Klarinet Archive - Posting 000501.txt from 1996/04

From: niethamer@-----.BITNET
Subj: Re: Rabaud Solo de Concours
Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 21:54:19 -0400

On Sun, 14 Apr 1996, Daniel A. Paprocki wrote:

> I just had a student bring in the Rabaud. Since I wasn't familiar with
> this work, I pulled out my copy and looked it over the day before the
> lesson. To me, it seemed like a nice interesting piece - I feel there are
> better Solo de Concours pieces. Check out the Bonade book "16 Grands Solo
> de Concert". The Rabaud doesn't come close to the Messager or even the
> D'Ollone Fantasy Orientale - my opinion only.
> Also, check out the Stubbins' Recital Literature ofr the Clarinet
> book 1 and the recently re-released book 2 for more Solo de Concours type
> pieces.

I own all of the above, because my undergrad teacher was a Solo de
Concours freak - one of his only shortcomings ;-p. Give me Brahms and
Mozart any day, and call me a snob!!

IMHO, the Rabaud is a valuable piece for kids who don't have the fingers
to do the Messager, with all those nasty F3 scales 6 to the beat faster
than humanly possible. The Raboaud has 1.) a cadenza, 2.) a slow movement
with nasty notation but not hard to play (teaches reading) 3.) an Allegro
that requires a long melodic line over the whole range of the instrument,
and 4.) last but not least, a page of the obligatory French finger
wiggling that isn't impossible for an aspiring HS clarinetist to play. As
Greg Baker pointed out, it's a bit more "musical" in effect than the
usual SdeC.

I *do* like the Messager (pronounced in VA alternately "messa - J", like
messa-grits, only different, and message-er, like some sort of e-mail
utility!), and another of my favorites from "16 Grand..." is the Gaubert
Fantasy.

Dan also wrote:

> Yes, but how could you not buy a book with all that music AND Flignt of
> the Bumblebee!

When we play this piece on Kiddie Shows, we refer to it as "The Blight of
the Fumble Bee.

==============================
David Niethamer
niethamer@-----.edu
dbnclar1@-----.com
http://users.aol.com/dbnclar1/
==============================