rtea de Argesh (_q.v._); Michael, surnamed the Brave (1592-1601); and
Petru Cercel, famous for his profound learning, who spoke twelve languages
and carried on friendly correspondence with the greater scholars and poets
of Italy. He was drowned by the Turks in Constantinople in 1590 through the
intrigues of Mihnea, who succeeded him on the throne of Walachia. The
British Museum possesses the oldest MSS. of the Rumanian Gospels, once
owned by this Petru Cercel, and containing his autograph signature. The
text was published by Dr M. Caster at the expense of the Rumanian
government. Mateiu Bassarab (1633-1654) established the first
printing-press in Rumania, and under his influence the first code of laws
was compiled and published in Bucharest in 1654. The Bassarab dynasty
became extinct with Constantine Sherban in 1658. See RUMANIA: _Language and
Literature_.

(M. G.)

BASS CLARINET (Fr. _clarinette basse_; Ger. _Bass-Klarinette_; Ital.
_clarinetto basso_ or _darone_), practically the A, Bb or C clarinet
speaking an octave lower; what therefore has been said concerning the
fingering, transposition, acoustic properties and general history of the
clarinet (_q.v._) also applies to the bass clarinet. Owing to its greater
length the form of the bass clarinet differs from that of the clarinets in
that the bell joint is bent up in front of the instrument, terminating in a
large gloxinea-shaped bell, and that the mouthpiece is attached by means of
a strong ligature and screws to a serpent-shaped crook of brass or silver.
The compass of the modern orchestral bass clarinet is in the main the same
as that of the higher clarinets in C, Bb and A, but an octave lower, and
therefore for the bass clarinet in C is [Notation: E2 B5.]; for the bass
clarinet in Bb the real sounds are one tone, and for the bass clarinet in A
1-1/2 tone lower, although the notation is the same for all three.

Sometimes the treble clef is used in notation for the bass clarinet. It
must then be understood that the instrument in C speaks an octave lower,
the bass clarinet in Bb a major ninth and the bass clarinet in A a minor
tenth lower. The tenor clef is also frequently used in orchestral works.

The quality of tone is less reedy in the bass clarinet than in the higher
instruments. It resembles the bourdon stop on the organ, and in the lowest
register, more especially, the tone is somewhat hollow and wanting in power
although mellower than that of the bassoon