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There is nothing new about clam-xiety.
A great deal of attention has been flagged here recently on the issue of cracked notes on the horn – otherwise known as “clams.”
History shows that there is nothing new about “clam anxiety” as this review from 1953 shows:
To a sympathetic audience, a French-horn player is often the object of grave solicitude. Even the best of them sometimes lip up confidently for a Wagnerian horn call only to burble or clonk out a sound like a moose cough.
This is the opening sentence in an old TIME magazine article. It continues later with quotes from concerned audience members:
“He’s tempting fate,” warned one nervous woman from her seat. … “It’s miraculous,” said another listener. “You’re always afraid he may not be perfect this time, and he always is.”
And just who are they talking about?
It is none other than Dennis Brain of course, in a review of a festival concert headed by composer Benjamin Britten.
Born into a family of horn players, Brain apparently took great care to take of his lips; according to this article he reportedly had them insured for £10,000, which at that time I imagine would have been an extraordinary amount of money.
Just breathe
There can be many reasons for a case of the clams. For myself, air speed and embouchure control (my “chops”) in tandem play a factor in the “clams” – especially after a breath.
I would venture to guess that 75% of bloopers occur after a breath. If the embouchure, after opening wide to take the breath, is not snapped back into a solid playing position, the “clam factor” can go off the scale.
Dennis Brain was known for his breath (and clam) control and he most likely learned this from his father Aubrey, who was also know for amazing breath control.
There is a story that Aubrey once bet a violinist that he could sustain a note longer than the violinist could. The violinist drawing out one stroke as long as possible lost to Aubrey, who held one note for 75 seconds.
Pretty amazing!
The most delicate and controlled pianissimo I have ever heard by the way, is in a 1926 recording by Aubrey Brain. An expertly remastered recording of the Brahms Trio, Op. 40 at Sotone.com is something to be heard. The recapitulation of the main theme is nothing short of sublime. And in the age prior to splicing and editing, there is not one sour note to be heard. The Mozart concerto on this CD by the way, is regarded as the very first horn concerto ever recorded.
The complete TIME article:
