Klarinet Archive - Posting 000377.txt from 1997/02

From: Eric Nelson <esnelson@-----.NET>
Subj: more Oxenvad & Nielsen, lots more
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 01:15:14 -0500

This is a follow-up to my post of last week about Aage Oxenvad. Here
Nielsen's life and personality will be briefly examined, and Danish
performance tradition will be applied to specific instances in the
Concerto. I will attempt to present, as nearly as possible in this
severely limiting medium [Email - god help us!], those points of
interpretation wherein Danish performance differs most radically from
non-Scandinavian readings. The musical interpretations are based upon
several extended interviews and instructional sessions given in 1979 by
Tage Scharff, clarinet professor at the Royal Conservatory. Scharff was a
pupil of Oxenvad 1940-44 and is today considered the authoritative voice
for Oxenvad's interpretation.

In addition, Nielsen's manuscripts of the Concerto, which are held by the
Royal Library, were examined. These manuscripts are ordered and referred
to herein as follows:

MS I: The earliest known version - a full score
MS II: Oxenvad's solo part, with his own markings and written notes
MS III: The final manuscript score, prepared for the engraver

With the manuscripts is also some correspondence between N and O. The
discrepancies between the manuscripts and the published version deal mostly
with articulation, specifically slurring patterns; N. left most of these
out of his earliest copies. The one blatant printer's error [everyone mark
this in your music!!!] is on page 9 of the clarinet part, line three, the
21st and 22nd notes [count 'em]. These should both be marked A natural.

In late 1928, Carl Nielsen [1865-1931] wrote his clarinet concerto. The
new work proved to be N's final orchestral composition; it was an utterance
of a seasoned, accomplished artist [anyone reminded of Mozart and Brahms
here?]. It has since established itself as a standard in the clarinetist's
repertoire.

Yet a close appraisal of the life and work of Nielsen, and of his musical
and aesthetic ideals within the context of the rich and unique Nordic
culture, reveals a blatant misunderstanding of the work by most
non-Scandinavian performers. Perhaps it is not a misunderstanding, but
rather a non-understanding; most clarinetists I think are
interpretationally baffled by the piece. The true Nielsen tradition is
very much alive today in his pupils and successors. It comprises a
beautiful yet harsh, logical yet singular approach to the music. Only such
an approach can disclose the essence of the work, and essence which
consists of a vigorous declamation of rugged yet elegant optimism.

One of the predominant qualities of N's music is its apparently primitive
and rustic constitution. This coarseness emerged directly from his
upbringing in circumstances of rural poverty. Torben Meyer, the definitive
Nielsen biographer [not available in English], stated:

"When one immerses oneself in the work of Carl Nielsen, one cannot help but
notice the strong primitiveness and deep roots which characterize him. A
more thorough knowledge of his life and ar even more clearly shows that he
was not only keenly conscious of his childhood on the island of Funen, but
that he frequently returned to the islands and places he had known as a
child. ...Not only in his songs, and of course the folk songs in
particular, but also in his instrumental music we confront a sound and an
outlook on life which testify of their author's plain, rustic origin and
way of thinking."

Carl Nielsen was born the son of a poor house painter and village musician.
His earliest recollections were of the folk music played by his father.
As a teenager he distinguished himself as a violinist and graduated from
the Royal Conservatory in 1886. Thereafter he remained at the hub of
Denmark's music world, as a conductor, violinist and composer. His
compositions include six symphonies, three concertos [violin, flute,
clarinet], five string 4tets, several operas, and numerous vocal keyboard,
and other chamber works.

Vitality and a continual search for greater potentialities of expression
marked Nielsen's final years. During that period , the period of the
Clarinet Concerto, his work assumed a demeanor of chamber music in its
increased preoccupation with the individual timbres of the instruments.
This interest in the instruments as individuals included a new fascination
with the classic, heterogeneous woodwind quintet. In 1922, N composed his
Blaeserkvintet, Op 43, for the Copenhagen Wind Quintet. This chamber music
approach carried over into his works for full orchestra; his sixth and last
symphony is even subtitled the Kammersymfoni; and of course the
instrumentation and writing of the clarinet Concerto is chamber in
approach; sparse and wide open.

