ABSTRACT
The contrabass clarinet has made its limited contribution to orchestral, wind band, and film music since the mid-1970s and is still considered something of a rarity, but interest in developing instruments of both contra-alto (or contrabasset horn) and contrabass pitch goes back almost two centuries. The earliest recorded attempt came in 1808 by the French clarinettist and instrument maker Dumas, whose 13-key bass clarinet known as the basse guerrière had been adopted the previous year by the Garde Impériale. His contre-basse guerrière was pitched one octave below the bass clarinet but was less popular, and there is no evidence to suggest that it was ever used in performance. The next serious attempt came in 1829 when the German instrument maker Streitwolf developed a bassoon-shaped 19-key instrument pitched in F or Eb, which was available in both boxwood and maple. However, despite praise from composers, including Spohr, this instrument also failed to gain acceptance. The first design to make any significant impact was the bathyphon, invented in 1839 by Wilhelm Wieprecht, the Director of Music of the Prussian military bands, and built first by the Berlin-based instrument maker Skorra and later by Kruspe of Erfurt. Like Streitwolf’s instrument it too was folded like a bassoon, made in both wood and metal versions, and was pitched in C with a standard clarinet compass. It proved a useful addition to Prussian military band woodwind sections but did not arouse any real interest among orchestral composers.
