Klarinet Archive - Posting 000574.txt from 2001/09

From: HatNYC62@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Recognizing what is on the page
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 10:54:41 -0400

I have ben meaning for a few days to respond some what someone (I think it
was Bill Hausmann?) wrote about studying his clarinet part to a work and
thinking that what he was looking at was an accompanimental line. To him, I
would like to say congratulations! When you play chamber music (and that
includes anything with just clarinet and piano) this type of thing is crucial
to playing it sensitively and intelligently.

When you are playing chamber music, it is likely that as much as a majority
of the time, the material on your page will not be the principal material.
Your obligation as a musician as to how to interpret such material varies
according to its context. Some general observations based on my experience.

If your secondary (or tertiary or whatever) part is a descant (higher in
registration that the primary material), 99% of the time you will need to
play it very softly. Certainly you need to monitor your volume very
carefully. A good example are some of the passages in the 2nd movement of the
Mozart Quintet, where the clarinet is accompanying the 1st violin but has
higher notes. These are perhaps best played microscopically softly and
without expression. To do anything that draws attention to you would be a
breach of musical ettiquete.

If your secondary material is in thirds below the primary material (and this
also applies to playing 2nd clarinet in orchestrta fairly well) I find it
best to 'shadow' the principal player. In other words, drop your dynamic and
play 'into' the sound of whatever instrument you are playing below. This
dynamic drop will allow your sound to disappear into the texture, which is
exactly what you want. It is also important NEVER TO BE SHARP in this type of
situation. Playing sharp 'pinches' the person playing the melody into either
playing sharper or feeling flat, which is a horrible place to be.

If you have an alberti bass type of thing, it is usually a judgement call in
terms of dynamics. However, you should immediately focus on the melody and
make sure that it is audible clearly over what you are doing, even if you
have to sacrifice everyone in the audience hearing your amazing technique
clearly (such as the theme and variations from the Gran Partitta, 2nd
clarinet). You also need to listen and watch very closely for any rubato that
the melodic carriers might do and follow it both accurately and gracefully.

First and foremost is recognizing the context quickly and intellectualizing
it immediately and accurately. This requires some experience, but if you
spend time studying full scores of various pieces (and recordings) and not
simply focusing on clarinet parts, it makes a difference. After a while, you
will go back to a work like the Brahms quintet and realize that a passage you
had struggled with in terms of phrasing and expression is not even the most
important line and needs to be played very 'straight.' A painful recognition
when it happens, but it is part of the learning process!

Let me add that when I talk about playing softly, I am often talking about
playing so softly that you are on the edge of nothing. If you have trouble
with these extreme soft dynamics, developing them will create a whole new
palette of colors in your playing. This includes being able to start a note
incredibly softly, in tune and, most importantly, right in time. I can't
express how often this is necessary in chamber music.

My attitude toward playing softly is: if you don't miss any soft attacks in a
whole concert, you probably weren't trying hard enough to play soft. It is
FAR better from my perspective to miss a few and have a bunch of extrordinary
ones that to 'get' them all but have most of them be ordinary or too loud.

Good luck.

David Hattner, NYC
www.northbranchrecords.com

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