A Brief History of the Clarinet The first form of the clarinet was available in western Europe in the 17th century in various pitches and was commonly called chalumeau. The word chalumeau is of French origin and is a generic name for any small reed-blown pipe. The clarinet was first developed from the chalumeau around 1700 by the German instrument maker J.C. Denner. It is commonly implied that Denner invented the clarinet by improving the …showed first 75 words of 380 total…

…showed last 75 words of 380 total…a different hole of some distance. The period from 1840 to the present can be divided into the folowing periods: 1840 to 1860, continued mechanical development. Solo works for wind instruments make rarer appearances in concert programs. 1860 to 1900, solo works almost disappear. Clarinet sonatas and chamber works become more frequent in performance. 1900 to 1925, great advances in technique due to increasing demands of composers. 1925 to present, the reemergence of the wind soloist due to radio and recordings. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**