Klarinet Archive - Posting 000169.txt from 2004/02

From: Tony Pay <tony.p@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] 8 songs for a mad king
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 16:08:15 -0500

In message <20040212171147.93268.qmail@-----.mail.yahoo.com> you wrote:

> I am performing Peter Maxwell Davies' 8 songs for a mad king with my
> university's new music ensemble. There are a lot of extended techniques in
> this piece and I'm not sure how to do some of them. I was wondering if
> anyone has played this piece and could give me some pointers.

Mm, I dug it out, along with the recording the Fires of London made.

It's a lost world, all that. There was this group, first called the Pierrot
Players, then later The Fires of London, working closely with the composers
who wrote for them. That meant that what was written down was sometimes just
a sketch for what was played.

In this case, the extended techniques aren't very precisely imagined by the
composer; and Alan Hacker, for whom it was written, and who first played it,
just did what seemed to work in context. For example, in number 7, where you
have seemingly to play a clarion F and chalumeau B at the same time, a
multiphonic based on the B sufficed for both Max and him. (And if I were
playing the following pianissmo squeaks myself, I'd probably stop up the bell
against my leg and open just the register key in order to match the violin
harmonics, even though Alan didn't.)

I once directed the piece (inasmuch as direction is required), and the
clarinet player found his own solutions, based on context.

One of the things worth remembering is that the vocal score is similarly just
a sketch. The main thrust of the piece lies in the atmosphere of it all, and
you should take your cue from the voice.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd tony.p@-----.org
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE http://classicalplus.gmn.com/artists
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... Women might fake orgasms, but men fake whole relationships.

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