Curious Raff question...

[TerraEpon]

This is sort of a "just out of curiosity". I'm wondering if Raff happened to ever use a bass clarinet in his scoring? Unfortunetly the otherwise fantastic catalog (both the online and PDF) at Raff.org does not go into specific instrumentation.
I ask this, beyond my simple love of the instrument, because I did a research paper on the use of instrument, and the earliest uses outside of opera included Liszt's symphonic poems Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne and Tasso. Both of these Raff had a large hand in (as well as the slightly later Mazeppa), but I have no idea how different the scoring would have been.

So, it's interesting -- if Raff DID have a hand in using the instrument in these works, then that, perhaps, just adds another slight notch of innovation into his work. But it also makes me wonder why he never used it for his own works.

(...well, outside the Wagner march Raff orchestrated, but that was originally for Wind Ensemble so it's nor overly surprising to see it there)

[Mark Thomas]

Leave it with me...

[Mark Thomas]

I've checked the 1888 catalogue Schäfer catalogue (not all the scores themselves, admittedly) and, as far as I can see, the answer is no, he didn't use the bass clarinet except in the Wagner Huldigungsmarsch orchestration. He used it there, no doubt, because he was consciously striving to ape Wagner's orchestration as the work was a commission from Wagner's (and Raff's sometimes) publisher Schott. As to why he didn't use it elsewhere, although Raff's skill in orchestration is second to none he usually restricted himself to a Beethoven orchestra. There's the odd  expception - the triangle appears in a couple of works for instance - and he used valved rather than natural brass instruments, but generally speaking he eschewed anything exotic.

You were kind enough to mention the catalogue. As it happens, I am just finalising a replacement which will be greatly expanded and feature much more information, as well as a reprint of the Schäfer catalogue. For some unaccountable reason I  hadn't included orchestral instrumentation, but I'll add that too now that you've prompted me. So thanks for that.

It should be published as a modestly-priced paperback by the end of August.

[TerraEpon]

Nice to hear, and thank you.

[Mark Thomas]

Starting work on adding the instrumentation to the catalogue entries, I looked up the orchestral forces which Raff uses in his second opera: Samson. It was never published and so I hadn't thought to look at it last night

Lo and behold he uses a bass clarinet!