Klarinet Archive - Posting 000756.txt from 2003/02

From: The Ciompi Family <deal5@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Shepherd on the Rock
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 15:35:52 -0500

Dear Tony,
I gave a great deal of thought to my post during the hours after I sent
it. Since you suggested the feasability of catching a quick breath on the
high Eb, 14 bars from the end, I knew that my answer would be debatable from
your point of view.
It is true that the suspension in this bar could be resolved in a relaxed
or, at least in an easing manner going into the E natural of the subsequent
bar. I played it in my head dozens of times and could not only accept it, but
can "see" doing it in a manner that would "work." But as you point out, even
though the tension of the Eb can be gently released, I still feel strongly
that the energy of the moment, in effect the true climax of the piece occurs
at this spot. I cannot recommend nor play in good conscience a relaxed
resolution. However, I do believe that I am as sensitive as you are about the
impending difficulty that is coming with the final "wieder klinkt." I have
played with lusty sopranos that rang out that "klinkt" with audible abandon,
just as I've played with a young soprano who was lucky to finish this phrase
with any power at all, let alone the very real possibility of cracking on the
"der." You and I both know the difficulty here, and that is what makes it
such a fascinating dilemma. The music is just so heavenly that to spoil this
spot would be criminal. Therefore, I feel that the power of exuberantly
playing that E natural is important, but just as important is releasing that
energy by the 3rd or 4th descending 16th note, thereby giving way to the
singer to utter her final, joyous hurrah to Spring.
It is true that there are dozens of other places in this piece where our
discretion is mandated. In fact, it is one of the great pleasures of this
piece to meld and melt your tone into that of the voice. But that E natural
is not one of them! Seriously, I can't think of a piece of music that gives
me more pleasure to play than this one. It only lacks the "heavenly length"
that Schubert often endowed. But minute for minute, phrase by phrase, this is
the closest to heaven I'll ever get.
Thanks for the fascinating debate and your incredibly erudite arguments.

Sincerely,

Arturo

Tony Pay wrote:

> On Sun, 23 Feb 2003 01:02:29 -0800, deal5@-----.net said:
>
> > However, that D# wants to go to that E just as badly. It is a leading
> > tone in its way, and I for one CRESCENDO on that D# to lead it into
> > the E and then diminuendo subsequently on the descending scale back to
> > C.
>
> This is an interesting musical argument, because it points to the
> watershed between one style of playing classical music and another. I
> spend a lot of time doing my best to represent the one of those styles
> that doesn't make 'wanting to resolve' necessarily imply 'crescendo',
> and I think it's worth making a case for it here, even if only to show
> the sort of thing I mean. I probably won't convince you by argument,
> but that's as it should be, because we're dealing with deeper things
> than words. And as I say at the end, I might even want to concede you
> your point -- after having made some of my own.
>
> First of all, an explanation of *why* you're unlikely to be convinced,
> and a detailed source:
>
> http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Study/Phrasing.html
>
> Another way of looking at that, which might be worth reading first:
>
> http://www.woodwind.org/Databases/Logs/2001/05/000572.txt
>
> Those two references make out a case for the idea that Schubert most
> probably wouldn't have expected his performer to make a crescendo
> reading what he, Schubert wrote at that point, regardless of what else
> was going on.
>
> But of course, that's not enough. The fact that the rules of eighteenth
> century notation imply that you wouldn't *normally* make a crescendo at
> such a point doesn't mean that such a crescendo might not be appropriate
> there as an expressive *breaking* of those rules. (That's why the rules
> are there, in a way, and I explain that in the first reference in
> detail.)
>
> So here is one reason why I think it might be undesirable to make a
> crescendo given the situation. It's the sort of reason that I think
> should be taken notice of more often.
>
> The soprano sings, starting one bar previously, bar 235:
>
> he------/e-el-ler-sie/wie----/ie----de----r/klingt.
>
> The first bar is a top Bb, accompanied by 'tremolo' piano diminished
> chord and our diminished ascending arpeggio. This high note can take
> anything that clarinet and piano can throw at it by way of support, even
> on modern instruments, without being overwhelmed.
>
> But in the next bar, the soprano can be easily overwhelmed, if she
> follows the natural pattern of the words, as of course she should. The
> pitch drops to an E, and the weak and short syllables 'ler sie' await
> the next strong, 'wie', which is again strongly accompanied by both
> piano and clarinet.
>
> If you do a crescendo on the D#, at the end of it you risk obscuring the
> soprano at her weakest. I don't say that you should play the D# without
> tension -- the ability to make a contained, and so unobscuring, yet
> intense sound is a necessary part of a good player's kit -- but the
> tension should actually release just before (rather than going to) the
> 6:4 chord in the next bar, just as the soprano allows the end of the
> syllable 'sie' to release before the next word. She doesn't actually
> *crescendo* on the syllable, even though the next syllable is stronger.
> To do so would be subverting the way words are organised.
>
> Still, how crucial is this argument here? Perhaps not very. Even if
> the soprano is obscured, we've heard what she's singing once or twice
> before, after all. You could even make out a case that her being
> finally overwhelmed by the clarinet is a dramatic sexual metaphor
> (clarinets are better than....:-)
>
> But it *is* crucial at other points in the piece, and at very many
> points in other classical pieces, as I try to make clear in the
> references. Performances that use the 'going to' metaphor as the norm
> particularly damage the clarity and simplicity of the 'Shepherd on the
> Rock', and its clarity and simplicity is an important part of its
> touching quality. Unfortunately, it's rare to encounter a soprano,
> never mind a clarinettist, who understands this. You're better off
> doing it with a good amateur than with a full-blown professional
> interested in showing off her voice at the expense of the words.
>
> Tony
> --
> _________ Tony Pay
> |ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
> | |ay Oxford OX2 6RE http://classicalplus.gmn.com/artists
> tel/fax 01865 553339
>
> ... Mary had a little lamb. The doctor was surprised.
>
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