Klarinet Archive - Posting 000408.txt from 2002/02

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] Ed Lacy's comments
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 22:40:47 -0500

On Wed, 20 Feb 2002 16:46:10 -0800, leeson0@-----.net said:

> Bottom line: I don't know, but I doubt if random departure from the
> written articulation (or rhythm) as an extension of the principle of
> improvisation has very much written about it. But I also suppose that
> if one could do it well (whatever that means), it might be quite
> interesting.

Just as an improvisation is a response to a musical context, so is a
variety of articulation a response to a musical context. So that
fits in with the distinction I was making in the other post.

String players, particularly in Baroque music, don't always bow out
unmarked semiquavers -- indeed, it's said that there was an unwritten
tradition of how such passages were to be bowed in various
circumstances. Equally, they don't always play passages that lie under
a long slur in one bow, and even Mozart sometimes writes slurs so long
that that would have been impossible. (The usual response is to bow in
such a way that the bowchanges aren't perceptible.)

For wind players, because there is room for debate about what the
notation of the slur actually means:

http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/Study/Phrasing.html

...the situation is -- has to be -- that some degree of choice is left
to the player. Dan is right, in my view, that the surface of the
classical music texture was much less legato at the time, and this
argues in favour of leaving passages articulated to a much greater
extent than nineteenth century editors did.

But articulation isn't an all or nothing affair. It's very natural, for
example, to slur the broken thirds near the end of the Concerto first
solo 'squirt' (what's the technical term I'm looking for here?-), two
and two. And theres lots of variety of staccato possible. Dramatic
staccato, travelling staccato, lightening staccato, 'cooking'
staccato...

Tony
--
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