Klarinet Archive - Posting 000266.txt from 2008/11

From: Richard D Bush <rbushidioglot@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Alternatives to bassoon for a quintet?
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:31:42 -0500

It has been mentioned that the bass clarinet doesn't cover the very =20
lowest notes of the bassoon range when considering substituting bass =20
cl. for bsn. A bass clarinet to written low C does and could be used. =20=

I play both clarinet and bassoon. I also own a Selmer bass clarinet =20
that extends to a written low C. My concert about using bass clarinet =20=

as a substitute instrument is that the bass clarinet sound does not =20
have (in the hands of many players) the strength, volume or body in =20
the second and third registers as the bassoon does. In the hands of a =20=

good player, it might work well to a point, but they're so very =20
different in sound you'd be losing a lot of the intended blends of =20
oboe/bassoon, fl/bassoon, etc. At best, we're talking about an apple/=20
orange type substitution. Nothing sounds like nor can really replace =20
the sound of the bassoon. If I absolutely needed to play woodwind =20
quintets, and I think they're fantastic, I probably would opt for a =20
substitute instrument. Anything would be better than not being able to =20=

play this body of wonderful literature, so I can understand and =20
appreciate why people would look for practical substitutes.

Richard Bush
(Who makes some pretty fine bassoon reeds that are for sale at =20
reasonable prices.)

On Nov 15, 2008, at 3:55 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

How about performing "Mladi" with Bass and contra-alto clarinets, alto =20=

clarinet on the horn part, Bb and 2 c's on the flute and oboe lines. =20=

(Or even transpose the flute for Eb. Now THERE'S a clarinet sextet!
Martin
On 15 Nov 2008, at 08:18, Bear Woodson wrote:

> I had an excellent experience in substituting a Bb Bass
> Clarinet for the bassoon in my "Second Woodwind Quintet"
> some years ago. Soon after moving here to Tucson, I
> discovered that there were only a few bassoonists available,
> and NONE could perform Difficult Modern Music with
> Hindemith / Bart=F3k styled harmonies. But Dr. Enid Blount
> gave a GLORIOUS performance on the May 1999 recording
> on a Bass Clarinet! It was such a wonderful performance, that
> I fell in love with the timbre of the Bass Clarinet, and have
> used it as a Substitute in other works that normally require
> bassoon, and have given more Solos to the Bass Clarinet in
> later symphonic works.
>
> "Second Woodwind Quintet"
> (Sept. 1997, 5 mvts, 18 1/2 min.)
> (Written for Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, Horn in F, and either
> Bassoon or Bb Bass Clarinet. The May 1999 recording uses
> the Bass Clarinet played beautifully by Dr. Enid Blount.)
>
> Then I had the wonderful experience of writing my
> Clarinet Sextet for Professor Joze Kotar of Slovenia. I made
> the third (and last) movement to be a Set of Variations, where
> a different player gets to be a Soloist for a whole variation,
> while the others accompany.
>
> "Sextet for Clarinet Ensemble" (Aug. 2003, 3 mvts., 18' 30")
> for Professor Joze Kotar and the Slovenian Clarinet Sextet
> scoring
>
> 1 E-Flat Sopranino Clarinet,
> 2 B-Flat Soprano Clarinets,
> 1 E-Flat Alto Clarinet,
> 1 B-Flat Bass Clarinet,
> 1 B-Flat Contra Bass Clarinet
> (plus an Alternate E-Flat Contralto Clarinet Part, for the
> benefit of future performances.) (I'm considering re-scoring
> this work for Double Reeds someday, but we are still waiting
> for a first live performance and recording.)
>
> I am even making a point to prepare my Contra Bassoon
> Concerto to be readily transcribable to either Bb Contra
> Bass Clarinet, Eb Contralto Clarinet or sounding an octave
> higher for Bassoon or Bb Bass Clarinet, without interfering
> with the tenor and bass melody lines in the Orchestral, nor
> Piano Reduction, Versions. The First Movement has been
> done for some months, at over 12 minutes, but I still need
> to get back to finishing the 2nd and 3rd movements, with
> plans to total about 25 minutes. (There are sketches for
> more of my Complex Counterpoint in the 3rd Movement.)
>
> I've also been having fun writing a Double-Reed Septet
> with either Conventional or a Few Rare Instruments in the
> scoring:
>
> Double-Reed Septet
> 2 Oboes,
> 2 English Horns,
> 2 Bassoons and
> 1 Contra Bassoon.
>
> OR:
>
> 2 Oboes,
> Oboe d'Amore (OR English Horn 1),
> English Horn 2,
> Bassoon 1 (OR Heckelphone, OR Bass Oboe),
> Bassoon 2, and
> 1 Contra Bassoon.
>
> I plan this Double-Reed Septet to have at least 6 move-
> ments and total about 40 minutes, not unlike the Mozart
> Gran Partitta, but in Bart=F3k / Hindemith harmony. Like the
> Contra Bassoon Concerto, the First Movement of this work
> has also been done for months, at a total of over 9 minutes,
> but I started putting more of my signature Complex Counter-
> point in the Second Movement, and that has been slowing
> down the writing process. But when it's all done, and has
> been performed and recorded in the Original Double Reed
> Version, I'll probably want to transcribe it to an All Clarinet
> Ensemble!
>
> Like all my Chamber Works, ALL the players share
> equally in having Solos, so we'd get to hear more of that
> wonderful Low Clarinet Playing!
>
> I gotta get back to the Happy Farm. The Space Aliens are
> putting on a Puppet Show tonight!
>
>
> Bear Woodson
> Composer in Tucson, Arizona, USA
>
> Home: 520 - 881 - 2558
> "Bear Woodson" <bearwoodson@-----.net>
>
> "I don't know why people are so excited about
> 'Going Green' suddenly now in 2008! I can prove
> I've been doing it for decades! Just look inside the
> bottom of my refrigerator!" - Bear Woodson (2008)
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>

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