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From: "owen.lloyd-evans"
Subject: RE: [CB] Wind sculptures
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 00:20:13 +0100
The Sibelius memorial in Helsinki is (amongs other artefacts) a collection of metal cylinders (this is not a put down, merely a description) of varying length. It was calm and sunny when I was there (gulp) 17 years ago, but I imagine that it must have some sort of resonance.
Owen
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Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 16:45:07 -0700
From: Grant Green
Subject: Re: [CB] contra sculptures
At 11:10 PM 8/8/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>I don't know of any wind sculptures. (Or anyway, I am
>drawing a blank.)
The Oddmusic list has discussed aeolian sculptures from time to time. Their archives are searchable (try "aeolian"). See http://w1.neuronnexion.com/~dferment/orgue.htm for an aeolian bamboo organ.
Enjoy!
Grant
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grant Green contrabass.com
Sarrusophones & other Contrabass Winds
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 17:29:24 -0700
From: David Richoux
Subject: Re: [CB] contra sculptures
On the north edge of San Francisco there is a wind, tide and wave powered sound sculpture with the unfortunate name of "Wave Organ" (so many people think this might be some only-in-San-Francisco deviant thing) but it is actually very interesting - check it at http://www.hb.quik.com/jamesl/WaveOrgan.html or do a search on "Wave Organ" - there may even be some sound files somewhere...
Dave Richoux
someone wrote:
> At 11:10 PM 8/8/2002 -0700, you wrote:
> >I don't know of any wind sculptures. (Or anyway, I am
> >drawing a blank.)
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From: "TERJE LERSTAD"
Subject: Re: [CB] Contra Alto bell Measurements & "Newbie" letter comments .
Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 19:12:04 +0200
> Hi, again, everyone;
> Can some kind lister please provide me with measurements for a LeBlanc
> contra alto clarinet (paperclip style) bell?
> We need the length, the bell flare width, and the diameter of the
> opening at the bottom of the bell (going onto the instrument).
Hello,
Some (quite approximate, I don't have equipment for mesuring 1/10 of millimeters) mesurements.
On new contras, the bell of both contraalto and contrabass are of the same size and with the same bore.
The bell fits over the end the instrument (upwards), and has an bore (inside) of 1 1/4 ". The first 1 7/8" is cylindrical, then comes a expodentially conical part, which is bent like on a Wagner tuba or an old barytone horn (Tenorhorn in central Europe), with a length between 5" and 6". The link under from Eric Munpower illustrates this good, or go to http://kunst.no/lerstad/instruments.html (if you have the time to wait. The octocontraalto has a good view of the bell).
Terje
>
Does it look like this:---------------------------------------------------------
http://www.mazer-rackham.com/etc/texas.html
If so, then your contrabass probably isn't missing anything, but doesn't
have the full extension to low C. Among older instruments, low-Eb and low-D
contrabass clarinets are reasonably common.
However, if you have unconnected rods at the joint where your bell attaches,
hanging off into space, then you're probably missing the tubing that gives
you the low Db and C.
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 14:33:59 +0100 (BST)
From: A Myers
Subject: [CB] Vichy Results
Grant Green wrote (20.6.02):
> Here are the auction results (thanks for sending me the link, Steven!) for
> a number of the horns recently sold in Vichy (all prices in euros)
I was at the sale in Vichy: one of the more interesting saleroom sagas unfolded as we sat five hours sweltering under the glass roof in a packed auction room. Interesting because no fewer than ten lots (#59, #125, #270b, #285, #296, #309 , #315, #441 , #454 , and #455) were taken by the Musee de la Musique at hammer price. National museums in France can take lots at auction without bidding, they just have to pay the final price someone else has bid to.
I was very lucky to get #452 .
Arnold Myers
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From: "TERJE LERSTAD"
Subject: Re: [CB] 64' PVC contra clarinet completed
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 23:54:12 +0200
Dear Gregg,
Nice to hear from you again, and on this list. 4 Hz seems a bit strange, I have tried 16 Hz on the Couture-Boussy octocontrabass clarinet only (It's no longer in Paris (the offices in 403, rue des Pyrenèes is now a hospital)). On this instrument I could really hear the lowest tones: It has a quite big bore and mouthpiece (about 1 3/4") (sorry, I'm not at all used to inches' mesurements). The tecnique of
putting the lip (ligthly) on the reed is quite useful in playing 1/2 tone lower on all sizes of the clarinet. I can paly deep Eflat on A clarinet, low B natural on bass clarinet and a low Bflat on contrabass clarinet. I tried the same project as you one year ago, in wood (!). It didn't work out: No big surprise! Like your instrument, it looked like a radiator, but I was not able to make it without any leakages.
Good luck, go on!
Terje Lerstad
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From: "TERJE LERSTAD"
Subject: Re: [CB] CB Clarinet Answers from a (still after all this years) Newbie
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 00:44:25 +0200
Hello,
I just had the same problem in 1976, when I tried to get a sound out of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra 's contrabass clarinet . After some some months of practising, I realised that something must be wrong, and "it's not me". The instrument was a two-piece (separeated between left and right hand and placed in small (but heavy) case in the size of an alto sax, descending to low D . When I asked people, they just said it was an impossble instrument, but I contacted Leblanc, Paris, got a good new mouthpiece (extremely important), some new Vandoren reeds and a complete repair of the instrument (costed FFr 300 (about 40$ (!) (very cheap, even at that time)).
Then I could tell my collegues that this was a real instrument (I thought), and with a range of at least 5 octaves. I played a lot of concerts with this instruments, but people kept saying: This is not possible, this is not an instrument. After a lot of struggling, I recorded an LP in 1987 with a solo piece for contrabass clarinet with 6 1/2 octave range (I'm not joking). The producer didn't believe it, and didn't want it, I had to reduce to 5 1/2 octave, but still noone wanted it, and the LP came out without the contrabass solo.
This year I made a CD out of this old LP, and we finally cut the solo piece together. And now: it is the most popular track on the CD, and people say: Fantastic! Is this possible?. While 20 years ago the said to the same piece: Very strange, but it can't be possible (Close your ears and get into your grave!).
So: keep your ears open! If a musician says: "This is impossible", some other musician may already be able to play it, and 10 years later "everybody" will play it.
Thanks for this list, and that someone believe that a contrabass clarinet is a fine solo instrument.
Terje Lerstad
PS If you want to read about my CD, look at
http://kunst.no/lerstad/CD.html
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