Incidentally, the quality of this photograph is much better, showing much more of the detail of the instrument, than the one in Woodwind World, 1971 (which must actually be a copy of it).
Incidentally, I think Grant's idea of petitioning Leblanc to sponsor a recording of Terje Lerstad's Trio Sonata (perhaps together with his clarinet choir piece with both octocontralto and octocontrabass instruments, his vocal piece for contralto voice, octocontralto clarinet, strings and tape, and his 3-movement Hommage a Stravinsky for unaccompanied (high) A Flat Clarinet) is a great idea. I'm sure that some of us might even be prepared to make a modest financial contribution or, at least, buy copies of such a recording. Perhaps we could talk them into it as a way of showing off, publicising and marketing the full range of Leblanc Clarinets. Any other suggestions for other pieces they could use for showing off other instruments in the range (especially clarinet in D, contralto clarinet, reecommendations for contrabass clarinet accepted)? (What about Terje Lerstad's pieces for Alto Clarinet and piano and for unaccompanied Clarinet in C, Chris Dench's piece for Contralto Clarinet, )
Francis Firth
Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk
Good idea! Perhaps we should compile a list of pieces that would fit on a CD...
Grant
From: Al Norman
<Al.Norman@ReadRite.com>
Subject: Re:
instruments
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 08:16:00 -0700
Grant
Sounds like when it rains it pours,
I have been in LA this last week, and in Thailand the previous 3 weeks on business, so I am behind
Yes I would like the newsletter, and where can I apply to attend these sales ?
Can I come over to see your latest finds ( s-phones), Wow I am so excited..
While I was in LA I visited Robb Stewart, he makes Keyed trumpets and ophiclides. Facinating, old time craftsman, He makes instruments from brass sheets and old silverware,
----------
From: Grant Green
To: Al Norman
Subject: Re: instruments
Date: Saturday, September 07, 1996 12:21PM
>Al!
>I guess we've been out of touch for a while. Since the last time we
>corresponded, I've started an email list for fanciers of contrabass
>instruments (contrabass-L, care to subscribe?), and have found and
>acquired a few sarrusophones. There are back issues of the digest archived on
>the web at http://www.crl.com/~gdgreen/c-arch1.html, so you can catch up.
>Anyway, an appraiser in the LA area told me about an estate that had 6
>sarrusophones for sale: an Eb alto, Eb baritone, Bb bass, and (it turns
>out) three EEb contrabasses. I got the bass, an EEb contra, and what I
>thought was a BBb contra (which turned out to be just an EEb contra, but folded
>up so that it was longer than the other EEb contra). They're all (now)
>completely playable and fixed up. The "extra" EEb contra I'm trading to
>Paul Cohen for a contra ad anche (reed contrabass), probably next week.
>The sarrusophone web page now has a clip of me playing the extra EEb contra,
>and will soon have some more clips and images.
>The guy running the estate sale still has (I think) an old (OK, they're
>*all* old, ca. 1925) Conn EEb contra, and the alto and baritone
>sarrusophones. There are also about 30 other instruments, ranging from
>curved Eb sopranino saxophones, soprano/alto/tenor rothophones,
>contralto clarinet, to tubas, valve bass trombones and helicons.
>The Italian company that still makes sarrusophones is Orsi. The Charles
>Double Reed Co. (somewhere back east) carries an Orsi soprano in their
>catalog. Orsi will make *anything* on order, and are responsible for a
>fair number of the existing contrabass saxophones.
>Gotta run. Let me know if you'd like to subscribe.
>Grant
At 02:55 PM 9/6/96 -0700, you wrote:
>>Grant
>>I have researched the earth shakers instruments (sarrusophones).
>>According to a source in the Netherlands, the company Schenkelaars &
>>Breeko (who were a MFG of Sarrusophones) are out of business, hope is not yet
>>lost for this source thinks that there is another MFG in Italy that may make
>>this instrument on special request.Myself I'm not sure. ?
>>I'd tell the source, but I don't have his name now, cause I'm at work.
>>I have also contacted Conn, who once produced 120 sarrusophones for the
>>government The operator/secratary I talked to said they couldn't produce one. ??
>>Maybe some of these instruments are next to the ARK in some government
>>wherehouse. ? Let's find them.
>>I have also written to US Patent Dept, if something comes I'll let you
>>know.
>>At the Shrine for music in South Dakota, they have one, by Conn
>>Let us work out a scheme where we go to New York and make measurements
>>on their instruments. may we could at least play one for a few minutes.
