Buzzing Reed- Classical Music & Clarinet Culture

For the past few months I’ve been testing and acquiring barrels and bells from Backun Musical Services in Burnaby Canada. In this post, I discuss the pros and cons of Backun clarinet parts, and I also detail what to keep in mind when trying new equipment of any sort from mouthpieces to clarinets.

Most clarinetists know Backun brand. Non musicians will not know the name. As for non-clarinetists, though they may not know Backun parts, they certainly know the fever of seeking the best instrument and/or parts.

But EVERYONE knows how Backun parts look. Eyecatchingly beautiful! You cannot miss them from a distance.

Our instrument IS our voice. How we use it is up to us, but the instrument and all its parts are critical to how we sound. However, I remember something Loren Kitt (Principal Clarinet National Symphony, Washington, DC) said to me. “You’ll always end up sounding like you, so just get the most comfortable equipment.” The most comfortable equipment is probably the best, at least for you.

That’s were it gets tricky. Comfortable is a relative thing. For example, if you bite the mouthpiece when you play, an open facing will be more comfortable, though it caters to a bad habit.

When I began to test all these beautiful barrels and bells, the challenge was to play consistently. I had to take into account the variables of the reed, ligature, mouthpiece, and room acoustics. (I aimed the instrument to the same corner of the room for each test.) In other words, it had to be at least a bit “scientific”, with all variables controlled as much as possible.

At first I tried only the traditional style barrels in Cocobolo and bells in Grenadilla. The previous set I had owned were all Cocobolo, and I wanted to avoid the Cocobolo bells because they seemed not to project well in my 3000 seat hall. I also tried bells with the voicing groove and without.

I found that the voicing groove helped not only with voicing the tone of the long “B”, but also changed the shape of the tone of the whole range of the instrument, giving it a more round quality. It took some getting used to, since I habitually “voiced” the long “B”. When I stopped trying to doctor it, it sounded better. (I tested this outcome by recording myself, since the long B continued to sound stuffy close up)

I played a C scale, mezzo-forte, to do a quick test of each new piece. Consider that I had a great variety of both barrels and bells, so even this quick test took some time. I put aside the ones I liked, and started round two.

For the second round, I played some excerpts: Brahms 1- third movement, Brahms 3- second movement, R.K. Scheherazade- third movement, the perky ppp staccato solo, and R.K. Capriccio Espanol opening solo and Respighi Pines of Rome solo. These excerpts cover a range of challenging tests for any equipment.

As I said before, I had to concentrate on maintaining my embouchure, voicing and air support at a consistent high level. It was easy to “make” one barrel or bell sound better or worse to “speed up” the process. At times I would spend 4-5 hours trying them, and after picking the “best”, would go back and find I had doctored them with my voicing, and that another piece was in fact more consistently better overall. Or they sounded good with one reed, and not another, or in one room, but not a bigger room, or one excerpt, but not another.

I will also emphasize that testing for soft attacks and articulation is critical, since some pieces sound great loud, but have unworkable resistance in pp. (hence choosing R.K. Scheherazade ppp articulated solo)

I also recorded myself in a large room, with the microphone at least 10 feet away. Some pieces sound good close up, but less focused 10 feet away.

Another thing to be aware of is the tightness of a barrel. A tight barrel may sound very focused, but it will not “blossom” in sound, and will sound spread or unfocused from a distance. A tight barrel will feel tight when you try to open up the sound in a crescendo. The sound focuses too soon in the vibrating column, and will feel tight in your throat when you try to voice it.

After I had picked the best barrels and bells, I took them to my hall to test them there. Unfortunately, the traditional barrels did not cut over the orchestra into the hall. So I decided to give the new MoBa (and Mo-expensive) design a try.

The new MoBa line of Backuns is a collaboration by Riccardo Morales and Morrie Backun. According to Erika Block, the wonderful person who handles all the sales orders, the MoBas project better than the traditional Backun design. I tried the Cocobolo version on her recommendation.

When I received them, I was amazed how much more focused and projected the sound was, especially by the bells, which are radically different in design from any bell I have seen. They are shorter than Buffet bells, and have a larger bore which then flares less.

Overall, I was very impressed with MoBas, and I bought a set or barrels and bells.

