Klarinet Archive - Posting 000202.txt from 2004/04
From: hbleich@-----.edu
Subj: RE: [kl] RE: Tchaikovsky 6
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 10:50:55 -0400
-----Original Message-----
From: Lacy, Edwin [mailto:el2@-----.edu]
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 1:56 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: [kl] RE: Tchaikovsky 6
3rd attempt to get the list to accept this message:
In response to:
> Can anyone speak authoritatively about the practice of replacing the
> bassoon with bass clarinet for the last four notes before the
> development section in the first movement? I may need ammunition to
> convince a conductor and a principal bassoon.
Dan Leeson wrote:
<<<First it is true that it is only four notes, but the transition works
more
smoothly when the last note of the clarinet solo is doubled by the bass
clarinet. This makes the transition without the slightest break.
Second, there is no authority for doing this but it has become the standard
prace in Russia, the U.S. and most European orchestras. It's a pain in the
neck for the bass clarinetist because there is nothing else to do for 40
minutes.>>>
I am primarily a bassoonist, and have played the Tchaik. 6 many times,
including a performance just a few months ago. I once played the infamous
four notes, but on all the other occasions, the bass clarinet has played
them. On the most recent occasion, the bass clarinetist wasn't present in
the first rehearsal, so I played the passage on bassoon. That reinforced
for me that I am very doubtful that any bassoonist would prefer to play
those notes. It is a very difficult task, because the first clarinetist can
usually play the preceding notes so softly. If the principal clarinetist
and principal bassoonist get along well, the clarinetist may be convinced to
play at not quite the lowest limit of their dynamic range, providing that
the conductor will permit it. Or perhaps the clarinetist can be bribed with
a pizza or a couple of beers or both. That could give the bassoonist a
fighting chance. Otherwise, the bassoonist will probably be content just to
admire the ability of the clarinet and the bass clarinet to play extremely
softly in the lower register.
Ed Lacy
University of Evansville
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