A Three-Key Clarinet by J. C.

Denner
Author(s): T. Eric Hoeprich
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Galpin Society Journal, Vol. 34 (Mar., 1981), pp. 21-32
Published by: Galpin Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/841468 .
Accessed: 17/09/2012 23:28

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Galpin Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Galpin Society
Journal.

http://www.jstor.org
 T. ERIC HOEPRICH

A Three-Key Clarinet
by J. C. Denner
IThas generally
for
been acceptedthatJohannChristophDenner was
on the chalumeauand for
responsible makingimprovements
inventing an instrumentwhich eitherwas known or subsequently
becameknown, as the clarinet.As thereis an advancedform of the
chalumeauin the collection of the BavarianNational Museum,
Munich,whichbearsthe stampofJ. C. Denner-the sameinstrument
J. G. Doppelmayrin his Historische von den Niirnbergischen
Nachricht
Mathematicis undKiinstlern(1730) suggeststhat Denner made-it is
clearthatDennerdid in factimprovethe chalumeau.Althoughthere
are manysimilarities betweenthe Dennerchalumeauof the Bavarian
NationalMuseumand the variousclarinetsmade by Denner'sson
(JacobDenner)andotherinstrumentmakersof the earlyI8thcentury,
this doesnot constituteproofthatJ. C. Dennermadeclarinets.
By chance,I recentlyhad the privilegeto examineand to play an
instrumentin the collectionof the Universityof California,Berkeley,
which bearsthe stampof J. C. Denner.'It is a far more advanced
instrumentthan the chalumeauin the BavarianNationalMuseum.
Further,it is proofthatJ.C. Dennernot only improvedthechalumeau,
but also made a clarinetwith uniquefeatureswhich were neither
superseded nor equalledby othermakersfor morethana half-century
following his death. The Berkeleyclarinet(P1. I, Figs. 1-3) now
consistsof two pieces:a middle-section,anda bell,madein boxwood.
the
Unfortunately, mouthpiece-barrel combinationfoundon clarinets
of thisperiodis missing.On thebasisof boresize,tone-holeplacement,
andthe lengthof the two piecescomparedwith otherinstrumentsof
the sameperiodandtype, it is quiteclearthatthe instrumentis in D.
Moreover,the clarinetplaysnicelyin the key of D at A = 415 when
fitted with a mouthpiececonstructedthroughreferenceto clarinets
madebyJacobDenner(seedimensionsat end of article).Suchcharac-
teristicsof the clarinetwhich are determinableonly by playingare
basedon observations madewhile usingthis mouthpiece.

The most strikingfeatureof the instrumentis thatit doesnot have

two keys like the vast majorityof early I8th-centuryclarinets,but
21
 N.B. The key is shown too wide in this
drawing by approx. 2 mm.

FIG. I J. C. Dennerclarinet,front view

22
 19.2

0 1 2 (cm) 19.3
29.9
26.0
27.7
25.4

25.0
27.0

- 26.8
27.2
25.0
24.1

26.0
23.5 -
30.9
2430.7 --. 25.2
27.6
28.5 22.7
27.9
28.0
--- 29.8
36.2
---.-- 30.0
30.2
26.6
27.2
29.0
535.8