As noted in my previous post, both N and O were essentially peasants; both
had "mud on their boots". Oxenvad's performances of the Concerto were rife
with the nuances of rubato and with passionate phrasing. It is through the
correct application of rubato and phrasing that the performer elucidates
N's intentions regarding motivic relationships, intervallic significance,
musical conflict, peculiarities of the clarinet's character and its
dependence upon other instruments in some matters of style. The remainder
of this posting will cite specific examples of these musical
characteristics from the Concerto and suggest ways of applying rubato and
phrasing aberrations to achieve the spirit of the Danish/Nielsen tradition.
Though this set does not comprise all of the important elements of the
composer's work, it does represent those elements which most readily submit
to and require the Oxenvad brand of personal touch. Refer to the clarinet
solo part of the concerto as published by Samfundet til Udgivelse af Dansk
Musik for correct page, line and measure numbers in the examples.

Melodic motives, and their related rhythmic motives, are fundamental to
Nielsen's achievement of unity. Jan Maegaard, an eminent Danish
musicologist, states that "it is the intensification of the
thematic-motivic work which alone bears the form of the Concerto and
defines its sections". The performer must identify and emphasize the
most important motives as each occurs and recurs. This is done primarily
by the application of rubato, but also by the variance of dynamics and
articulation.

The most significant motive of the work is sounded at the outset. It is
strong melodically as a perfect fifth, but derives the bulk of its power
from its square heavy rhythm. [rehearsal nr 1] The weight is on the beat,
a clumsy, masculine peasant dance step. A blatant avoidance of any
phrasing nuance distinguishes the motive. There is mud on the boots: long
- short - long, stamp - kick - stamp. The motive recurs incessantly in
many melodic guises, yet the rhythm is so singular as to protrude at each
event - the simple, coarse quality commands. It often appears as only
two notes slurred together, a clearly related variant which preserves the
long - short articulation and heavy downbeat of the motive. The performer
must enunciate every recurrence of this motive. Examples of this motive
are found on page 3 line 4; page 4 line 4; page 4 line 12, last measure;
page 5 rehearsal numbers 13 and 17; and page 9 line 2. Among others -
watch for them. In Oxenvad's manuscript, he often marked phrasing breaks
after the second eighth note, as at rehearsal number 13.

A stark contrast to the vigor of the opening motive is the grazioso of the
secondary theme [page 2 line 7, after the fermata]. The initial 32nd notes
are flung, like a handful of rice, even with some rushing into the next
measure. The remainder is a straightforward exploration of pure intervals,
sans rubato. This motive, or fragments thereof, recurs frequently, in the
first cadenza [page 3 line 8 ff.] as well as in the scherzo [rehearsal nrs
21-22]. It is a rhythmic motive and as such is common throughout the snare
drum part as well. By slightly rushing it each time, the motive retains an
innocent, almost impetuous flavor.

Other important motives too numerous or complex to treat here abound. They
are fascinating melodically but lose their identity in a thoughtless,
merely virtuosic reading. [Compare, f.ex., the motive at rehearsal nr 23
with its permutations at nrs 38-41. brilliant writing here!].

It is impossible to discuss N's music without confronting his veneration of
the intervals as the very substance of music. Scharff stated that, for
Nielsen, "the interval was *everything*." Music in which "melody is
reduced to little more than a product of complex harmonies, more or less a
chance series of the uppermost notes of the chord progression . . . filled
hide with disgust." [quoting the musicologist E. Jacobsen] The music of
the late Romantics, such as Strauss and Wagner, with their lush and
profligate emotional exudations, seemed to N far inferior to the elegant
architectures of Palestrina, Bach and Mozart. He determined that the
problem lay in the neglect of melody and lack of respect for the inherent
beauty of simple intervals. In an essay on Wagner, N. wrote:

"There is only one remedy for this man's musical taste, and that is a
cultivation of the most basic intervals. The glutted must be taught to
regard a melodic third as a gift of God, a fourth as an experience, and a
perfect fifth as the most sublime joy. Careless crapulence undermines
one's health. Thus we see how essential it is to maintain an association
with the original."

