Klarinet Archive - Posting 000872.txt from 2002/07

From: Bear Woodson <bearwoodson@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Writing Across the Break
Date: Tue, 30 Jul 2002 03:20:36 -0400

Hello, Klarinet List and Mr. Kidder.

Mr. Kidder wrote some wonderful advice about
being aware of the different Timbres in the Ranges
of the Clarinets, and to be careful about Writing
Across the Break. THANK YOU! I LOVE getting
REAL Answers like this! These types of things go
WAY beyond the advice of Orchestration Books.
And, yes, I DO make a point to work with a
Dedicatee for most of my major works, just so
that I can get this kind of advice.

In the last 8 years of heavy composing, I try to
use the Different Timbres of the Clarinet Registers
to my advantage in Orchestral and Chamber writing.
The "throaty" Chalumeau Range can be VERY
endearing! I really love it, and had a lot of fun in
writing the "Trio for Flute, Oboe and Bb Clarinet"
(Jan. 2002, 5 mvts., 15 min.), which some of you
have. Since the Clarinet was the Low Man present,
it plays in the lower register for most of the work.

When I write, I try to stay on one side of the
Break, or the other, for a while. Two famous
passages that seem to be a bit tricky to me, are:

1) Crossing the Break in the Clarinet's First
Phrase of the Mozart Concerto; and

2) the Frequent Crossing of the Break in the
Lonely, Mournful, Second Theme of the First
Movement of the Shostakovich 10th Symphony.
It is sounding in E Minor, so he uses a Clarinet
in A, Written in G Minor, and crosses the Break
far more often than I would be comfortable to
write.

I've heard many recordings of both works, and
no one seems to have a problem with Playing back
and forth across the Break in either work. (The big
differences on all the recordings have to do with
Interpretation, rather than problems with the Break,
itself.) Just the same, I'd rather try to write a bit
more comfortably for the Clarinet.

I'm used to writing complex Fugues, and accom-
modate ranges and fingerings in those works. It
can't hurt to try to apply the same cautions for
Clarinets, that I'm used to in writing for Strings.

Meanwhile, can anyone suggest any Famous
E-Flat Alto Clarinet Solos, and Bb Contra Bass
Clarinet Solos, that I could hear on CD's? And
are there other Famous Examples that I should
know about, that Cross the Break a Lot? Please
advise.

Bear Woodson
Composer in Tucson, Arizona, USA
"Bear Woodson" <bearwoodson@-----.net>

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