_• 28.3"
26.0
31.3
S25.0
24.-2- - 22.2

28.0

52.3

57.6
-- 61.2

63.021.8

.- 72.5
68.0 - 18.2
18.1

FIG. C. Dennerclarinet,rearview
2:.J.
23
 T1 16.0

18.0
47

98.5 22.0
26.5
22.0
24.0
26.0

34.0

28.0

FIG.3: basedonextantoriginals,
Mouthpiece frontandrearviews

three.In additionto the usual'speaker'key on the backof the instru-

ment andthe shorter'A' key on the front,thereis a third,two-piece
key on the backof the bell section.When operatedby the thumbof
the lower hand, this key closes a hole midway down the bell. All
threekeys are of brassand are mountedin wooden rings.Therecan
be no doubtthat this thirdkey was the inventionof Dennerhimself
and not addedlater,sincethe ringsin which the key is mountedare
not merelyornamentalandareclearlyan originalpartof the bell.
Anotherfeature,no lessstriking,is the abundanceof double-holes:
four sets in all, with the bottom set duplicatedto allow for left or
right-handedplayers.This duplicationseemsto makeit all the more
likely thatthisis an originalinstrumentofJ. C. Denner,becausesuch
duplicationof the lowest fingerhole(s)of an instrumentis common
almost exclusivelyto instrumentsmade prior to 1700, i.e. I7th-
centuryrecorders.This also impliesthat the thumbkey is original.
Had this key not been there when the duplicatedtone-holeswere
drilled,suchduplicationwould not have been necessary,i.e. the bell
could simplyhave been rotatedas with baroquetreblerecorders,to
accommodatea left-handedplayer.Thereremainsthe possibilitythat
24
the extraset of holes was addedalong with the third key, but this
remainsunlikelywith regardto the turning.
The instrumentis in good condition,with only one smallcrackin
the secondring of the middle-section.A repair(?)has been madeon
the upperend of the bell-sectionin the form of a horn mountabout
13 mm in length.It is possible,however,thatthis ring was designed
to protectthe socket.The middle-sectionis warped,but not badly,
as can be seenin the photographs.The workmanshipis excellentand
quite detailedin both the turningand keywork.The designof the
shortkey on the frontof the instrumentis practicallyidenticalto that
on the J. C. Dennerchalumeauin the BavarianNationalMuseum.
The stampis ratherbadly worn away with only the profileof the
bannerand a few of the lettersin the name showing clearly.The
characteristic
'D' below the banner,however,is distinct.Apparently
the instrumenthas been refurbished, as the keys cover and sealwell,
with new padsof leather,and the tenonsare wrappedwith cork. all
the tone-holesare well undercut(particularly the thumb-hole).The
bore of the instrumentis smooththroughoutand althoughwarping
hascausedsome ovality,thisat no point exceeds0.2 mm.

