Klarinet Archive - Posting 000228.txt from 2004/05

From: "Thiel, Mark" <mark.thiel@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] mixed clarinet quartets and quintets
Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 17:27:40 -0400

Diane wrote:
> Would anyone care to make some recommendations for some mixed clarinet

>quartets or quintets (Eb/2 or 3 Bb/bass clarinet) that they've enjoyed

>playing (should any of you been nuts enough to try that)?=20
You'd have to be nuts not to -- small clarinet ensembles are a lot of
fun.
=20
> I've run =20
>through a couple databases and have titles of several, but the only one

>that meant anything to me was not an option for several reasons :-(. =20
>The weakest players among us are roughly early college level

Clare Grundman wrote a couple of nice short quartets, one SSSS and one
SSSB I think.

For that level of players the collections by Voxman/Rubank are worth
considering. There are SSSS and SSAB quartet books and a set of SSS(S
or A)B quintet books.

It's strange how seldom the readily available quartets and quintets call
for an Eb, though a lot of the pro groups I've heard recordings of use
eefers fairly often. It's also notable that while published
arrangements almost always call for Eb alto, the pro groups generally
use bassett horn if they need this range; but that's easily
attributable to the nerd factor -- the pros probably know they could get
the right ensemble sound with an alto - they just don't want to be seen
with one.

Mark Thiel

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