CHAPTER 1 - Evolution & Design

The Klose/Buffet Clarinet (Boehm)

Hyacinthe Klose succeeded Berr, his former teacher, as professor of clarinet at the Paris Conservatoire in 1838. It was about this time that he approached the instrument maker Louis-Auguste Buffet (brother of Buffet-Auger) with his ideas about a new clarinet design. Klose desired to apply the principles inherent in the use of ring keys, as devised by Theobald Boehm on the flute, to the clarinet. A preliminary model of a "clarinette a anneaux mobiles" (moving rings) was introduced by Buffet in 1839 at the Paris Exhibition. It was completed by Buffet in 1843 and patented in 1844.

The Klose/Buffet clarinet was labeled the "Boehm clarinet" by the firm of Mollenhauser in the 1860's. This was done, probably merely for marketing purposes, since Boehm is a shorter name, more widely known, and more easily remembered than Klose/Buffet; Boehm had nothing to do with the design of this clarinet, except in an indirect manner as the originator of the ring key concept! The theory was developed by Boehm in his redesign of the flute when he discovered that a purer, less stuffy tone could be derived from larger holes (early Boehm clarinets had holes that were too large, undoubtedly for this reason). However, in order to close these holes, an extended key mechanism was necessary. Ring keys were developed so that one finger could perform a dual function; it could close a ring when covering a hole so that a key could be operated to cover a different hole at another, further location.

The precise role played by Klose and Buffet in the creation of this new clarinet is not clear. It is known that Buffet contributed the invention of the needle spring to the key mechanism. It is also known, in a more general sense, that the two men began with two basic purposes. The first was to place the tone holes of the instrument where the laws of acoustics, and not the convenience of fingering, demanded that they be placed. It was desirable to eradicate the right-hand fork-fingerings (cross fingerings), with their uneven and stuffy tone quality. 17 Secondly, they wished to develop a more efficient and effective mechanical key system to cover the holes and improve the facility of fingering. Keys were designed to pivot at their ends on long tubular barrels (much like the construction used today). These differed dramatically from Muller's long joined lever keys, which were side-operated, remotely articulated levers. Other characteristics of the seventeen-key, six-ring, twenty-four-tone-hole system included alternate fingerings for the three lowest notes, the register key placed under the clarinet (once again), a G/C ring key plus a key cover projecting from a solid rod-axle (same as the Boehm flute), and changes of bore, mouthpiece, and reed requirements.

Since the new clarinet required switches of established fingerings, it is not surprising that it was not accepted at once. However, because of Klose's influential position and extensive lobbying (including a learning method and various musical compositions, many of which were soon used as contest pieces for the Paris Conservatoire), the instrument was recognized by the Conservatoire and became entrenched in France during the third quarter of the nineteenth century. 18

Other Design Changes of the Nineteenth Century

Other makers besides Buffet (Klose) were creating significant changes in clarinet design at approximately the same time. One was Adolphe Sax, who designed a twenty-four key clarinet in 1835 that seemed to have little impact. This instrument also used the movable ring concept of Boehm, but retained the Muller fingerings. This reason probably prevented its acceptance, since awkward cross fingerings were not eliminated like they were by Klose/Buffet. In 1842 Sax added a B3/F-sharp 4 ring to the Muller system. This was a considerable asset that was eventually also added to the Boehm clarinet. Other design contributions by Sax are described by Rendall:

He had in view a greater compass and evenness of tone. Byextending the range down to written D, he completed the scale of E-flat and hoped to secure a purer B-flat 4 and A4. With an additional speaker he provided easier emission and greater security to the altissimo register as far as C6 and even to D and E beyond [!]. 19

The fact that all of these additions were constructed with lighter keywork (forecasting the twentieth century) further underlines the contention that Sax's patents received less success than they deserved in France .

Another maker who was a contemporary of Buffet was Antonio Romero y Andia, who in 1853 designed a clarinet that could play in any tonality with fewer technical difficulties. 20 The musicologist Oskar Kroll explains that "Paul Bie, then owner of Lefevre's firm, constructed these clarinets in 1862-4, and four years later, and again about 1890, simplified their extremely complicated mechanism. The system improved many notes and removed a number of difficulties." 21 The actual design changes included holes for throat-tone G-sharp, A, and B-flat, which were relocated in a line above the G hole. Each hole was closed by a key sprung to open, which was in turn depressed by a lever bearing upon the cup, actuated by a stronger spring. "Pressure was released and the keys were allowed to open by the fingers of the right hand." 22 This instrument, for three strong reasons, never became a success. First, and foremost, is that it demanded a fundamental change in the position of the player's fingers. Secondly, its fifteen screws needed constant adjustment, and thirdly, the pads tended to stick to the tone-holes, since they were under constant pressure. The perceived need to improve the tone quality of the throat tones, however, was to be echoed continually by makers and players for the next 135 years (up to, and including, the present day).

Another development in the late nineteenth century was the "improvement" of the standard Boehm-system through four additions. The outcome was the Full-Boehm clarinet, which included the following changes:

1)  a seventh ring, which permitted a cross-fingered E-flat 3/B-flat 5, introduced by Buffet-Crampon in the 1870's

2)  an "articulated" C-sharp 3/G-sharp 4, which permitted the B3/C-sharp 3 and F-sharp 4/G-sharp 4 trills to be made (Example #3)

3) a low E-flat (to permit transposition of all notes of the A-clarinet on the B-flat clarinet)

4) an A-flat 3/E-flat 4 lever for the left hand, to permit an alternate fingering

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