Number 51

I’m sure most of us can recognize the various instruments of the orchestra by their images or their particular sounds. For some, these may most likely be the instruments used in an everyday, standard symphony orchestra set up: violin, viola, cello, contrabass, flute, piccolo, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba and various percussion. But what of those instruments that are infrequently used and may not be so recognizable? This leads me to the low woodwinds. I’ve always had a soft spot for these mighty wind instruments that are quite often hidden amongst the crowd as they play underneath the orchestra adding a special bedrock texture all their own.

Enter the bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet and contrabassoon. Rarely heard in concert music until the later romantic period when the orchestral palette experienced an explosive expansion to broaden the range of orchestral color and power, these instruments are still not exactly regular fixtures of the orchestra today and are most often found within the framework of an expanded orchestral complement. Without getting into their uses in concert music, I‘ll just stick with film music and provide a few examples that come to mind.

First a little background. The bass clarinet and its big brother, the contrabass clarinet, anchor the clarinet family with their low end, dark, hollow, resonate sound. These rather large instruments emit a sound that at times may be more often felt than heard when played in their lower registers. In the case of the contrabass clarinet, which is pitched a full octave lower than the bass clarinet, it is rarely if ever used as a solo instrument and more in a harmonic bass support role. In its lowest register it produces a rumbling pedal tone sound quality, very deep and dark. The bass clarinet is used much in the same way, but on occasion is used as a solo instrument as well, especially in its higher registers where the sound projects melodically more effectively and with a somewhat melancholy tone. 

The contrabassoon is a beast all its own. Rarely if ever used as a solo instrument, this huge instrument is capable of playing the lowest notes of any instrument in the orchestra with the exception of the tuba. When played in its low, pedal tone sounding register, you almost swear you can hear each individual flap of the vibrating double reeds. There is a buzz saw sound quality to it that is quite distinctive. There are times where you can barely make out the actual pitches of some of the notes in this range, but it still adds a very distinctive color to the orchestral sound. 

As to the use of these instruments in film music, two words: Bernard Herrmann. Certainly not the first nor the only composer to make use of these instruments in film music, but one who used them regularly, quite often in prominent roles. He called upon them time and time again as part of his orchestrational bag of tricks, very much helping define some of his trademark sound.

Sometimes used individually, but more often in combination with each other or other instruments in their families, Herrmann used these low winds to underscore dark, mysterious, brooding or wildly fanciful elements in his film scores. How often I wonder did he use the bass/contrabass clarinet as the underlying foundation for a clarinet/woodwind choir in delivering a brooding, dire, darkly foreboding feel to a scene in a film? I couldn’t even begin to count the number and this is definitely one of Herrmann’s signature sounds echoing from the Wagnerian past of the Ring Cycle.

A prominent use of these instruments helped define much of the distinctive sound of Herrmann’s spectacular fantasy film scores such as Mysterious Island, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jason and the Argonauts, etc. Some examples follow.

Where would much of the low end sound Herrmann chose to represent the deep, dark world hidden below the Earth’s surface in Journey to the Center of the Earth be without these big boys? In the compiled suite video below, two sections are good examples of what sounds are produced by these instruments and the unique quality they impart to the feel of the music. From 1:20-2:00 they are pretty much the whole show (combined with their respective family members). From 9:22 to 11:00 they are on full display working alongside the organ and the serpent. Take special note of the vibrating, buzzing sound of the contrabassoon as it drones below the serpent from 10:00-11:00. It’s an unmistakable, one of a kind sound, perhaps with more of a sound effect quality than a musical one here.

Another prominent Herrmann example can be found in the opening of “The Bird” from Mysterious Island. The contrabassoon, normally doubled at the octave with regular bassoons is a typical pairing, but using this combination to carry the primary thematic material is generally not. The bassoons are quickly followed in the fugue by the bass clarinet and the rest of the clarinet family in typical Herrmann fashion.

SAMPLE NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Still one more Herrmann example, this time from Jason and the Argonauts. All three instruments are used here. Take note at the 46 second mark where the bass and contrabass clarinets are doubled. It's a dark, ominous, hollow sound that perfectly captures the doom laden aspects of the prophecy.

SAMPLE NO LONGER AVAILABLE

The above are but a few examples out of many that can be found in Hermann’s music.

One last example of one of these instruments can be found in Jerry Goldsmith’s music for the Thriller episode "Well of Doom". Here Goldsmith, no stranger to using an odd assortment of instruments, at times in non-standard ways, used a contrabassoon as a solo instrument. Goldsmith quite often used the contrabassoon in his TV scores, most likely due to fiscally driven small ensemble requirements which inspired resourceful thinking to deliver a big sound from a small number of instruments. The contrabassoon is able to produce a rich bass sound much like that of the string bass in which to anchor some of his ensembles. Here it delivers a rather odd, strangely offbeat sound in keeping with the nature of the series.

SAMPLE NO LONGER AVAILABLE

So as you can hear from just the above few samples, these are not your everyday sounding instruments and certainly not the type to get much solo time. There are many, many examples by other composers that reflect different usages of these instruments, but I chose to pick ones that readily came to mind and happened to be by my two favorite film composers. I personally love the deep, mysterious sound qualities of these low wind giants and feel they impart something quite extraordinary to the film music they are used in. So the next time you meet up with one of these Denizens of the Orchestral Deep in the dark somewhere, you'll recognize who they are so there's nothing to fear. Oh, and tell ‘em I sent you!