Klarinet Archive - Posting 000591.txt from 1997/09

From: Roger Shilcock <roger.shilcock@-----.uk>
Subj: Brahms, etc.
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 1997 03:58:03 -0400

A couple of evenings ago, the BBC Promenade concert included a performance
of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet by Hausmusik with Anthony Pay playing an
alleged replica of Muhlfeld's clarinet. I heard the broadcast, which
obviously made some difference, but what struck me was that Anthony Pay
sounded more or less as he generally does, with perhaps a bit of
unevenness
of tone - Pay on an instrument borrowed in a hurry, maybe. There wasn't
much sign of Muhlfeld's reported vibrato. However, what *was* unusual
(compared with most recordings I've heard, at least) was that the
chalumeau notes were always audible and practically never smothered by the
cello, and the attack he obtained was extremely emphatic, making the
phrasing especially clear. Is this last characteristic a common property
of late nineteenth-century non-Boehm clarinets?
Incidentally, the strings *did* use vibrato, though not a lot.
The Albert Hall acoustics would have affected the sound of course - they
can be modified these days, I believe, but it's still a bit of a cavern
to play chamber music in.
Roger Shilcock