Klarinet Archive - Posting 000476.txt from 1998/02

From: Jacqueline Eastwood <eastwooj@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Naive question
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 13:53:00 -0500

On Mon, 9 Feb 1998, Roger Garrett wrote:

> On Mon, 9 Feb 1998, Jacqueline Eastwood wrote:
> > When the clarinet was first developed, it was more rudimentary in terms of
> > keywork and mechanism; the full chromatic scale which we can play on a
> > modern Boehm system clarinet was not available to Classical era players.
> >
> > Composers knew this, of course, and based their choice of clarinet on the
> > key signature of the work. The point was to eliminate as many accidentals
> > as possible, because of the limitations of chromatic notes available on
> > the clarinet.
>
> I would welcome some comment from Dan as well...for this description would
> then disagree with the idea that we need to play them on C, Eb, and D when
> the parts call for them now.....playing in chromatic keys is not as
> difficult with modern instruments now as it was then. Or.....did the
> tonal colors associated with the C clarinet have an impact on the compser?
> We know that the 32 key clarinet/Boehm system was available for Mahler's
> works...yet he wrote for C, Bb, and A clarinets.
>
> This kind of stuff is so interesting.
>
> Roger Garrett
>
>
It's my understanding that the conventions of the Classical period (in
terms of choosing which clarinet to use according to the key signature)
more or less disappeared around the time of Schubert's death (1828?). The
clarinet had begun to evolve and more keywork was added. But composers
now had these different timbres in their heads, and employed different
clarinets not for ease of playing in certain keys, but for the unique
sound qualities each possessed. Look at all the ways Mahler exploited
different timbres in the orchestra -- the Eb cl. solo in Symphony #1 (3rd
movement, I think) and the scordatura violin part in Symphony #2 (#2? I
think that's right -- ?) My memory isn't so great at 8:00 a.m.!

I often think of Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique when contemplating the
early part of the Romantic period -- another good example of using
different clarinets for their sound qualities (Bb, A, Bb, C, and Eb, by
movements). But not just the clarinets, either -- the English horn/oboe
exchange in the 3rd movement, the 4-bassoon soli passage in the 4th
movement, etc. Good use of timbre was the quick ticket to fame for a
composer in the 19th century!

I did a fair bit of research on clarinets as transposing instruments for
my dissertation, which is about chamber music for the Eb clarinet, so I
think I have a pretty decent understanding of the concept. Now, if I
didn't spend so much time yakking away on the Klarinet list, maybe I'd
have time to get back to the darn thing!

Jacqueline Eastwood
University of Arizona/Arizona Opera Orchestra
eastwooj@-----.edu

P.S. I'm not going to disallow for the Classical era composer's
appreciation of clarinet timbres. I'm guessing that they knew what sound
they would get and wrote parts accordingly much of the time; i.e., I'm
going to write this aria in F major, so I will assign it to the C clarinet
which will sound a certain way in this lovely solo passage.