Klarinet Archive - Posting 000832.txt from 2001/06

From: MVinquist@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Re: GOOD, Accessible, WW Quintets
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 21:55:20 -0400

Larry Zaiden asks for good quintet literature accessible to adults of
"moderate to good" ability levels.

The place most quintets start is "Twenty Two Woodwind Quintets," compiled by
Albert Andraud and (at least 20 years ago) published by Southern Music. They
used to have distinctive orange covers and were known as the "Orange Books,"
but they're now a wimpy yellow. The music varies in difficulty and quality,
but there's more than enough good, moderate level material to justify the
relatively low purchase price. Almost all music school libraries have this
collection, as do most quintet players.

Ferenc Farkas wrote a very nice, not to difficult suite.

Danzi wrote a bunch of very good quintets, though they may be beyond the
reach of your "moderate" players. They need particularly strong players on
flute and oboe.

Reicha wrote even better stuff, somewhat more difficult than Danzi. The
clarinetist he wrote for in his earlier quintets was weak, but the parts are
often in C, and by the time he wrote the later quintets the clarinetist had
improved. He needs good players on all parts, including bassoon and horn.
Most modern editions make big cuts.

I love the Klughardt quintet. It's like eating fudge. It calls for some
facility, but it lies very well under the fingers. It's slightly less
difficult than the Taffanel quintet in the Andraud collection. If your
quintet is up to, or almost up to, the Taffanel, Klughardt is perfect.

Lots of people like Goeb's "Prairie Songs." I can take them or leave them,
but they're certainly playable.

Arnold's "Three Shanties" is excellent, but maybe a little too difficult for
the players you describe.

Milhaud's "La Cheminee du Roi Rene" is wonderful, but probably too difficult
to start out with, if only because it has to sound easy, even when it's not.
It's the perfect introduction to bi-tonality. One movement calls for piccolo.

There are lots of wonderful quintets that increase in difficulty from hard to
ferocious - Ibert, Nielsen, Barber, John De Lancie's arrangement of Ravel's
"Le Tombeau de Couperin," Francaix (two of them), Schoenberg (ugh), etc.

If you can find a pretty good bass clarinetist, Janacek's "Mladi" is very
fine, and not impossibly difficult. If you know an excellent pianist and
feel ambitions, Poulenc's Sextour is a hoot.

I'd say start out with the Andraud collection and perhaps the Farkas. Let us
know how your group takes to that, and once you gauge their strengths and
weaknesses, the list can probably come up with additional suggestions.

Best regards.

Ken Shaw

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