The entire opening section of the Concerto and much of the entire work draw
their vigor from the perfect fifth, that "most sublime joy." This perfect
interval is a rock, an anchor amid turbulence. N. intended it to be
enjoyed and clung to at each opportunity. Other intervals were to N.
hierarchically less stable, and at the other end of the scale, as in the
augmented 4th, even virulent. It is the performer's *duty* to demonstrate
these intervallic qualities in some way. Consider the rhythmically
monotonous exposition of intervals in the passage at page 6 line 4 mm 2-5.
The performer must determine the intervallic shape of the phrase, that is,
which intervals demand more stress. Until the high D at the end of the 2nd
measure cited, all of the slurred intervals are [within this context]
stable ones. At the descending major 7th [D down to E flat], the
clarinetist must brake and linger [unstable interval!!]. The following
diminished fifth and minor 2nd are additional instabilities which must
foreshadow the approaching rallentando. The unstable intervals pile up in
the rallentando; they must be distorted and strained as malevolent yet
fascinating beings.

A characteristic Nielsen melody is one which hovers around a very few
notes, with no apparent sense of direction. Such a melody metaphorically
is a labyrinth in which the soloist searches fruitlessly for escape. Its
point is its *pointlessness*. The labyrinth depends upon interval
placement for the little direction it possesses, as is evident at page 5
line 1 mm 3-4 through line 2 mm 1-2. Here, the 1st measure wanders
despondently through meaningless intervals, a neurotic repetition of
pitches all within a range of only a 5th. But in the next measure, the
soloist discover a lighted tunnel: a major triad, two gifts of God in
succession! There is a brighter piu mosso; perhaps this is the escape from
the labyrinth. But the augmented fourth into the next measure dashes all
hope; another blind passageway, another blank wall. The mood darkens, the
tempo slackens at that interval. Chromaticism [confusion] abounds as the
prisoner resumes his search. The following measures never do find escape,
just a heartless change of subject at reh. nr. 14. A performer who treats
this passage as a mere technical display misses its essence, for, as N.
explained:

"We must first acquire respect for the simplest intervals, live with them,
listen to them, learn from them and love them. The composer must do this
for the sake of the intervals themselves, the singer for the sake of his
song, and the instrumentalist perhaps most of all, because he by way of his
technical advantage runs the risk of losing the sense of expressive
simplicity."

Nielsen's approach to music was one of conflict and, occasionally,
resolution. As was life and survival in the old North, his music is a
struggle, a great battle of uncertain outcome [think of the Norse myths and
Gotterdammerung; Ragnarok] -- Nielsen, according to Scharff, "hated
virtuosity" with its often attendant superficiality. He hated the music of
Ravel and others of what to hide was the shallow and foppish French
persuasion. With Nielsen, the performer struggles with the intervals,
searches them for their own primordial virility.

Struggle with the notes and intervals is evident *visually* at page 7 line
7 last measure and the first two measures in line 8. The abundance of
double flats [quite unnecessary, theoretically] lends an intentionally
forbidding look, and so it must sound. Each note is intense and pushes
directly to the next with NO decay or hurrying at all. [Quite the opposite
of Drucker's flippant virtuosity here...]

Denny, in the Harvard Dictionary of Music, states that the clarinet "lends
itself to the expression of love and passion as well as fury and parody."
The clarinet works of Brahms, Schumann, Mozart and von Weber all explored
the passion and love inherent in the instrument, but it was Nielsen who
unveiled the terrible alter ego, the fury and rage of a Mr. Hyde. Nielsen
noted that the clarinet "can be at once warm-hearted and completely
hysterical, gentle as balm and screaming as a streetcar on poorly
lubricated rails". [quoted in Meyer]

He also called the clarinet "an hysterical woman'. Scharff drew attention
to the interest inherent in ugliness: "There is nothing more dull than a
'cute' girl!" [Scharff's words, *not* mine!!] Harshness and ugliness rage
unchecked, there are no cosmetics here! The instrumentation itself is
often brutally stark, as in those sections where the soloist is accompanied
only by snare drum [top of page 2]. In the earliest manuscript, N.
pencilled in directly above this particular passage "Wildly confused in the
intimate exchange and the snare drum drives it forward" [Nielsen, MS I].
This interpretation demands rhythmic freedom of the clarinetist; the
chromatic are rushed, the severe intervals, such as the augmented 4th and
augmented 8vs, are lengthened and freely distorted.

