Klarinet Archive - Posting 000506.txt from 2001/08

From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] For Ken Shaw
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2001 16:20:31 -0400

It would never have happened in the way you describe. The choice of a
clarinet was not made by the composer but by the key of the work in
which he was composing. If he wanted clarinets, he had only limited
flexibility in terms of which ones he could use. If the piece was in C
or F (concert pitch) he selected clarinet in C. If the piece was in
B-flat or E-flat (again concert pitch) he selected clarinet in B-flat.
If the piece was in D or A, he selected clarinet in A. And once in a
while he might even be stuck with a clarinet in B-natural as Mozart was
on two separate occasions, or a basset horn in G, as we was on two
occasions.

>From this you might conclude that the clarinet selection was made
independent of the orchestral palette of sound. That is true, but once
the selection was made, the palette was designed (at least in theory)
based on the sonic characteristics of the instrument that was thrust on
the composer; i.e., he had that particular instrument's characteristic
sound (whether he wanted it or not) so he took advantage of it and made
a problem into a virtue.

So you have the sound of that clarinet mandated by the key of the
composition, PLUS you have the sound of that clarinet used to whatever
purpose the composer wished to use it. You have it coming and going.

Trying to get around the problem by the scenario you invented would
never have occurred to an 18th century composer. And like it or not, it
was their decisions that stuck us with the situation we have today.

"John P. Varineau" wrote:
>
> Or is it at least possible that a composer would say to him/herself,
> "Gee, I really hate the sound of a C clarinet, but since the notes that I
> want to write would either be impossible, clumsy, impractical or out of
> tune on a D, or B-flat or A clarinet, I guess I'd better write it for a C
> clarinet. Golly, I hope somebody, someday figures out how to build a
> clarinet that can play all of the chromatic notes so that I don't always
> have to write clarinet parts in the key of C -- that way they will be as
> flexible as the oboes, flutes and bassoons in the orchestra!"
>
> When one realizes that sometimes composers chose the key of an instrument
> for practical rather than sonic palette reasons, it can be somewhat
> liberating.
>
> John Varineau
>
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--
***************************
** Dan Leeson **
** leeson0@-----.net **
***************************

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