Klarinet Archive - Posting 000343.txt from 1997/09

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Well, here we go again
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 1997 14:00:02 -0400

> From: MX%"klarinet@-----.37
> Subj: Re: Well, here we go again

> 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

Deborah, you have succeeded in confusing me. You say you agree
with Roger, but all he said was that he was "dazed" and "amazed."
I can't tell much from that, but it's a statement that contains
no criticism or kudos. Roger may mean these things, but I simply
can't figure out which it is without further information.

So how can you be in agreement with him?
First you would need to explain what it was he said in order to
let us know what it was you are in agreement with.

I am pleased that you dedicate yourself to excellence. That is a
good thing and one that I could never criticize. But I am not
sure what that means. Could it be that you dedicate yourself
to those things that you are culturally led to believe are
a pursuit of excellence? We may have different perceptions of
what that word means and whether your road to it is better,
worse, or different than mine. Bottom line, is that the sentence
relieves you of no obligations that generations of your predecessors
have shouldered. In effect, it's a cop out. Easy to say. Impossible
to tie down.

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