Klarinet Archive - Posting 000549.txt from 2002/09

From: "Dave Spiegelthal" <Spiegelthal.Dave@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Re: Composers' intentions (was: "Clarinet Substitutions")
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 10:08:26 -0400

Mr. Leeson,
Are you so sure that composers really know what they're doing, all
the time, with regards to instrumentation and orchestration? I'm currently
playing yet another typically useless bass clarinet part with a community
orchestra, this time it's Albert Roussel's 3rd Symphony, and once again,
the bass clarinet part is completely buried by the rest of the orchestra
playing fortissimo, or nineteen other instruments doubling the part. I
have a recording of a fine major symphony orchestra playing this piece, and
NOWHERE can I hear a single note of bass clarinet (and I have some of the
most bass-clarinet-sensitive ears around). If the composer was so damned
smart and sure of what he was doing, why did he write my part so poorly? I
might not as well be there! And this is one of many similar examples.
Consequently I'm quite skeptical (like Ed Maurey and others) that the
composer really, thoughtfullly, deliberately meant "A" vs. "Bb" clarinet
(or vice versa) in most cases. I suspect that probably the decision was
arbitrary, or accidental, or done by the copyist or publisher for
convenience, or just about any reason OTHER than that the composer really
could hear a difference and intended that the particular clarinet's sound
be played. Heck, I've been playing clarinets for 30 years and most of the
time I can't tell if someone's playing an "A" or "Bb" clarinet --- do you
REALLY think most composers can tell? Maybe Stravinsky was the rare
exception, who knows?
David Spiegelthal
Calverton, VA

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