A comprehensive study of the clarinet in use through the classical period, 1760 to 1830, a period of intensive musical experimentation. The book provides a detailed review and analysis of construction, design, materials, and makers of clarinets. Rice also explores how clarinet construction and performance practice developed in tandem with the musical styles of the period.

The Baroque Clarinet is a sourcebook for the historical study of the European clarinet during the first half of the eighteenth century. The book is based on a comprehensive study of the theoretical, musical, and iconographical evidence, and many conclusions are presented here for the first time.

Acclaimed author of The Baroque Clarinet, Albert R. Rice, now presents a comprehensive study of the clarinet in use through the classical period, from 1760 to 1830. During the early part of this intensive period of musical experimentation, the clarinet was transformed from a typically baroque instrument to an essential piece of the classical ensemble. Barely a half century later, in 1812, Iwan Mueller developed the thirteen-keyed clarinet, which brought the instrument into the Romantic age.

The Clarinet in the Classical Period provides a detailed review of the...

Following his much-acclaimed The Baroque Clarinet and The Clarinet in the Classical Period, Albert R. Rice now turns his signature detailed attention to large clarinets - the clarinet d'amour, the basset horn, the alto clarinet, bass and contra bass clarinets.

Each chapter is devoted to a specific instrument, and offers a fascinating insider's look at its defining characteristics, a comprehensive history of its evolution, meticulously-researched information on its makers and aspects of construction, and a thorough discussion of its music. Rice illustrates how the introduction...

Captured in this volume in over 700 striking colour photographs are many historically significant musical instruments created by some of the most important and iconic makers of the last 400 years. Six hundred instruments are presented, including keyboards, flutes and whistles, woodwinds, strings, and percussion. Each instrument is described in the text, including unusual characteristics, rarity, number of known instruments by the same maker, historical provenance when known, former ownership, citations of relevant patents, and bibliographic citations with more information and associated...