Klarinet Archive - Posting 000353.txt from 2003/12

From: Dan Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Schirmer Ed. of Handel's Messiah
Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 09:47:43 -0500

I know nothing of the man himself, but it was his belief (as was true
for many people from the English romantic period) that Handel and Mozart
and just about everybody else, had no idea of how to score for an
orchestra. So he took the Messiah (for example) and added another 20
orchestral players, mostly in the brass. For example, Handel has no
trombones in the Messiah. Coopersmith chose to use 3. Horns? Handel
none, Coopersmith 4.

What the English wanted in orchestral music at that time was essentially
what they wanted in the typic English rich man's breakfast: 4 courses of
everything including eggs, bacon, kippers, etc. And this was warmly
greeted by the music loving public.

Characterize this with Mozart's arrangement of the Messiah. In
Mozart's case the arrangement was done for a particular church setting
that did not have an organ. So he put in a full wind section, but not
because he felt that Handel had missed the boat. Only that he needed
the additional instruments to provide what the missing organ could not
provide.

With Coopersmith, what he wanted was a Wagnerian orchestral sound for
everything. I mean, once you have heard Ride of the Walkyries, do you
think you are going to settle for Handalian tinkle??

The English also began to modify stage works such as Don Giovanni and
Magic Flute. There were presented as "The famous opera 'Magic Flute' of
Mr. Mozart improved by Mr. Coopersmith." Would you believe the Queen of
the Night Aria with a bass drum?

As a child, I saw the remants of that whole mistaken idea in
performances by the NY Philharmonic where a Mozart symphony would be
given doubled winds and 12 string basses. They were falling off the
stage of Carnegie hall.

Dan

Forest Aten wrote:

> Dan,
>
> What do you know about the man, Coopersmith? He seems to have done a lot of
> editing and arrangements from Handel's time period.
>
> Forest
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dan Leeson" <leeson0@-----.net>
> To: <klarinet@-----.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2003 6:17 AM
> Subject: Re: [kl] Schirmer Ed. of Handel's Messiah
>
>
>
>>There are many editions of Handel's Messiah for which Handel was not the
>>arranger. I think the Schirmer edition was compiled and arranged by a
>>man named Coopersmith, so it is called the Coopersmith edition. It has
>>a clarinet part, but that does not mean that it is the edition that
>>Stacy=Michelle needs. Mozart's arrangement of the Messiah has a
>>clarinet part. You have to know exactly what edition you will be playing
>> and having a clarinet part from some other edition is not going to do
>>you any good.
>>
>>Dan
>>
>>
>>Ormondtoby Montoya wrote:
>>
>>>Stacy-Michelle wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Clarinet 1 part to the Handel's Messiah,
>>>>Schirmer Ed. [snip] where I can find it on
>>>>short notice??
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Is this what you're looking for? I found it on SheetMusicPlus's web
>>>site:
>>>
>>>==========
>>>
>>>Handel - Messiah (Oratorio, 1741) Your price $4.95 Lead time before
>>>shipment 3 to 5 business days
>>>
>>>About Messiah (Oratorio, 1741) - Clarinet Part. By George Frideric
>>>Handel. (Clarinet). Choral Large Works. Size 9x12 inches. 36 pages.
>>>Published by G. Schirmer, Inc. (50342570)
>>>
>>>Composed in 1742, Handel's Messiah remains the epitome of the modern
>>>oratorio. An awesome masterpiece, it combines choruses, arias, and
>>>recitatives into a huge lyric work altogether nondenominational in
>>>character.
>>>
>>
>>--
>>Dan Leeson
>>leeson0@-----.net

--
Dan Leeson
leeson0@-----.net

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