Bass Clarinets

Bass Clarinets are not the largest in a huge variety of sizes, but the Bass Clarinet is the largest in common use. Listen out for it in pieces such as the Grande Symphonie Funèbre et Triomphale, Te Deum and the opera The Trojans by Hector Berlioz. Ravel wrote for the bass clarinet in Daphnis et Chloé, La Valse, and Pictures at an Exhibition. Stravinsky used the Bass Clarinet to great effect in The Firebird, Petrushka, and particularly in The Rite of Spring.

Bass Clarinets are available with range to low Eb or low C. Low Eb will do for most repertoire but most professional players prefer instruments with the full range down to C.