Severalobjectionscanbe thoughtof at thispoint as to whetherthis

instrumentwas actuallymadeby J. C. Denner.An objectionof the
moresuperficial sortmightbe to suggestthatsincethereareno other
J. C. Dennerclarinetsand sincethis instrumentis of such advanced
design,perhapsJ. C. Denner'sson madeit at a laterdateandstamped
it with his father'sstamp.Consideringthe factthatJacobDennerwas
25 years old when his fatherdied and had probablybeen making
instrumentsfor some time, it is more thanlikely he would not have
used the stampof his deceasedfather.Furthermore, JacobDenner's
stampis quite unlikethat of his father,as if he wishedto emphasize
his identity.
Despitethe obviousauthenticityof the middle-section,one might
wonderwhethertwo of itsfeaturesaretoo advancedfor aninstrument
madein the time ofJ. C. Denner.One featurewould be the double-
holes, and the other the fact that the holes coveredby keys are not
drilleddiametrically to each other,which is unlikewhat is foundon
theJ. C. Dennerchalumeau.ObviouslyifJ. C. Dennerdid makethe
middle-section,as seemscertainfrom the stamp,its featureswould
havebeenhis invention,insofaras one can call them inventions.And
althoughthey areindeedadvancedfor a clarinetof thisperiod,when
consideredin light of the remarkablyextensiverangeof instruments
J. C. Dennermade,they seemlessunique.Doubleholes,for instance,
25
are commonlyseen on oboes of the periodincludingthose of J. C.
Denner.TheJ. C. Dennerchalumeauin Munichalsohas them. The
factthathe useddouble-holeson the chalumeauis perhapsan indica-
tion thathe was alreadythinkingin thisdirectionfor clarinets.As for
the placementof the hole for the 'speaker'key higherthanthe hole
for the 'A' key, anyonefamiliarwith theacousticsof windinstruments,
as J. C. Denner with his wide experiencewith a great numberof
differentinstruments no doubtwas, would realizethatthis was done
simply to raise the pitch of the note producedby openingthat key
aloneandin conjunctionwith the 'A' key, andfor producingthenotes
of the upperregisterwith greaterease.
Doubts about the authenticityof the bell must be taken more
seriously.The mostobviousproblemhereis thatthe bellis unstamped.
Althoughwoodwindmakersof the I7thand I8thcenturiesfrequently
left the bells of theirinstrumentsunstamped,this nonethelessfailsto
convince us that this bell was actuallymade by J. C. Denner. As
mentionedabove,therecan be no doubtthatthe bell was madeto be
fitted with a key, since rings like those that hold the keys on the
middle-section appearon the bellto holdthe two partsof the bellkey.
Also, the clarinetwould completelyfailto producecertainnotesif the
hole in the bell were not there.Consequently,we seemto havea bell
perhapstoo sophisticated to have been madeby J. C. Denner.There
is, however,evidenceto the contrary.
One of the clearestpiecesof evidencein supportof the bell being
an originalpartof the instrumentis thatthe colourandturningof bell
andmiddle-section areidentical.The colouris the usualhue one finds
in instruments of thisage madein boxwood.The qualityof the wood
in bothsectionsis alsoidentical.As for the turning,the middle-section
and bell are clearlyrelated.Not only are the ringsthat serveas key
mountsidentical,but the detailthatsurrounds themis so also.Having
seena numberofJ. C. Denner'sinstruments andstudiedthe appearance
of these instrumentsin detail and, more important,having spent
numbersof hoursworking on a lathe, it seemsclearthat the same
personturnedboth bell and middle-section.
In referenceto all the extantclarinetsof the youngerDennerand
sevenof his oboes,it seemsvery unlikelythathe mighthavemadethis
bell. The trendin the profilesof earlybaroqueinstruments is toward
a certainunevenness, ascanbe seenin the bellof thisclarinet,especially
in itslowestportion.The bellsofJacobDennerandhiscontemporaries
show a trendtowardmorecontinuouslines,eventuallyleadingto the
simpleprofile of classicaland moderninstruments.A similartrend
can be seen in the foot-jointsof treble recordersby J. C. Denner
26
comparedto those of his son. The diameterof the lowest ring can
differas muchas 1o mm betweenthe two, withJ. C. Denner'sinstru-
mentsbeingalwaysthe larger.2
The lastaspectof the bell to be discussedis the key. As mentioned
above,the key on the frontof the instrumentis essentiallyidenticalto
those on theJ. C. Dennerchalumeau.The bell key on the Berkeley
clarinetis exactlythe same as the keys on a numberof extantbass
recordersbyJ. C. Dennerin variouscollections.No othercontempor-
ary of J. C. Denner whose instrumentshave survivedemploy this
shapefor theirkeys.JacobDennerusedthe shapeof the tip of the bell
key for the 'speaker'keys of his clarinets,but there are no extant
instruments of histhathavethe sametwo-piecetypein the sameshape.

