 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: claclaws
Date: 2004-12-02 18:29
(This is a thread related to sfalexi's previous posting on Stanley Drucker.)
Frankly I'm embarrassed to ask the following questions, sorry for my ignorance, but I can't resist..
1. Stanley Drucker
I knew his name only from some of the scores I have (ex. Mozart 6 Duets). So apparently he's a multi-tasker,then how many tasks was/is he involved in, other than principal clarinet at NY phil and arranger of music pieces?
2. Poulenc sonata
As a novice clarinet player, I'm at the stage where I say to myself "hey, this is a famous piece, so I must listen to this!" ..even though it's not really to my taste, and I'm having hard time understanding any beauty in the music..Poulenc sonata is like that for me. I wish I can say I love it, but I can't at this moment, and it might trigger my bias against French clarinet music all together.
So, to what should I focus so that I can enjoy the piece more and appreciate it better? More on the emotional side (like broken hearts and so forth), or more on the musical analysis? or will reading critiques help?
Lucy Lee Jang
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2004-12-02 23:24
The Poulenc sonata is a very interesting piece. It was written right at the end of Poulenc's life and certainly seems to contain many of the ingredients of this composer's eclectic (even paradoxical) approach. Here are some of my thoughts about it:
Poulenc was a memeber of "Les Six", a group of French composers who's compositions were a reaction to the extremely "heavy" and serious music of late Romantic German composers. In contrast to 5-hour Wagner operas based on Nordic mythology, or Mahler symphonies with hundrends of musicians which tried to express the entire world in a single genre, "Les Six" wrote minatures for small ensembles or solo instruments. Their music often had a satirical, humorous and even cynical character.
But Poulenc was also a devout Catholic, and he wrote large pieces in which he expressed his religious beliefs. His famous opera "Dialogues des Carmelites" tells the tragic story about the execution of the Carmelite nuns in France. In the Clarinet Sonata the middle section of the 1st movment contains a quote from Poulenc's 'Stabat Mater', and the main melody from the second movement is a paraphrase of one of the sections from his 'Gloria'.
Poulenc was also a manic depressive! He also composed a lot of Chansons, and was a complete master of this genre.
So there are all these elements- satire, spirituality, emotion, melody- all of which appear in the Clarinet Sonata. In fact, sometimes they are juxtaposed rapidly from one bar to the next so that you are thrown from the exotic to the macabre to the circus within just a few seconds!
There are also passages which are really paradoxical, in that they express more than one emotion at once. This can be seen just from the title of the first movement "Allegro Tristamente". How can something be lively and sad at the same time? But look at Poulenc's metronome marking- quarter=136! Is this a mistake? Usually the metronome jumps from 132 to 138. But if you listen to majority of recrdings most clarinetists play much faster than 136. I believe that 136 is the correct tempo. Rather than playing the melodies too fast and in a "bouncy and satirical" way, when played at the correct tempo with a singing legato-but maintaining a strict dotted rhythm!- these passages become both sad and lively at once.
I hope that if you listen out for all these things, as well as to other works by Poulenc, it might enhance your enjoyment of this piece? I wouldn't let it trigger any kind of bias towards French music though- Saint-Saens, Bizet, Rameau, Gounod, Couperin, Ravel, Boulez, Franck and Messiaen all wrote completely different music!
Post Edited (2004-12-02 23:25)
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Author: donald
Date: 2004-12-02 23:30
YES! what a great posting. i can think of about 5000 clarinet players (mostly undergrad students) who could pay attention to what you wrote Liqourice...
donald
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Author: steve s
Date: 2004-12-03 00:03
that indeed was an excellent post about the Poulenc. I think it is also necessary for a clarinetist to be familiar with the corresponding oboe and flute sonatas as well. If I'm not mistaken, Poulenc was gay. this was during a time when diversity in sexual preference was not as freely accepted as it is today. The expression of multiple layers of emotion could have been a characteristic that Poulenc was very familiar with.
I think it is best to listen to the Sonata late at night while drinking brandy.
s.
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Author: VermontJM
Date: 2004-12-03 01:17
I am working on this piece right now...
Here's what we discussed about it-
The piece is in memorium to a friend of his. We took the first movement to be like this--- The first part is like remembering the good times with this friend and the fun that may have been had. The slow middle section is like remembering that he is gone and will never be back, so it's sad. The last section (it says to play monotone) is like remembering those happy times again, but it's no longer a happy memory because there is a numbness - like the memories are now tainted by the sadness.
I love the second movement- I just think it's gorgeous.
I love the third movement and I like to think of it as "cheeky" - like an obstinant 5 year old who wants to get his own way, and one second is sticking out his tongue and say "neh neh neh neh neh neh" and the next is trying to be all nice and sweet and lovey... only to go back to his old ways and be thumbing his nose at you again... I think it's funny.
Good luck- it took me a while to really love this piece, but I think it's great now!!
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Author: claclaws
Date: 2004-12-03 02:00
Thank you for your wonderful inputs. I'll print this out and read while listening to the Poulenc sonata again.
Lucy Lee Jang
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Author: Squirrel
Date: 2004-12-03 04:22
*grin* Absolutely perfect timing on the excellent posts about the first movement, I played it for my end-of-year exam yesterday. Ah well, next time I play it I'll keep the info in mind
I've always loved the third movement of the sonata because it feels to me like a hyperactive sort of "look what I can do! Look what I can do!" piece, at least the recording I've got of it (Michael Collins). I've never heard a recording of it that sounds quite as lively though, so I think it must just be the way that he and his accompanist play, but if anyone can point out another recording that has the same sort of feel to it, I'd be delighted.
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Author: Tim2
Date: 2004-12-05 03:15
When I was 18 years old, I picked up a recording (vinal) of the Poulenc Sonata. The clarinetist was Andre Boutard. Don't know the pianist but it had the oboe sonata and the Aubaude for 18 instruments on the disc also.
I've heard many other recordings of the Poulenc since but Andre Boutard's recording has a third movement that has that "look what I can do! Look what I can do!" feeling. The tempo flies and the excitement never stops. Don't know if it is on CD.
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-12-06 18:59
That Boutard record was on NONSUCH... I have a copy of it..very fine french playing. Vibrato is very much in evidence. Boutard taught Desplus in Paris in the 50s.
David Dow
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2004-12-07 07:05
If you have trouble with the Poulenc clarinet sonata, follow steve's advice and listen to the flute and oboe sonatas; Poulenc seems to have pulled a Vivaldi on them.
It's a cool piece nonetheless, one of my favorites.
The Ronald Van Spaendonck recording is also quite nice.
As for liking a piece in general, I find it a very personal matter. I try to absorb myself in a piece, especially by playing through it in my head without my horn. Then, I either begin to like it and think of all the cool things I can do with it, or hate it, and think of all the passages with bitter sarcasm. Either way, it adds some character
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2004-12-07 08:46
Also very recommended is the Poulenc clarinet duo I think for Bb and A clarinets. It's a pretty short piece but really great!
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