Klarinet Archive - Posting 000901.txt from 2001/09

From: Alexander Brash <mactrek@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Prokofieff 4th
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 22:13:46 -0400

Karl,
Well I have one possibility. The copyist..having been sitting for hours
and hours writing out the part, may have suddenly forgotten which clarinet
he was transposing for for 4 measures, and, not wanting to go back and
change it, simply wrote 'in A' over the part. I must admit that I've done
this myself when copying parts for shows, etc...

~Alexander

> From: "Karl Krelove" <kkrelove@-----.com>
> Reply-To: klarinet@-----.org
> Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 21:35:03 -0400
> To: "Klarinet" <klarinet@-----.org>
> Subject: [kl] Prokofieff 4th
>
> OK, friends in the "play on what the composer wrote it for" camp. What do
> you make of this?
>
> I'm playing in a reading of the Prokofieff 4th Symphony. I've never played
> this piece before, nor am I familiar with it. The entire 1st clarinet part
> is written for Bb Clarinet - except for 4 bars of music for clarinet in A in
> the 1st movement. These 4 bars are in no way exceptional. They are exactly
> the same music the Bb clarinet has been playing for measures on end, a
> little ostinato arpeggio figure that's almost certainly accompaniment,
> except that the key in these four measures is a fourth HIGHER. No low E's,
> wouldn't have been a technical problem on either instrument.
>
> I've heard any number of times, with no primary source to back it up, that
> Prokofieff left it to copyists to write out the transpositions. The
> Prokofieff scores I've looked at are written in concert pitch, so it may
> even be that he had no idea in this instance which clarinet would be written
> for. It may not need be said that I intend to leave my A clarinet in the
> case on Friday when we read this. I am interested to know if a) anyone has
> any thoughts on why this passage is written the way it is and b) I can get
> special dispensation from those who cringe at any transposition from the
> original part to do these 4 measures on a Bb clarinet with a clear
> conscience. :-)
>
> Karl Krelove
>
>
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>

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