Klarinet Archive - Posting 000738.txt from 2002/05

From: "Don Yungkurth" <clarinet@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Re: A horse of a different colour
Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 18:51:27 -0400

Tony Pay writes:

>We're shortly going to play a contemporary arrangement for wind band
>(BTW, when you read the expression, 'contemporary arrangement', what do
>you think is meant?) of Beethoven's seventh symphony.

>The arranger makes several changes. The most important one, of course,
>is that clarinets are in C throughout. But further, the keys of the
>movements are now: G major (original, A major); Bb major (original, C
>major); F major (original, F major); G major (original, A major).

>We're intending to deal with complaints from players and audience who
>feel 'uncomfortable' playing or listening to the music on C clarinets,
>or in these keys, by suggesting that they may feel better after
>practising doing it a couple of times.

>I should perhaps be clear that this arrangement retains many other
>aspects of the piece. For example, a fourth in the original remains a
>fourth in the transcription, and so on.

I would assume that "contemporary arrangement" means that the arrangement
was made during Beethoven's lifetime. By the way - what is the
instrumentation of the arrangement you will be playing? Who is the
arranger?

Dan Leeson responded:

>Tony, I remember this arrangement well. As I recall it was done by
>Wenzel Sedlak, though I could have things mixed up. I played it in 1974
>and it was a screamer!! It's loud and noisy throughout. It was not, in
>my opinion, one of the better Harmonie arrangements. I found the
>Fidelio transcription far superior.

I've played a hamoniemusik arrangement, apparently not by Sedlak. It was
for the standard nonet consisting of pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons and
horns, with contrabassoon. It was apparently published in 1816 by S.A.
Steiner of Vienna. No separate name was listed as the arranger, to the best
of my recollection. My recollection was that it would be considered rather
tastefully done rather than as described by Dan about the Sedlak.

I don't recall the keys we played in, but the clarinet parts were for Bb
instruments. I had borrowed the parts from the Sibley Library of the
Eastman School of Music. Their on-line catalog listing follows these
comments. It is stated "Clarinet parts not from 1816 edition", so the
original might well have been for C clarinets.

Next time I get to Sibley, I will check to see what keys are used for the
various movements and report back to "Klarinet".

Don Yungkurth (clarinet@-----.net)

************************************************

Sibley Library Listing:

Siebente Sinfonie für neunstimige Harmonie / von Ludw. van Beethoven. ;...

Main Author: Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827.
Title: Siebente Sinfonie für neunstimige Harmonie / von Ludw. van Beethoven.
; [arranged for woodwind nonet by Wind Instrument's New Society].
Symphonies, no. 7, op. 92, A major; arr.
Imprint: Wien : S.A. Steiner, [1816]
Description: 9 parts
Subject(s): Symphonies, Arranged.
Wind nonets (bassoons (2), clarinets (2), contrabassoon, horns (2), oboes
(2))--Parts.
Notes: W-183 Wind Instrument's New Dawn Society
2563 Steiner
Photocopy. [Northridge, Calif. : Wind Instrument's New Dawn Society, 1986]
28 cm.
Arranged for 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, 2 bassoons and contrabassoon.
Clarinet parts not from 1816 edition.
Publisher's pl. no.: 2563.

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