Klarinet Archive - Posting 001236.txt from 2000/05

From: David Glenn <notestaff@-----.de>
Subj: [kl] You'll be able to say "I knew about that!!"
Date: Mon, 29 May 2000 06:59:27 -0400

Daniel Leeson wrote:

> Some questions below for David. Your note was very helpful, but like
> any helpful note, it raised a few areas of your answers that need a
> little clarification:
>
> David Glenn wrote:
> >
> >
> > Dan,
> > Alan's edition is published by Schott No. 11149 Copyright 1974. In
> > addition to the Schott and Baerenreiter editions, there is also an edtion > by Universal No. UE 19 086 copyright 1997 editied by Pamela Weston. It's > very different, being based on the arrangement for piano and strings by
> > CFG Schwenke (contemp. of Mozart). I think we discussed it a year or so
> > ago...
>
> Do I interpret your comments about the Weston edition to mean that it is
> playable only on a basset clarinet? I remember the discussion of a year
> or so ago, but I got the impression that what Pamela had prepared was
> simply a different version of K. 622 for traditional clarinet. Did I
> misunderstand that?
> >
> > When I was preparing the piece for performance a while back, I also
> > found the contemp. arrangement for viola (publ. by Andre) to be very > interesting. Further info thru Pamela L. Poulin and Robert Adelson (whom
> > I corresponded with and who was very knowledgable and helpful!
>
> Can you expand on this? Is the contemporary arrangement for viola
> useful if performing K. 622 on a basset clarinet? If so, how? Also,
> did Pamela and Robert give you suggestions about basset clarinet
> performance or have either of them prepared such an edition?
>
> >
> > As to the quintet, I have played it on the basset but with out much
> > help. Robert Levin arranged a Bb fragment for (Bb) basset clarinet and
> > string quartet (which I have also played in Oxford and Freiburg). It's
> > published by Nagels in Kassel. In the edtion, Mr. Levin announces his
> > intention to publish an article in the Mozart-Jahrbuch of 1969.
>
> I know this work intimately. It has nothing to do with my question. I
> was speaking of K. 581, the A major clarinet quintet. And Levin's
> article in the Jahrbuch was my introduction to his superb scholarship.
> We became and have remained friends. If I remember the quintet
> correctly, it never goes below written low D.
>
> Can I interpret your answer to say that you do not know of a published
> version of K. 581 with part for basset clarinet??
>
> --
> ***************************

Dan,

Pamela Westons version is actually two versions. The one is for basset
clarinet in A and only playable on that instrument - or at least it goes
into the basset register often. Parallel to that, she did an
arrangement for
short/ordinary clarinet in A also based on the Schwenke arrangement. The
main point of interest for me was to see where the basset notes came
because the piano does not have the range limitations of the clarinet. I
believe I won some insights here. Example 1: Mvt.II,
bars 95/96 the sixteenth sextuplets jump down a 9th to the low C (see
also Robert Adelsons article "Reading between the (Ledger) Lines:
Performing Mozart's Music for the Basset Clarinet" where he mentions
this passage and
supports this version by comparison to Sarastro's aria in Act I Finale
of "Die Zauberflöte" Example 2: Mvt.III, bar 327 down an octave - I
thought so anyway, but here was some support. Example 3: on the other
hand, I decided to
put at least one passage back up the octave such as Mvt.I, bar 309, note
4 through bar 311, note 1 (an octave above the cello afterall instead of
unison.)

As for the viola arragement: I remember it shook me up a bit. It was not
a transcription. Definitely an arrangement. Triplet and other passages
became sixteenth passages, melodies took different directions,
ornamentations were
more frequent... I seem to remember one passage which didn't go down the
octave which could have but I would need to look for that again when I
have more time.What I found useful was the melodic changes or the
ornamentation. It
gave me some ideas for ornamenting repeats and broke down my "holy"
approach to the dots as they are on the paper. It made me think about
contemporary performance practice.

The only information I have from Pamela Poulin is her article in "The
Clarinet", "An updated Report on New Information Regarding Stadler's
Concert Tour of Europe and Two Early Exmaples of the Basset Clarinet"
and her article in
"Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society, "Anton Stadler's
Basset Clarinet: Recent Discoveries in Riga". This was more in the
direction of the instrument (drawing of Stadler's basset clarinet taken
from a program) and
history of Stadler's tour.

My information from Robert Adelson was based on two articles. The above
mentioned ("Reading between the lines...") and "New Perpectives On
Performing Mozart's Clarinet Concerto" in "The Clarinet". In addition,
we corresponded
about this via letter and e-mail and he sent me a copy of the viola
arrangement which he had from Christopher Hogwood for which I am very
grateful. As far as I know, neither Pamela Poulin nor Robert Adelson
have prepared an edition of
the Mozart Concerto for publication.

In addtion, your information on Eingänge was very helpful. Thank you
again!

As to your last question, you are right. I know of no published version
of the quintet K.581 for basset clarinet. I have the feeling it was
written for that instrument but more because it just seems to work
better from the
sonority. The few passages which (don't) go into the basset register are
not so disturbing or not so frequent as in the concerto.

So Dan, now I've gone to the trouble to answer your questions (which I
gladly did), I am even more curious about your novel.

David

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