Now a few words about my overall impression of Backun parts. The Backun style rendered customizing our instruments infinitely more interesting and colorful. (One colleague joked that Buffet should only sell the body of the instrument, sans barrel and bell, since nearly everyone switches.)

Do they make you sound better? If you enjoy your own playing more, you will sound better. If you are more comfortable, you will sound better. The process of testing them is a learning process in itself. It helps you separate what is your responsibility and what is the equipment. I truly became a better player in the process.

Backun barrels and bells mellow the edge of a clarinet sound. Don’t play them if that is not what you want. They change the sound, adding a “bulbous” quality, more like an English horn. By this I mean that the tone is a bit more “contained” and less extroverted.

I found that I began to blow more deeply into the instrument and tone as I grew accustomed to the Backun sound and feel.

Is the Backun sound better? It’s different. If you like it better, then it’s better. Again, be sure to try them in a large hall if that’s where you work, since they tend to sound better close up than regular clarinet equipment.

Are they better than Buffet (or Selmer) barrels and bells? Ultimately, if you were able to choose from a dozen Buffet barrels and bells, you would probably pick parts which improve the quality of your equipment, and your playing. Anyone who has tried Moennig or Chadash barrels knows that 1 out of 5 might be really good.

Do they tune as well as, or better than, standard equipment? Tuning your pitch comes from being able to connect with the core of your sound. If Backuns help you do that, you will tune better. (However, since they change the shape of the core tone, they take some getting used to)

Overall, I believe Backun style has helped evolve the traditional clarinet sound into something more mellow and round. The projecting quality of a good clarinet tone has its dangers. Often, a projecting tone takes on a bright, or even shrill edge. Bakuns take off the edge, but, especially with the MoBas, keep most of the projection. This allows the high level player to put more volume into the sound without fearing the encroachment of dreaded brightness.

And, I have to admit, they are beautiful, even kind of sexy, to look at!

My bottom line advice. If you have a good Moennig or Chadash barrel, consider trying the MoBa bells, with voicing groove, in Cocobolo.

The Columbus Symphony Orchestra. The Columbus Symphony is where I play, and where I have played for almost 2 decades. When I first moved here to begin the job, there were 18 big, classical subscription concerts per year. Now there are fewer than 12. Orchestras which used to be several notches below us in pay and fame are now jobs which I wish I had! I thought orchestras were supposed to GROW over the years, not shrivel!

I recently performed three Paul Jeanjean (1874-1928) etudes from the book of 18 (actually 17 and a duet). Here is the video of 15. You can see the others on my YouTube channel. I played these on a new Selmer Privilege model clarinet which I got two days before the recital, and on a new Hawkins R mouthpiece, which I also had for only a few days. The clarinet has a left G#/C# key, which got in my way a few times, though I don’t think it happened in this etude.

Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto for Orchestra, written in 2002, transmits a magical portrait of a large, modern orchestra in a rich variety of colors, textures, rhythms and harmonic density. It seems to hail from an exotic (but friendly) planet across the galaxy, presenting a world both familiar and completely new. During louder passages in our two rehearsals of it thus far, I felt my insides vibrating, happily receiving its fresh and often impish message. The Columbus Symphony will be performing this piece this Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19.

Concerto for Orchestra is deftly orchestrated, as it should be, with lots of idiomatic writing for solo instruments and sections, in a playful style and form strongly reminiscent of Bela Bartok’s iconic masterpiece of the same name.

Higdon’s harmonic language uses whole tone scales mixed with modes to create a French sounding effervescence, and also infusing a magical quality into the music. She uses this mercurial lightness to great extent in almost rapturous passages which sound inspired by the orchestral music of Olivier Messiaen, another other worldly composer. She even indicates “mystical” and (in rehearsal today) “magical” for the style of the third movement. Many of the themes are hauntingly alluring.

Dissonances are so richly textured that they become simply dense colors rather than “wrong” sounding notes. Tonal melody can be heard through this thick haze of notes, but often only vaguely. Yet, despite the density of sound, balance is not much of an issue, an indicator of effective orchestral writing. Also, though fairly difficult music to play, it does not come across as a struggle for anyone in the orchestra.

Though much of the five movement work uses strong, repeated rhythms, either alone or under melodies and counterpoint, many intimate ensemble passages convey a jazzy freedom. In such cases, each part seems to have a mind of its own, chatting with and around the others.

