Klarinet Archive - Posting 000203.txt from 2010/05

From: "Dan Leeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Clarinets for Stravinsky and DeFalla?
Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 18:02:59 -0400

I thank Lelia for summarizing the clarinet requirements of both the De Falla
and the Stavinsky work. I want to comment on the Stravinsky.

She is correct in reporting the three clarinets in A plus a bass clarinet in
B-flat. That is exactly the kind of instrumentation that calls for a bass
clarinet in A, which allows all four players to be in the same key, thereby
uncomplicating the task of the composer.

I suspect that Stravinskyh requested the bass clarinet in B-flat because he
probably believed that either there was no such instrument or else that it
was unlikely to find a player who owned one.

Keith Bowen, who recently did a Master's dissertation on the bass clarinet
in A, probably realizes this anomaly better than I, Yet at the same time,
and in defense of Stravinsky, Strauss will, on occasion, have six clarinets
playing in three different keys, for example 1 in D and E-flat, 2 in B-flat,
2 in A, and a bass in both B-flat and A.

Makes life difficult for the composer and somewhat confusing for the
players.

Dan Leeson

_______________________________________________
Klarinet mailing list
Klarinet@-----.com
http://klarinet-list.serve-music.com