Klarinet Archive - Posting 000305.txt from 2002/02

From: notestaff@-----.de (David Glenn)
Subj: [kl] Mozart + high notes
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 09:10:27 -0500

A while back there was some discussion about Mozart and high notes. Dan
purported that Mozart never wrote anything for the clarinet higher than
about a D. Despite the Winterthur manuscript which goes to high E and
even once up to high F above that for the basset horn in G, I took his
argument seriously - though it may not have appeared so.

Because of this very reasoning, I am purporting a "daring" change to the
text of the Mozart concerto:

It has bothered me for as long as I can remember that in the third mvt,
bars 85 - 92, and especially 88, 89 and even more so bars 91 and 92 it
screeches up to high G before reaching the high point at the end of the
phrase so throwing the whole section out of whack. We have no help from
the Winterthur manuscript as that has only the beginning of the first
movement. The Allgemeine Musikalischen Zeitung (AmZ) of 1802 mentions
other passages but not this one and the contemporary arrangement by
Schwenke takes a similar line also going up to high G.

Nevertheless, I have decided to play the passage as such (this time):
Bars 84 + 86 remain the same, bars 85 + 87 are descending 16ths C3, A2,
F#, D, C, A, F#, D, C A, F#, basset D. Bars 88 + 89 down one octave to
continue the line. Bar 90 remains same. Bars 91 and 92 down one octave.

I admit that bars 85 and 87 I just made up. However, the change is very
similar (in the other direction) to another passage which the 1802
arranger butchered for us, namely bars 61 + 62 of this movement (see
AmZ). I am thereby avoiding the high G and the too early climax. Maybe I
am replacing the original basset tones as well. I can't know for sure
but I feel that this works better than our "original" 1802 version.

Does anyone have a better idea?

David

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