The opening of the second cadenza displays some of the most acrimonious
passage work in all of Nielsen [page 8 line 7 m 3 and following lines].
The ascending scale, according to Scharff, is the only virtuosic place in
the entire piece. The 32nd note E following the second fermata is played
as short and accented as possible. The ensuing triplets are "satanically
slow," to quote Scharff, like "hammer blows"; the slurred triplets are
*sempre con forza* with a *molto accelerando e crescendo* into the low B
flat [3rd note from the end of line 8]. In MS III, there is a luftpause
with a fermata indicated after this first B flat. The pause is noticeably
long, and the following triplets continue the acceleration where it was
left, though with much more accent and anger [agitato...]. The fermata in
line 9 is brief; the following two 32nd notes are in the same tempo as
those preceding the fermata, with identical articulation and volume. The
next 10 notes are calm and reassuring and quite slow, but are interrupted
by the two accented notes, played exactly like their predecessors. The
volatile exchange continues and intensifies throughout the cadenza [into
page 9], it ends w/ the clarinet's lowest note repeated rapidly and
percussively before easing into a placid *adagio*.

To the aggressive austerities which abound are added several welcome
stretches of repose. These contrasting sections are as limpid as the
others are severe. No example is necessary; they are presented with
simplicity and directness, and rely upon the power of the intervals for
their sustenance.

Nielsen's writing occasionally discloses his orientation as a violinist.
He admired the unaccompanied works for string by Bach and patterned his
counterpoint for monophonic instruments after that ideal. The first
cadenza contains a cello-like passage which behaves as such a passage in
Bach might [page 3 line 6 after the first quarter note]. The low G is a
pedal point; together with the note which follows each G, it creates an
independent voice. That Nielsen was thinking in two voices here is
confirmed by the notation used in MS I. In the MS, the first two notes
have the stems down, the next two have stems up, the next two down, etc.
etc. Independent voices....

Other passages are found in the work which more closely resemble violin
music than clarinet music. In such instances, the clarinetist music phrase
as a violinist would, with long bowings and time allowed to cross strings
in the very large leaps [as on page 2 line 6 last measure - note the
peculiar notation here!]

A glance through my study copy of this Concerto, into which Scharff's
directions, metaphors and expletives have been copied, emphasizes the
highly emotional character of the work. I read: "ugly! manic-depressive,
improvisational, contemplative, satanic, innocently, hanging in the air,
frantic, searching, square, light and shadow, disappointed, struggle,
mercilessly, caress, flow, bite in!, pale, knife - - raw!, shining . . ."
This truly is music not for a clarinetist, but for a *musician* who also
happens to be a master clarinetist.

And that describes Aage Oxenvad, though his facility was no match for the
blazing pyrotechnics of the French. Nor did he strive for such. To him
the need for musical effect transcended any need for rapid-fire,
pre-programmed accuracy. Scharff said that Oxenvad himself professed an
accuracy rate of about 80 percent for the notes in the Concerto. Yet the
intense emotional outpouring was apparently overwhelming. Any performance
lacking this hones and earthy commitment, without "mud on the boots," is
merely a cursory technical display, without meaning.

----

Anyone interested in some deeper musicology on this may Email me directly
and I will send documents in which I have measure-by-measure noted all of
the discrepancies between the published solo part and the three
manuscripts. I have not done this for the full score, only for the
klarinet part.

Also, some of you who have performed this have probably been inconvenienced
[or at least your drummer has been] by trying to read the drum part from
the piano reduction. I would be happy to send photocopies [via fax or
snailmail] of the snare drum part from the orchestra parts. It is more
legible and more complete. Send fax nr and/or postal address.

A full bibliography for this essay is also available.

I hope all of this is useful to some of you.

Eric Nelson
Lightwood Duo

with NO provocative autoerotic, religious, or political signature