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Carmen Suites: Bflat/A

Author: Micaela
Date: 2003-03-02 02:33

My youth orchestra is playing a bunch of movements from the Carmen Suites for our next concert. The most difficult for the clarinets is the Danse Boheme. We have parts in B flat, but the principal clarinetist thinks that it was originally for A clarinet. Is this right? Our orchestra requires us to have A clarinets so we usually don't get transposed parts. But if it is for A, is it easier than the B flat version? (Usually I'm not this lazy; it's just my school musical's rehearsing now and I have no time to practice.)

And that infamous F#/G# trill in Les dragons d'Alcala: was it playable on the clarinets of Bizet's time or did he just not know enough about clarinets to write this movement for A clarinet?

Thanks for reading,
Micaela

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Re: Carmen Suites: Bflat/A

Author: GBK
Date: 2003-03-02 03:42

Micaela...Here are 2 other F#/G# trill fingerings you could try (response and tuning vary on different clarinets):

Play F#: TR 1 2 3 / x x 3 + Eb/G# key
Trill to G# by adding the left pinky G# key

This fingering is less flat than just using the regular F# and trilling to G#

Also, try playing F# with the standard fingering and trill to G# by lifting the 1st finger in the left hand.

Good luck - Take your pick...GBK

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Re: Carmen Suites: Bflat/A

Author: Micaela
Date: 2003-03-02 14:40

That's interesting...actually, it's not my solo. I'm assistant principal. My teacher said that the principal would have to transpose it to A. She was going to attempt to find trill fingerings this week (we only got the piece last Sunday); I'll tell her about these. Since it's our Side By Side concert with the Syracuse Symphony, neither of us might get it. Thanks.

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Re: Carmen Suites: Bflat/A

Author: Larry Liberson
Date: 2003-03-02 17:33

Post Edited (2006-12-09 19:01)

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Re: Carmen Suites: Bflat/A

Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2003-03-03 14:28

My high school orchestra conductor was principal clarinet in the local symphony. When we played the Carmen Suite, he told me to transpose on the A clarinet, and I've never looked back. In return for a little more difficulty, you get the pure G/A trill, and also trade the nasty G#/A trill and turn down to F# at the end for easy A/Bb trill with a the turn to G.

Best regards.

Ken Shaw

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