Klarinet Archive - Posting 000308.txt from 2005/07

From: John Dablin <jdablin@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Wind Band Music: Solo Clarinet vs. Clarinet 4
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2005 14:16:12 -0400

On Wednesday 27 Jul 2005 18:39, Adam Michlin wrote:
> Dear List,
>
> I am in the process of finishing off a wind band transcription of an
> orchestral piece. For various reasons, I ended up with 4 Soprano Bb
> clarinet parts and am trying to decide whether to indicate them as
> 1-4 Bb Clarinet or Solo, 1-3 Bb Clarinet.
>
[ snip ]

Traditional British military band scores in 20th Century have four
parts: solo, rep (or 1st), 2nd and 3rd. Paradoxically the solo stand
usually has two players, the "bumper-up" player being important to
allow the top player to rest at times, particularly before big solos,
and to turn the pages.

The "rep" part (short for repiano, a corruption of ripieno) often only
has one player. Rep parts sometimes double the solo, sometimes play an
octave lower, or in harmony with the solo. The 2nd and 3rd parts are
what you would expect.

I believe this instrumentation was defined at meeting of service band
masters at Kneller Hall in the 1920s. In the last 10 or 20 years,
however, British composers seem to have started writing just 3 clarinet
parts, probably with an eye to the American market.

I've also seen scores recently with four clarinet parts marked 1, 2, 3
and 4, but that is unusual.

Not sure if this helps you with your decision, though.

John Dablin
Aylesbury UK
(No 1 Regional Band RAF, 1963 - 1969)

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