The searchfor a clarinetwith alljointsbearingJ. C. Denner'sstamp

is an elusiveone. The GermanNationalMuseumin Nurembergwas
supposedto have had threeclarinetsby J. C. DennerbeforeWorld
War II. One of these,it turnsout, is an instrumentwhich is in the
museumat presentbut bearsthe stampofJacobDenner.It is possible
thatthe stampsof the othertwo instruments werealsomisreadthough
it seemsequallypossiblethat they were indeedby J. C. Denner.3In
his book Die Klarinette (1965),OskarKroll mentionsin a footnote
(p. 14) that thereused to be a three-keyedclarinet(No. 414) by J. C.
Denner in the collectionof the BrusselsConservatoire,but it has
disappeared.
EkkehartNickel, in his Der Holzblasinstrumentenbau in derFreien
Reichstadt Niirnberg (1971,pp. 2o9-20o), an
constructs argumentbased
on documentswritten by Jacob Denner preservedin the Klosters
Eberbach/Rheingau, concludingthatJ. C. Dennermust have had a
handin makingtwo clarinetssoldbyJacobDenneralongwith several
otherinstruments in 171o. The argumentis rathervague,but maywell
be correct.
Still there is no completeextant clarinetby J. C. Denner which
bearshis stampon all sections.But on the basisof thesephantomJ.C.
Dennerclarinets,it becomesperhapseasierto believethat the bell as
well as the middle-sectionof the Berkeleyinstrumentwas made by
him. At any rate, the middle-sectioncould not possiblycomprisea
partof anyinstrumentotherthana clarinet.No one cansayfor certain
thatthe bellof thisclarinetwasmadebyJ. C. Dennerthoughit seems
very possible.
Due to the largesize and shapeof mouthpieceson clarinetsof this
period, the tuning is quite flexible. Consequently,the fingerings
27
charted below may or may not work for another person playing on
the same instrument.The tightnessand relative strengthof the player's
embouchure will produce differingresults.This is not to say, however,
that any baroque clarinetcan be played in tune and that no particular
clarinet is better than another. Quite the opposite is true. In the case
of the Berkely Denner clarinet, the tuning is in fact quite good and
the instrumentis fairly easy to play in tune. All the double holes work
well and produce accurate semitones in both registers. The most
serious difficulty occurs with the note c" which is too high. The most
likely explanation for this defect is the size of the tone-hole under the
third key which vents the c". Originally the tone-hole was approxi-
mately 9.o mm in diameter and was reduced to approx. 5.5 mm in
diameter by means of a boxwood bushing. The bushing was offset
slightly to lower the position of the tone-hole. In view of the sharpness
of the c" at present, the same fingering must have produced this note
almost a semitone too high before the bushing was fitted. A replica
of the instrument with the same tone-hole drilled at a diameter of
5.o mm and placed I mm. lower corrects this problem without any
undesirable side-effects. In light of the possibility that this was the
first three-key clarinet Denner ever made, it is likely that he was not
certain as to where the lowest tone-hole should be placed, and this
may account for the problem arising in the first place. Denner's
possible uncertaintyin the matter might also account for the presence
of the boxwood bushing, which appearsto be as old as the instrument,
and thus may have been fitted by Denner himself.

For some time it has been held that the note b?' is missing on most
early I8th-century clarinets.It has been assumed, clearly only on the
basisof the fingering chartsof Eisel and Majer, both of which contain
numerous errors, that a two-key clarinet played with all the holes
and both keys open resultsin bb'. Thus the only way to produce the
B naturalis to tighten the embouchure and attempt to drive the B flat
up a semitone, or to finger C and relax the embouchure. After playing
on about fifteen original instruments representing four different
countries, not one was found that produced B flat when all the tone-
holes and both keys were open. In fact all of these instrumentsinstead
produced unmistakablya B natural. The following extract from the
notes of Canon Galpin is the only correct account in print:4
'The Clarinetinventedat Nurembergabout I6oo by ChristopherDenner
(Leipsic1655- Nuremberg1707)-at firstonlytwo keys.A & B (=B-natural
together). ."
These fingeringswork on the majority of two-key clarinetsand on the
28
BerkeleyDennerclarinetas well. Why then the thirdkey, sinceall
thatis gainedis a low E anda duplicateB natural?The answerto this
questioncan only be guessed.Perhapsthe most logicalreasonis that
J. C. Dennerhad in mind fingeringslike those on classicalclarinets
(instrumentsmadefromapproximately1770onward),whereopening
the shortkey on the frontof the instrumentproducesA, openingthe
'speaker'key on the back of the instrumentproducesG sharp,and
openingbothkeysproducesB flat,leavingB naturalasthelowestnote
in the upperregister.Unfortunatelynot enough time remainedfor
J. C. Dennerto completehis experimentsbeforethe 20othof April,
1707,when he died.

Measurements
Length Middle-section
(mm.): length,298.9;
length,302;sounding
Bell length, 222.
Tone-hole
Measurements
(mm.):
Tone-hole Horizontal/Vertical
Diameters Position
fromthebaseofthe
(measured
tenon
upper ofthemiddle-section)
S 3.3/ 3.3 15.3
B? 6.4 / 6.9 49-3
T 7-5/ 7-7 92.3
I 6.2 / 6.2 1o4.3
2 6.2 / 6.6 13-.5
3(L) 3-9 / 4.2 157.5
3(R) 4.0/ 4.2 ,,
4(L) 4-5 / 5.0 198.o
4(R) 4.6 / 5.0 ,,
5 6.8 / 7.0 229.5
6(L) 4-7 / 5.0 259.0
6(R) 4.6 / 49 ,,
7(L) 3.5 / 3.8 316.5
7(R) 3.4/ 3-7 ,,
TK 5.5 / 5.9 377.6

