Klarinette

As Printed on a Score

Klarinette (plural Klarinetten) labels the clarinet staff in German scores, abbreviated Kl. or Klar., with its key — in B (B-flat), in A, in C, in Es or D for the small clarinets — often fused as A-Klar., B-Klar., C-Klar. Changes are printed in the part: “III nimmt Klar. in C.” Kl. alone can also mean kleine, as in Kl. Fl. or Kl. Tr.

Abbreviations: Klar., Kl., Klar

Also spelled: Klarinetten, A-Klar., C-Klar., B-Klar., D-Klar., Klarinette in B, Klarinette in A

How Composers Use It

Mahler and Strauss scored clarinets in several keys at once and switched them often, choosing the C clarinet for brightness and a folk-like edge, the A for warmth in sharp keys, and the D or E-flat for shrillness. If you do the same, print every change with the player number and the new key, and allow time. Otherwise the modern default is the B-flat clarinet, written a whole step above sounding.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, fifth movement (Rondo-Finale), clarinet staff, m. 307: “III nimmt Klar. in C.” — the third player changes to the C clarinet.

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