Klarinet Archive - Posting 000341.txt from 2000/10

From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] All keys are not the same
Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2000 14:25:19 -0400

Perhaps we are drawing more closely together, and that is a good thing.
But I still suggest that sound character of the instrument has almost
nothing to do with its selection. I used to think quite the opposite
but the more I study the problem, the less sound character gets
involved, though I admit there to be a few exceptions such as in the
case of Richard Strauss' simultaneous use of A and B-flat clarinets, as
well as his own statements about the use of C clarinets.

In the next issue of the Mozart Jahrbuch, there is a very long article
by Bob Levin and me on exactly what the technical reasons were (in the
1780s) for the selection of a particular clarinet type, and how those
reasons have impacted the writing style of clarinet music both then and
now. There is also some discussion of this subject in an article I did
a number of years ago for The Clarinet called "Mozart and the Clarinet
in B-natural."

I suspect our egos want us to believe that composers select this or that
clarinet for sound character -- though in a few cases they do -- but the
fact is that 99% of it is done because it makes the part easier to play,
and the other 1/2% is due to mistakes on the part of the publishers.

Once I played a work for bass clarinet in C in the bass clef. It was
not a transpostion I knew because I had never had to do that one before.
Fortunately, the composer was there on the night of the performance and
I cornered him and ask why he had done such a cumbersome thing. What
was he trying to accomplish? And his answer was, "You mean that the
publisher didn't tranpose the part for B-flat bass clarinet??? I wrote
everything for instruments in C because I don't handle transposing
instruments very well." That's the 1/2%.

Dan Leeson

William Wright wrote:
>
> <><> Dan Leeson wrote:
> and, in my opinion, what I suggested he said is exactly what he said. It
> may be a sidebar issue, but that the assertion was made appears to me to
> be unequivocal, namely that clarinet selection is made on the basis of
> sound character.
>
> With the exception that "selection is made" should be replaced by
> "selection can be made", this is what I meant. I agree that there are
> other criteria besides tone or sound character.
>
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--
***************************
** Dan Leeson **
** leeson0@-----.net **
***************************

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