instrument of extended range; at the other end of the
scale, the distinction between the basset-horn in D specified by Druschetzky
and the bass clarinet in C extended to (written) c by means of
thumb-keys is again an arbitrary one.(Fr. cor de basset; Ger. Bassetthorn; It. corno di bassetto).
Woodwind instrument; a member of the clarinet family (see Clarinet, §II, 1, fig.2f), normally now pitched in F (it is classified as an Aerophone). A distinctive feature is the extension of its compass downwards to written c (sounding F), a major 3rd below the lowest note of the conventional clarinet. In most early examples, this is achieved without inconvenience by the curious ‘book’ or ‘box’ in which the extra length of tube makes three excursions before emerging into a rather flamboyant metal bell. A straight form of basset-horn was invented around the beginning of the 19th century, and a crook for it first appears in the last decade of the 18th (see Clarinette d’amour).
The origin of the basset-horn, like that of the clarinet itself, is not as clear as is widely believed; it is generally thought to be established by a few instruments (see illustration) which bear on the ‘book’ the inscription ‘ANT et MICH MAYRHOFER INVEN. & ELABOR. PASSAVII’, and which are thought to have been made in Passau in the 1760s by the Mayrhofers (similar instruments were made by others). The simplest sickle-shaped basset-horn (which may predate the Mayrhofer instruments) has a mere five keys: thumb-keys for e and c (no d was possible), a fish-tail key for f/c'' (playable with either hand uppermost) and the two obligatory keys on the upper joint. Thus the state of development is equivalent to that of the three-key clarinet.
The basset-horn in G, a late 18th-century instrument, is the equivalent in the clarinet family of the C bass chalumeau, the lowest of the three instruments for which the trios for three chalumeaux by Christoph Graupner were written; that is to say, there was probably a direct link from the bass chalumeau to the basset-horn. The question as to whether a lower-pitched clarinet was made and then extended in range by the invention of the ‘book’, or whether a chalumeau of downwards extended range had already been devised, is certainly not answered by the well-known claim of Mayrhofer, particularly as so many makers have made exaggerated claims as to their innovatory achievements. In short, the history of the lower-pitched clarinets and chalumeaux in relation to the basset-horn is an open question.
Scarcely
less secure is the position of higher- and lower-pitched instruments of
extended compass. The term Basset clarinet is reserved for soprano
clarinets of extended range, but the fact that Mozart first drafted the first
movement of his concerto k622 for an instrument in G, and
then rewrote it for one in A, is a reminder that the line between basset-horn
and clarinet is indistinct. The obbligato to Parto, parto in La
clemenza di Tito is for a B instrument of extended range; at the other end of the
scale, the distinction between the basset-horn in D specified by Druschetzky
and the bass clarinet in C extended to (written) c by means of
thumb-keys is again an arbitrary one.
Mozart
was especially enamoured of the basset-horn, using it particularly in masonic
pieces; when writing for three instruments, he often used the treble clef for
the upper two (the instruments sounding a 5th lower than written) and the bass
clef for the lowest (sounding a 4th higher than written). The Serenade in B k361/370a,
the Requiem k626 and four of the notturnos for two
sopranos and baritone accompanied by a trio of basset-horns use the basset-horn
in F; the notturno k437 (incomplete) specifies a
basset-horn in G together with two clarinets in A. It seems that only the
instrument in F was made in the 19th century. A number of basset-horns survive,
although the fact that many are in good condition suggests that they were never
extensively used, as one may also judge from the comparative scarcity of music
written for the instrument. Beethoven specified the basset-horn once only (Prometheus);
Mendelssohn composed (for Heinrich and Carl Baermann) two concert pieces for
clarinet, basset-horn and piano. Otherwise, the basset-horn’s use was as an
alternative recital instrument and in the abundant wind bands of the period.
The manufacture of the instrument diminished greatly during the mid-19th century, although it cannot be said to have become extinct. Henry Lazarus (1815–95) played one, and it was in a sense revived by V.-C. Mahillon at the end of the century. Richard Strauss used it to great effect in several of his operas (e.g. at the opening of Daphne) and in his wind Sonatinas av139 and 143.
It is generally recognized that the particular timbre of the classical basset-horn was due to the fact that its bore was scarcely larger than that of the contemporary clarinet, whereas the alto clarinet in F, which was developed in the early part of the 19th century, had a substantially wider bore. This has left modern makers in something of a quandary as to the ideal towards which they should aim, namely whether a basset-horn can be made to balance the forces of the modern orchestra without losing the special character that distinguishes it.
Some modern examples are made with a clarinet bore, others with a slightly wider bore, and yet others with an alto clarinet bore. The keywork is that of today’s clarinet, with the added complexity of an extra four semitones to be coped with. Either control may be exercised entirely by the right thumb, as in all early examples, or the burden may be shared with the already overworked fourth finger of either hand. Most German instruments take the former course, most French the latter. In order to free the thumb, the weight of the instrument is always taken on a sling or a spike. French instruments have an upturned bell like that of the alto and bass clarinets, but many German makers favour a straight wooden bell like that of the soprano clarinet.
J. Saam: Das Bassetthorn (Mainz, 1971)
J.P. Newhill: The Basset-Horn and its Music (Sale, Cheshire, 1983, 2/1986)
J. Eppelsheim: ‘Bassethorn-Studien’, Studia Organologica: Festschrift für John Henry van der Meer, ed. F. Hellwig (Tutzing, 1987), 69–125
N. Shackleton: ‘The Earliest Basset Horns’, GSJ, xl (1987), 2–23
For further bibliography see Clarinet, II.
NICHOLAS SHACKLETON