Klarinet Archive - Posting 000433.txt from 1997/06

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
Subj: Those "places" in K. 622 and K. 581
Date: Mon, 23 Jun 1997 23:43:56 -0400

We've had a lot of discussion the past few days about improvisation
and a number of people made reference to the "cadenzas" in K. 622
(and elsewhere). And others, myself included, said that there were
no cadenzas in those works, so the vocabulary shiften to "pause
points" which is very good.

But let's talk about those points and use the terminology that
is now in the literature and that every serious player has to
get around to using.

A cadenza is ALWAYS determined to be that thing by virtue of how
it is introuduced. The composer, in order to call for such a thing,
must announce it by the tonic chord and always in the second
inversion; i.e., the fifth in the bass. There is also, a fermata
at that juncture, and the combination of the two is very unstable.
It requires resolution and this is exactly the purpose of the
cadenza, though how that resolution is accomplished and what the
performer does to achieve the resolution is a long thing and
irrelevant to the discussion here.

Suffice it to say that the two places in K. 622 do not have a tonic
chord in the second inversion, and that is exactly why those things
are not cadenzas.

The other thing is described by the German word "Eingang" the
English equivalent of which is "lead-in" and it is ALWAYS
determined by how the composer announces it. In this case,
the chord underlying the moment is a dominant seventh chord
(also with a fermata, which is why everybody calls this thing
"cadenza"). And here the rules are fairly strict. A single
solo instrument (defined to mean the person playing the solo or
melodic line after the Eingang is over) is selected to make
the connection from the dominant seventh to the tonic while
everyone waits around for the person to do it. But they don't
wait very long. If it is longer than 10 seconds (as a general
rule), it's too long. Only a few notes are required to make
that connection and it is not a vehicle for technical display.
It is simply a "lead in" to the tonic chord.

To demonstrate how guys a lot smarter than us (in theory)
screwed it up, take a look at the "cadenza" written by
Jacques Ibert for K. 622. The damn thing goes on for
something like 6 or 7 minutes and has more notes in it
than the volume of Rose Studies, and is completely and
impossibly insane from start to finish.

Now the three Eingange (German plural) of K. 622 and K. 581
are exactly the opportunities that we have been discussing.
But in the Gran Partitta, the first clarinet is supposed to
be playing an Eingang at measure 14 of the first movement.
And the clarinet plays three or four Eingange in the fifth
movement. And in the c minor wind sereande, the oboe has
one in the last movement when the work changes from minor
to major. They are all over the place in the piano concerti.

Most books make reference to cadenzas by what one is
supposed to do in them, not by virtue of how the composer
requests them. And worse, the description is often
said to be "the place where the soloist demonstrates
his/her technical capability." Don't you believe that
either.

Few books before the 1960s make reference to Eingange. It's
a whole new thing and we have to change with it or else
get stuck in the last century (which is where most Russian
musicians are with respect to this period of music - they
are really of the opinion that Tchaikovsky's Mozartian
suite really sounds like Mozart)

=======================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
Rosanne Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
=======================================