A soprano clarinet is a
clarinet that is higher in register than the
basset horn or
alto clarinet. The unmodified word ''clarinet'' usually refers to the B clarinet, which is by far the most common type. The term ''soprano'' also applies to the clarinets in A and C, and even the low G clarinet—rare in Western music but popular in the folk music of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
—which sounds a whole tone lower than the A. While some writers reserve a separate category of
sopranino clarinets for the
E and D clarinets,
[Nicholas Shackleton. "Clarinet", '' Grove Music Online'', ed. L. Macy (accessed 21 February 2006)]
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). those are generally regarded as soprano clarinets as well. All have a written range from the E below
middle C to about the C three octaves above middle C, with the sounding pitches determined by the particular instrument's
transposition.
Use of the terms ''soprano'', ''piccolo'', and ''sopranino'' is relatively rare and of debatable accuracy. The only instrument name that is consistent and unambiguous is that of the bass clarinet. These other terms came about specifically to distinguish the soprano clarinet from its lower-pitched siblings and have been applied later and only in that context. Even the term ''alto'' (for the E instrument a fifth below the B 'soprano') is open to discussion and the alternative term ''tenor'' might appear, from the point of view of pitch at least, to be more appropriate.
Orchestral composers largely write for clarinets in B and A. The bass is not uncommon and the high E is very occasionally called for, often referred to simply as E clarinet. Clarinets in C were used likewise from the Classical era until about 1910.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
also called for clarinets in B when writing in very sharp keys (e.g. the E major arias in ''
Idomeneo
' (Italian for '' Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', K. 366) is an Italian language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a Frenc ...
'' and ''
Così fan tutte''), but this became obsolete far sooner. There have also been soprano clarinets in C, A, and B with curved barrels and bells marketed under the names
Saxonette
A saxonette is a soprano clarinet in C, A, or B that has both a curved barrel and an upturned bell, both usually made of metal. It has the approximate overall shape of a saxophone, but unlike that instrument it has a cylindrical bore and overblow ...
, Claribel, and Clariphon.
Shackleton lists also obsolete "sopranino" clarinets in (high) G, F, and E, and soprano clarinets in B and A. The G (sopranino) clarinet, only a half step lower than the A
piccolo clarinet
The clarinet family is a musical instrument family of various sizes and types of clarinets, including the well-known B clarinet, the bass clarinet, and the slightly less familiar E and A clarinets among others.
Clarinets other than ...
, was popular during the late 19th century in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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for playing
Schrammelmusik Schrammelmusik () is a style of Viennese folk music originating in the late nineteenth century and still performed in present-day Austria. The style is named for the prolific folk composers Johann and Josef Schrammel.
The Schrammel brothers
In 1878 ...
.
Contemporary works for clarinet in C
*
Richard Barrett: ''knospend-gespaltener'' for solo clarinet in C
*
James Erber
James Erber (born 1951) is a British composer of the New Complexity school.
Born in London, Erber studied music at the universities of Sussex and Nottingham, and worked in music publishing from 1976 to 1979. His first work, ''Seguente'' for ob ...
: ''Strange Moments of Intimacy'' for solo clarinet in C
References
{{Authority control
Clarinets
B-flat instruments