>>What to do? Al Norman
Al,
There aren't any set times for sales. If you're interested in one of the instruments, the thing to do is call up Lyn Marcus and talk to him about it. There's a list of the horns he has (or at least, had) in Contra15 ( http://www.crl.com/~gdgreen/contra15.html ), along with Lyn's telephone number and best times to call. You'll probably also want to fly down to Los Angeles and have a look at the horns.
If you plan to go there anytime soon, let me know. I bet a few subscribers here have a few questions you could answer while you're there.
Grant
Author: Grant Green <gdgreen@crl.com> at
SMTP
Date: 9/15/96 12:29 PM
TO: KUUP84A@prodigy.com (MR
MARK A TRINKO) at SMTP
Subject: Re: Octocontraclarinet
& LeBlanc
At 06:27 AM 9/15/96 -0500, you wrote:
>OK, all this talk about 3 pieces and a picture. I can't believe you all
>have me excited about something besides a contra-basssoon.
>I WANT to hear the octocontra....lowest instrument in the world at 16.3
>Hz.
>Someone call LeBlanc. What city is he in? Let's get him to do
>something, a recital, a recording, a puckering of his lips :)
>Certainly the other 2 pieces Francis mentioned are recorded and
>availbale somewhere in the world?
>I have money, let's make it happen!
>Grant, did you pu the picture on your web page? Talk me through like
>I'm stupid. How can I see the picture?
Mark,
The picture is embedded in the archive version of the last digest ( contra38.html ). If you pull up your web browser (Netscape, MS Explorer, Mosaic, etc.), and type in http://www.crl.com/~gdgreen/contra38.html for the URL, you should get a copy of contra38, with a blue background. Scroll down to where Francis mentions the octocontra, and you should see a picture of it right there. If you don't, make sure that you have "load images" selected in your options. Or, you can look at just the image, by typing in http://www.crl.com/~gdgreen/8alto.gif as the URL.
It sounds to me like none of the pieces have yet been recorded, but were composed in the assumption (or hope) that the instrument would enter production (or at least be used as something other than a museum piece). Not that museum pieces aren't important, of course, but we need a few instruments to play.
Grant
________________________________________________________
Grant
D. Green gdgreen@crl.com
http://www.crl.com/~gdgreen/index.html
Filling in
on
sarrusophone
________________________________________________________
Author: Grant Green <gdgreen@crl.com>
at SMTP
Date: 9/15/96 12:20 PM
TO: Peter Koval
<pkoval@sundance.usd.edu> at SMTP
Subject: Re:
Subscribe Contrabass
At 04:11 PM 9/14/96 -0700, you wrote:
>I am interested in anything Contrabass, and play the
>Contrabass Sax, Sarrusophone, Contrabassoon, Contrebasse-a-anche, C bass
>flute, and Eb and Bb Contrabass Clarinets. I have a complete set of
>Sarrusophones from Soprano to Eb Contrabass, and dream of obtaining C and
>Bb Contrabasses to have the complete downward extension.
Welcome aboard! You should receive your first digest sometime this week.
Where on earth did you find a contrabass sax? Care to tell the subscribers about it?
Have you run across a contrabass flute yet? Or is that still on the shopping list .... ;-)
Grant
________________________________________________________
Grant
D. Green gdgreen@crl.com
http://www.crl.com/~gdgreen/index.html
Filling in
on
sarrusophone
________________________________________________________
Author: Francis Firth
<Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk>
Date: 9/14/96 12:40
PM
Subject: Clarinet Choirs
Grant,
I have 3 clarinet choir recordings: 2 by the Piet Jeeger? choir and 1 by Walter Boeykens clarinet choir.
I got them from a record supplier in the Netherlands and can check the details if you want. If you want to know how they sound I'll send a tape. The Boeykens has several contrabasses used at both pitches but unfortunately no subcontrabasses!
The Jeeger choir has, I think, only 1 of each contrabass but I'll check.
I'll see if I've still got a copy of the mail you missed and repost it to you.
Francis
Francis.Firth@uce.ac.uk
P.S. There is supposed to be a good recording of the Finnish Clarinet Ensemble on Finlandia which is a choir in all but name. Unfortunately it's due to be reissued in 1997 by Warner who now own Finlandia so you'll have to wait.
Francis,
I'm interested in buying the CDs, if they're still available. Tapes are OK if they're out of print. Perhaps our usual CD arrangement?
Thanks again!
Grant
End Contrabass-L No. 39