Technically, the first movement has one passage written into the stratosphere of the clarinet range. I’ve never played a double high C in an orchestral piece. (I have played Ginastera Danses Concertantes on C clarinet, which then goes up to a double high B)

But the writing is such that it’s not unnatural to go up that high. The fingerings came somewhat easily (we often have to invent fingerings that high), and the style of this particular lick, a sfumando run, up in smoke, lends itself to the vagueness of such high writing. (Tuning up there often involves some luck.) Yet, since the flutes are also playing in the same range, the passage is not damaged by playing it down an octave, which I think the Atlanta Symphony did in their recording.

Overall, I am enjoying getting to know this relatively new work for orchestra. It is a nice balance of challenge and reward.

The young and highly touted conductor from Mexico, Alondra de la Parra has done well putting this all together so far, rehearsing intricate spots and transitional passages enough to give them a comfortable feel. Maestra de la Parra seems to understand the effervescent requirements of Higdon’s music, and is choosing tempos to that effect, though there were occasions where her intentions did not translate into effective stick commands. Overall, this young conductor seems unhindered by the masculine tradition of conductors, and her dynamism and verve on the podium convey a natural excitement for the music.

A few days ago I was thinking of writing a post on how difficult it is for a good orchestra to maintain its “chops” when performing “real” music only 8-10 weeks in a season. But I would have been wrong.

Tonight’s concert of Frank, Debussy and Ravel was a stunning performance. Last night was good, but tonight was 15% better.

Much of tonight’s success is due to Maestro Fischer’s vivid reading of the scores and his excellent preparation of the orchestra during rehearsals. Also, there was some “je ne sais quois”, perhaps a bit more trust of us, or of himself.

Whatever the reason, a great performance boils down to excellent players tuning themselves to the highest standards; to laser focus, to subtle cooperation and an almost clairvoyant sense of timing. None of this was lost on Maestro Fischer, who let us breathe together and taper note endings, sensing that our ability in those areas did not require over-control on his part.

I like Thierry Fischer’s tempos. As a woodwind player, he knows we (woodwind and brass players) only have so much breath. His airy tempos were a bit more organic tonight, flexing here and there to allow just a touch of whimsy.

Yet his overall interpretation stuck to the score with adamant focus. Fischer’s style follows the radical tradition of Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who re-invented classical musical interpretation by harking back to historical performance practices based on extensive research. (When I first heard Harnoncourt’s Beethoven 9 symphonies, it was like hearing them for the first time; the fresh vigor of the music had been restored from the creaky, wheezy, over-interpreted traditions of the 60-70′s.)

On a side note, it was a pleasure to have the woodwind section “whole” again after so many months of lacking several key players. Notably, Jennifer Parker-Harley was back in town this week to play second flute. It was good to have the team together to play again, even if only for one program.

Thierry Fischer, Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and also Chief Conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic, conducts Debussy”s Nocturnes, Frank’s D minor Symphony and Ravel this weekend with the Columbus Symphony.

Stewart Goodyear plays Ravel’s Piano Concerto in D Major for the Left Hand, a fantastical miniature concerto with scintillating orchestration.

Fischer is notably a fellow woodwind player, having held, among other positions around Europe, the title of Principal Flute under Claudio Abbado with the multiple award winning Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

His conducting mentor is Nicolaus Harnoncourt, whom he seemed to follow throughout his career as a musician, from the Zurick Opera to the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. (where Harnoncourt garnered DG’s Record of the Year award for a recording of Beethoven 9 Symphonies, though I don’t know if Fischer played)

Harnoncourt’s website quotes him saying “Art is not a nice extra – it is the umbilical cord which connects us to the Divine, it guarantees our being human.”

I can see Harnoncourt’s influence in Fisher’s conducting style. From the moment he began rehearsing with us yesterday, he seemed incredibly focused on moving beyond the technique of playing to the essence of making music. Yet he never, ever relinquished his insistence on accuracy of dynamics, articulation, phrasing and balance.

He refused to let us play anything beyond the literal dynamics, especially in Debussy’s Nocturnes, where transparent textures ARE the music. It took us awhile to get used to playing so softly, but once we did, the hushed music came to life.

The boom on our stage makes playing at those delicate dynamics risky, not because they won’t be heard, but because one spoil sport can ruin it by creating a domino effect of booming sound. It takes great discipline to continually control our volume on such a boomy stage. Let’s hope we remember to override our “survival of he loudest” instincts tomorrow night.

