Klarinet Archive - Posting 000324.txt from 1997/09

From: Robert and Deborah Shaw <theshaws@-----.net>
Subj: Re: Well, here we go again
Date: Sun, 7 Sep 1997 19:31:54 -0400

I would agree with Roger. I have a lot of repect for Dan, but come on!
some of us have struggled just to get a Bb and an A. Have some respect
for those clarinet players who have dedicated themselves to excellence
in spite of finances.
(I am sure that I am setting myself up for criticism on this one!)
Deborah
Roger Garrett wrote:
>
> I am simply amazed.....dazed.....but amazed. I really had fun reading
> this!
>
> Roger Garrett
>
> On Sun, 7 Sep 1997, Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu wrote:
>
> > Don Yungkurth has said, "...if you want to play in an orchestra,
> > you had better own an A and be able to transpose C parts. I think
> > that discussions in the past on Klarinet would tend to support
> > the view that professionals transpose as necessary, C parts on
> > Bb as well as A on Bb and Bb on A now and then."
> >
> > This subject and its status causes me to think that we ought to
> > have a KLARINET equivalent of the American Civil Liberties
> > UNION. The purpose of the ACLU is to focus on the meaning
> > of the constitution and the bill of rights. That this is
> > necessary is both clear and unambiguous. Without constant
> > watching, democracies turn into dictatorships, almost overnight.
> > Fundamental rights get trampled onand the interpretation of
> > what constitutes the rights of people gets smashed to hell.
> > So we have such a group in the ACLUand they constantly
> > remind us what the constitution and bill of rights say as
> > different organizations attempt to change, dilute, and subvert
> > the text and its meaning.
> >
> > So what does this have to do with C, B-flat, and A clarinets?
> >
> > It is a matter of perspective and of something called the
> > "orchestral palette of sound."
> >
> > Like studying geometry, we have to lay out the basic
> > principles:
> >
> > (1) unless strong evidence is given to the contrary,
> > I presume that the composer of a composition is in
> > the best position to tell the performer what he
> > wants. Thus, I presume that a clarinetist being
> > directed by the composer to perform on a clarinet
> > of a certain ptich, is being told by the composer
> > to perform on a clarinet of a certain pitch and for
> > a reason that, perhaps, neither s/he, nor you, nor
> > I will ever know. All we know for certain is what
> > the composer said. We don't know what the composer
> > meant. It is a national game for the performer to
> > say, "what s/he REALLY meant is ..." But the fact
> > is that we don't know. We guess, speculate,
> > conjecture, and fudge. We only know what is written.
> > It is a problem in performance notation. The
> > composer says, "Use this" and we have no way to find
> > out "Why?".
> >
> > (2) performers presume that directions to them
> > may be interpreted differently in certain respects,
> > and these different interpretations have no
> > consequences. Don infers that the practice of
> > clarinet substitution (C on B-flat, A on B-flat,
> > B-flat on A, etc.) has no negative consequences.
> > That is to say, though the composer may have
> > requested a clarinet of a certain pitch, there are
> > almost an infinite number of reasons why these
> > clear, explicit, and unambiguous communications
> > from a composer may be ignored. Or at least we
> > have talked ourselves into that position for the
> > last century.
> >
> > (3) the influence of a particular instrument on
> > the orchestral palette of sound is important, but
> > not critical when other factors combine to
> > require the performer to make substitutions of
> > this nature.
> >
> > So it is natural that when the question arises about the necessity
> > to learn to transpose (a requirement that I fully recognize),
> > the KLARINET equivalent of the ACLU is off doing something else
> > and does not have an opportunity to remind everyone that
> > clarinet substitution is an abbertation, often done without
> > consideration of the consequences involved, demonstrable of
> > a monumental arrogance on the part of clarinet players who
> > do not give sufficient consideration to their actions, and,
> > finally, not what was asked of the performer by the composer.
> > To be blunt, it is the equivalent of suggesting that the
> > composer does not know what the hell he is talking about, so
> > we're going to do it the way it needs to be done.
> >
> > There is an alternative to transposition, namely the owning
> > of clarinets pitched in C, B-flat, and A. The argument
> > that clarinet substitution is necessary because of
> > peculiarities in the part writing is now offered as
> > justification for doing anything. In some cases, players
> > do everything on one instrument so that they do not have to
> > carry additional instruments. Somehow this strikes me as
> > disingenuous. Sort of a performance practice dictated by
> > the weight of load.
> >
> > There probably are passages so poorly written that changing
> > clarinets as directed presents logistical and mechanical
> > problems of a significant nature, but not nearly so many
> > as we are led to believe.
> >
> > Frankly, I think the whole environment is out of control.
> > The matter is influenced by musical taste ("I can't STAND
> > the sound of the C clarinet, so I don't use it"), cost
> > ("Do you realize how much money I'm going to have to spend
> > to own all those instruments?), and a genuine ignorance
> > of the history of clarinet development.
> >
> > If one is going to play clarinet seriously, one has to come
> > to grips with this problem eventually; i.e., who is the
> > boss, me, or the composer?
> >
> > Don is correct when he said (at an earlier point in his note),
> > something like, "You don't hear conductors insisting on the
> > called-for clarinet, do you?" And that's a correctly stated
> > point, to be sure, but irrelevant to the issue. Conductors
> > have bigger fish to fry and have fallen into the same
> > musical trap as clarinet players. No one has ever slammed
> > them up against a wall and said, "Schmuck!!! Do you know
> > what the hell it is you are doing?"
> >
> > Conductors also need a conductorial equivalent of the ACLU.
> >
> > But who wants to make their musical decisions based on
> > what conductors don't know? That would be too enormous a
> > problem to solve.
> >
> > But has anyone noticed what a thoughtful orchestral clarinet
> > section plays when the music says, "Clarinet in C"? Like
> > the Chicago Symphony, for example?
> >
> > For the newer members of this list, you will now see the
> > equivalent of the famous vulgar joke about "Where were you
> > when it hit the fan?" And to which I will respond, as
> > I have done 4 years ago and 3 years ago and 2 years ago, and
> > now, "Schmuck!!! Do you know what the hell it is you
> > are doing?"
> >
> > It never ends. It just never ends. The minute you relax
> > your guard, clarinet players go bezerk, invent things, and
> > thumb their noses at yesterday. On one hand that is a good
> > characteristic to have. But there are some negative
> > consequences to it, too. And this clarinet substitution
> > business is just one of them.
> >
> > As I said. The environment is out of control
> >
> >
> >
> > =======================================
> > Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
> > Rosanne Leeson, Los Altos, California
> > leeson@-----.edu
> > =======================================
> >

   
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