Klarinet Archive - Posting 000017.txt from 2006/01

From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] RE: Gran Partita
Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2006 09:26:37 -0500

There are indeed tonal considerations. The second basset horn
part descends to low d a total of two time in one passage, and
the passage is heard twice. I am speaking of the first trio in
the first minuet. It is quartet for clarinets and basset horns
and the low note very distinctive. If you know what to expect, it
is instantly recognizable. That is a problem that one has with
four clarinets and you will have to live with it, of course. You
might consider the alternative of using a bass clarinet for the
second movement where the basset horn's low d is heard very
distinctly. I'm not crazy about the solution, but it works. The
question is which is more important: pitch in the wrong register
or pitch in the right register.

There is also one low C in the second basset horn part in the
first movement, but the passage is well covered and no one in the
world will know the difference unless that are extremely familiar
with the work.

As for a preference between the 1st clarinet and 1st basset horn,
keep in mind that the piece was written at the request of a
clarinetist, and many of the most important solos are for that
instrument. I have played all four clarinet parts, and my
personal preference is the 1st basset horn, next the 2nd basset
horn. As a clarinetist, I never enjoyed clarinet as much as the
bass clarinet. Everybody has their own instrumental preferences,
and I liked tenor and bass voices of the instrumental chorus. So
on those occasions that I was asked to play 1st or 2nd clarinet,
I always tried to get out of it. I just don't care for melody
sung or played by the soprano voices of the woodwing instrumental
choir. But the part is beautiful and gives on considerable
opportunity to shine.

Dan Leeson
DNLeeson@-----.net

-----Original Message-----
From: Allan Thompson [mailto:athompson@-----.za]
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2006 12:12 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: [kl] RE: Gran Partita

We are doing the partit(t)a at the end of the month, but with 4
clarinets,
as the promised basset-horns did not materialise. We are also
using the
Barenreiter edition. Apart from tonal considerations, is this a
huge
compromise, or does this version work well? Also, given a choice
between
clarinet 1 and basset 1 (clarinet 3), which would be the
preferred part to
play?

Allan Thompson

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