Klarinet Archive - Posting 000271.txt from 2005/02

From: "David Glenn" <davidglenn@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Am I confused or just seeing things
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 17:40:26 -0500

> I'm working on a paper that I'll probably submit to The Clarinet
> magazine on this matter of the two dots over the high b-flat in
> the Winterthur draft of the basset horn concerto in G. To lay
> the groundwork for the importance of this Winterthur draft, I
> give an image of measures 108 (for context only) and 109, this
> latter measure showing a dramatic pitch change from the
> traditional version of K. 622 on the sixth note of the measure
> and which is played more and more frequently today. It is
> clearly an f-natural and not the f-sharp that has been played for
> close to two centuries.
>
> In explaining the matter further, I also show the parallel
> passages in the clarinet concerto in which that same sequence of
> pitches occurs (or are supposed to occur if one presumes that
> parallel passages should be identical).
>
> The first one is in the first/second violins and flute at m. 159.
> The second one, also for first/second violins and flute occurs at
> m. 244.
>
> The problem is with the final one, at least in the Bärenreiter
> edition. It occurs at m. 297 in a much lower register for basset
> clarinet or as low as is practical on a traditional clarinet.
> But there, the sequence of the fifth to sixth notes is only a
> half step instead of the full step in the three previous parallel
> passages.
>
> That seems awfully strange. I never noticed it before.
>
> Am I confused or did the editor make a decision that I can't
> understand.
>
> A possible consideration is that the editor recognized that this
> fourth presentation of the passage is not present in the
> Winterthur manuscript and, thus, he had no authority to change it
> in the clarinet concerto. I suppose that could account for it.
>
> Any ideas???
>
> Dan Leeson
> DNLeeson@-----.net
> ++++++++++++++++++

Hi Dan,

Just working off the old mails and found this one. At the time, I didn't
have much time for it, sorry!

Until I saw the Winterthur MS, I always felt guilty about playing that F
natural in bar 109 which is even wrong in Alan Hacker's Schott edition which
supposedly quotes the Winterthur MS. Therefor you can see that I have too
little respect for authority. With this in mind, I hope you forgive me when
you read the following.

Bar 244 is different from 109 in that the 6th to the 7th notes are a whole
tone instead of a half. That (or what you mentioned about the interval
between the 5th and 6th notes) never seemed important to me. What seemed
important to me is that, in contrast to bars 109 and 297, bar 244 ends with
a minor scale up instead of a major (9th, 11th and 13th notes).

But what has always really bothered me about the passage 296-303 was the
wierd jump almost two octaves up in the middle of the passage. That is much
different than all the other occurances of this theme! In fact, the last
times I performed the concerto, I transposed bars 296 and 297 up an octave
and adjusted bars 298 and 299 so that the passage concurred with the passage
108-111. This requires the clarinet to descend to a basset D and that was
part of my rationale for trying to get away with this criminal act. I think
I even mentioned this on the list at one point. I realize that it is
scandalous but I thought my guess was as good as anybody's...

Don't know if you find any of this useful but I thought I would share it
with you just in case. If it was useful, you'll have to pay for your own
pizza next time.

Best regards,
David

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