Fischer’s background as a woodwind player was evident in the constructive comments he made to the winds and brass, often suggesting we use “more support” in the articulation, or to “project with support rather than volume”.

His general demeanor reflected his elegant European background. I don’t ever remember a conductor who was able to single out individual musicians for criticism without causing personal offense. Yet his deferential tone didn’t prevent him from chiding, with just a hint of irony, whole sections of the orchestra for failing to note a suggestion made to another section. In other words, despite politeness, he meant business.

His sincere desire to serve the music served him well in gaining the full respect (at least from my point of view) of the musicians.

A few years ago I attended the annual Clarinet Festival, a huge multi-national event for clarinetists, by clarinetists and attended by thousands of clarinetists. It springs up in a different city and country late each summer. That year it was in Atlanta.

Over 5 days, events such as recitals, lectures and concerts take place at all hours from 8 AM to 10 PM. And 100s of businesses ploy their trade in a huge hall lined with tables and booths. The air is cacaphonous with clarinets, reeds, barrels and bells being tested.

It was in one of these booths that I caught Backun Fever.

When I passed the Bakcun table, which took up a whole row where 5-6 smaller business booths might have fit, the huge closeup photos of gorgeous Cocobolo wood barrels and bells took my breath away.

I had an A clarinet which didn’t match the tone of my Bb. (actually the instrument was not worth keeping) So I stopped at the table to try a few.

Dozens of barrels and bells waited in wobbly lines to be tried and taken home. A sign behind the table said “No Mozart K622 on Bb!”, a sort of inside joke, since the Concerto (K622) was written for A clarinet. There were colorful blue barrels and pink barrels and orange barrels.

Bakun parts come in several different types of wood, each of which has different resonance properties based on the density of the wood. The lightest, in color and relative density, is boxwood, a blond wood from the boxwood bushes of Europe. It’s actually quite a hard wood, harder than oak, for example, but nothing as dense as the tropical hardwoods of Grenadilla or Cocobolo. Rosewood is another choice with density between boxwood and Cocobolo.

The vast majority of clarinets are made of Grenadilla, which is also called blackwood for its dark brown/black color. The black color of commercial clarinets is also enhanced by dying the dark wood to even out its color. (I prefer seeing the natural grain of wood)

The barrels which caught my eye, and ear that day, are the Cocobolo, which is a bit less dense than Grenadilla but still quite hard. And it comes in a beautiful variety of orange/red colors!

I originally wanted to try only barrels, since they cost less, and being near the top of the clarinet (and atop the vibrating column of sound), should affect the sound the most. Bells, being at the end of the instrument, must not affect the sound much, right? I found out otherwise.

The brightly colored parts lit up my black dyed clarinet, both in color and sound. The barrels and bells seemed to work in tandem to lightly veil any harshness in the sound. The bells came with an optional “voicing groove”, a small cutout groove inside the top of the bell’s bore, which helped to “voice” (meaning find the sweet spot) of the famously stuffy long “B”. But the bells changed the tone of the whole instrument, making the scale more even in tone.

I was hooked! I bought a set of barrels and bells, chosen from the “sale” table, where slightly damaged but otherwise perfect parts were sold.

To make a long story short, I ended up selling that beautiful set, not because they didn’t sound good, but because I felt they didn’t project in our stuffy (acoustics) and cavernous (size) Ohio Theater. But the Backuns were only partly the cause. I was also playing on a new mouthpiece which, though it had a lovely sound, didn’t project well. (It was a Behn C, which he doesn’t sell anymore) The combination of veiled barrel and bell sound plus a small toned mouthpiece didn’t work.

For a few years I was content to have recovered successfully from Backun Fever, but I was mistaken. This past January, during the inauguration of President Obama, I caught the fever again. Photos of Anthony McGill, the clarinetist who played at the event, showed him playing Backuns. (Backuns are hard to hide, especially if you have the Cocobolos.)

I remembered the velvety tone I was able to get with those lovely parts, and I couldn’t resist trying them again. So I phoned Backun, in Vancouver, Canada, and ordered a bunch to try.

My experiences trying them and deciding how to choose the best is worthy of another post, so I’ll stop here for now. In the next post I’ll detail my opinions of the pros and cons of various parts I tried.