Klarinet Archive - Posting 000175.txt from 2005/04

From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] The test results.
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 10:23:38 -0400

For those who want to hear any or all of the 20 pieces used in
the test, log on to http://dnleeson.woodwind.org/. The 20
excerpts will remain available for the next 30 days.

Item 10, one movement of a concerto by Eybler, is, in my opinion,
a real eye-opener.

Eybler has a small place in musical history because of what he
did NOT do. Following Mozart's death, Mozart's widow first asked
Eybler to complete the Requiem. He agreed, did about four
sections and then gave up. Why he did not finish, no one knows.

When Sussmayr agreed to complete the Requiem, he relied heavily
on those sections that Eybler had done.

Now Eybler is in the backwater of music history, but he could
have been immortal had he finished the job. Item number 10 on
this list demonstrates an exquisite sense of compositional style
and a real feel for melody. I have no idea if the concerto is
published, but if it is, I hope we hear more of it.

My other favorite of those played with item 7, a minor aria from
Fidelio. It is published (along with a number of arias and
ensembles from the opera) by Musica Rara and is, in my opinion,
the finest of all the Harmonie arrangements. The cononical
quartet "Mir ist so wunderbar" is a damn miracle of music, even
in the arrangement. In live performance it is so beautiful that
its pathos borders on the unbearable.

Dan Leeson
DNLeeson@-----.net

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