Bore:Middle-section
diameter
nearupperend:
14.45maximum, 14.3minimum;
Middle-section
diameternearlowerend:14.2maximum, 14.o5minimum.
BelldiameterCorresponding
length BelldiameterCorresponding
length
from bottom from bottom
65.o 0 40.0 47
6o.o0 6 35.0 5I
55.0 23 30.0 55
50.0 35 29.4 56
45.0 41 28.2 59
29
Bell diameter Correspondinglength Bell diameter Correspondinglength
from bottom from bottom
27.4 61 17.8 115
26.6 64 17.6 119
25.8 67 17.4 121
24.6 70 17.2 127
24.2 72 17.0 129.5
23.4 74 I6.8 130
22.4 78 16.6 135
22.2 79 16.4 139
21.8 82 16.2 145
21.4 84 I6.o 151
20.6 87 15.8 16o
20.2 89 15.6 167
I9.8 92 15.4 179
19.4 94 15.2 I85
19.0 98 15.0 196
18.6 105 14.8 201
18.2 109

Socket atbase:19.2
attop:19.6 Diameter
15.2.Diameter
depth:

FINGERCHART
Theinstrument ispierced witha totalof elevenholes.Eightof thesearefinger-
holes,andtheremaining threearecoveredoropenedby keys.Listedin order
fromthetopof theinstrument, theyare:thespeaker-hole (S),theholeopened
by the shortkey on the front of the instrument(Bb), thumb-hole
the (T),
1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; andtheholeclosedbythethumb-key
finger-holes (TK).All
referto theclarinet
fingerings beingplayedwiththerighthandlowermost.

S B6, T 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TK
e *o ** 0::.*::.
f .0 . 0.:::: 0O
# * ** 880
a S** 0 o* o**.::0
o :
00 00 o? * 02 o 0 0
a o o o* oo * o

o o o * o 0 0
b o
o
c' * * * * 8 O o o
30
 S B6 T 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TK
C0#'0 00 o 8 o
d' * o * * 0 0
0'* *? ooo
00o 0
o 0o o
o0
o 0
el' ? ? ? 0 o
' O O O
o o o
?00 ?
00 ?
o 0 8 0 o o 0
0 0 0 0 0 8 8 0
f'
g# 00 oo o0 0
*
8 0 0 08 0 o0
* ooo o: 0 o fooo o
0*0' *o0
f' ? ? ? o o
So o o 8 8 o 8 8 o0
ba'" o0
O .0o 0
0* o 0 o 0oo 0 o
0 o0 oo o
0o o0o
b o o 0O
*o0
0

0 o 0 0 0
So o o o0
d? 0 09 o 00
* 80
b" 00o 0 0 8 o
o o? o 0
o0
"
f"
er" ooO o00*? *? o 0? 0?
?
:0
0? 08
? o 08
0
?8
o0
o8
0 o o0
0

0o 0o o0
0
' o00 o

0o o o o0

d" 00 ? 00 ? o o0
o o
0 o 0 0
 S B6 T 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TK
o
J# eo o o 0 o o 0
?
0.0
g#"' 0 0 0 O ?
o0?0:
? o0000:o 8o 8 O
0
a'" 0 0 0 0 o o o 0 O
?

NOTES
I I wish to expressmy appreciation to BruceHayneswho told me about
the Dennerinstrumentin the firstplace,andto ProfessorVincentDucklesof
the Universityof California,Berkeley,who was mostcooperativein allowing
me to examine,measureandplayit.
2 TheJ. C. Dennertreblerecorderhereis in the Historical
Museum,Basel
andtheJacobDennertreblerecorderis in theMusicHistoryMuseum,Copen-
hagen.
3 Fromconversationwith membersof the staffof the GermanNational
Museum,Nuremberg.
4 BrianGalpin,'CanonGalpin'sChecklists',GSJXXV, 1972, pp. 12-13.

Note addedin proof.

Anotherclarinetbearingthe stampof J. C. Dennerhasjust beenlocated.
Timedoesnot permitdescriptionherebut will be forthcoming.

32
(a) (b) (c)
PLATE I

The BerkeleyJ. C. Dennerclarinet,(a)front view; (b) rearview;

(c) sideiview