Klarinet Archive - Posting 000140.txt from 1995/02

From: Peter Temko <ptemko@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: vibrato in ensemble settings
Date: Mon, 6 Feb 1995 18:35:08 -0500

Hi -

I'm moved to come out of the ground, here, by the direct hit scored by
Andrew Grenci. As an old "jazzer" to whom vibrato (tasteful, I hope) comes
easily - and therefor, as one who can take it or leave it without undue
technical strain - I must say that I feel that what we do as performers
arises most convincingly out of a musical "need." I have only used vibrato
when it feels absolutely right to "sing" with others in a chamber music
setting - which, for me, includes symphony playing in "chamber"
situations. Otherwise, I have felt that the clarinet alone sings best
without vibrato. Vibrato, then, is neither "right" or "wrong" across a
spectrum of performance settings. I've heard gorgeous playing with vibrato
that seems to blend perfectly with the performers surrounding the
clarinetist, and I've heard vibrato that seems completely gratuitous. I

Without over-defining the settings in which vibrato may seem useful, I
will say that Mozart rarely seems to "need" vibrato - But, I have heard
some performances of the Quintet in which the clarinetist "slipped a few
by" to wonderful effect.

Bottom line? I agree that *ensemble* calls for the sensitive use of
anything we can muster - personal taste might explain the rest of it.

Pete Temko
Prof. of Music
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
(ptemko@-----.edu)
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