Klarinet Archive - Posting 000412.txt from 2004/08

From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Bass clarinet in A
Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2004 22:06:38 -0400

David's comment are very penetrating. But I would be interested
in knowing about the "all kinds of arguments against the Bass
Clarinet in A." It is also possible to point out several uses of
the b.c. in A in Mahler symphonies for which one cannot draw any
conclusion other than the one which asserts that Mahler, like
Ravel, was equally sensitive to and precise about tonal color.
This is particularly true in Mahler 4.

I am not disputing David's remarks, only suggesting that they are
not broad enough in terms of composers who have used the b.c. in
A for precisely the reason he suggests Ravel selected (and with
which I very much concur).

Dan Leeson
DNLeeson@-----.net

-----Original Message-----
From: duffyl@-----.ca]
Sent: Saturday, August 14, 2004 6:53 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Bass clarinet in A

To: Mark Weinstein

From David Dow
Symphony NB
Principal Clarinet

There have all kinds of arguements against the Bass Clarinet in A
but the
very best reasoning for it is Ravel himself. As a composer he
was most
precise about tonal colour and therefore his intentions in Works
like La
Valse to include the Bass in A is testimony to the tonal colour
he was in
search for. Stravinsky in his interviews with Robert Craft also
further
amplifies a number of aspects about Ravel's orchestration and the
genius
behind his choices for orchestration.

As to the sound of the A Bass I certainly think it would be
capable of as
great a sound as the regular Bb provided the player has chops
etc.

David Dow

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