 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Robert Moody
Date: 2005-03-29 21:12
I am in the woodwind quintet in our band here at Fort Monroe. We are playing the Ibert Quintet for an upcoming recital in April. Because another group within the band went and performed without being properly rehearsed, our commander has decided to listen to all of the groups before each recital and give a yay or nay for their participating.
This was the first time our group (all new to the quintet here) has played under any kind of pressure and you could sense the nervousness in our playing. The commander made a number of comments a couple of which were: in the technical passages it sounds like we're each playing on our own instead of as a group and that we were not always musical.
That is all fine and dandy and no-one in the group disagrees that it wasn't our best. But in our next rehearsal, while discussing the comments by the commander, it came out that the flute player and I were the ones not being musical in our little duet that is the second movement. This slightly ticked me off but I wanted to be diplomatic in my straightening of this person out. Here were my points and I look forward to any comments or input from those who have played the piece in any form.
1. This is Ibert, not Brahms, and it is primarily a flute solo with clarinet accompaniment. There is only so much musical depth to it to begin with.
2. Ibert uses dynamics from ppp to fff in the piece. While the flute has a single forte in the movement, most of the music is mp to ppp. Musicality wherein dynamics are concerned suggest a somewhat simpler expression.
3. In the clarinet accompaniment he has long portions of either descending scales over an octave or mundane dotted-quarter eighth-note patterns. Where he allows a little play in counter-melody or dissonance against the melody, we both naturally play towards and away from them.
4. "I'll tell you what: If you think it's unmusical then I am happy to hear your specific suggestions as to make it musical. Just saying it is unmusical is to insult us. Right now, I am frustrated with trying to figure out what we can do with these notes that makes it any deeper than what Ibert gives us to work with. Personally, I do not think he is seeking a Brahmsian depth here but rather a contrast through simplicity to the outer two movements."
Any of you who've played the piece, did you find some special musical depth that seems to be alluding us?
Comments are welcome.
Robert Moody
http://www.musix4me.com
Free Clarinet Lessons and Digital Library!
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-03-29 22:08
Robert -
I love the second movement of the Ibert, but I don't hear it as a flute solo with clarinet accompaniment.
The first movement is like vigorous sex. In the second movement, the lovers light up cigarettes and watch the two trails of smoke rise and intertwine in the afterglow. (In the third movement, they razz the bluenoses.)
Ken Shaw
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Author: FredR
Date: 2005-03-29 22:49
Although I'm not a pro I'll humbly (and reluctantly) offer my opinion.
I too love the 2cnd mvmt, but I think of it more like a Bach 2 part invention, where the parts rise and fall based on the flow of the music. I confess I don't follow the dynamics Ibert wrote to letter sometimes abandoning them altogether bringing my part out over the flute. It may not be "correct" but I think it adds some emotion and depth to the piece.
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Author: graham
Date: 2005-03-30 11:03
It's certainly not romantic or gushing, but it could be tender and nuanced. In that sense it is a musical passage. Both players should aim for vanishingly quiet playing in large parts of this movement. If that delicacy doesn't please your man, play him a bit of Reicha or Danzi, as that might be up (or should I say down) his particular street.
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Author: contragirl
Date: 2005-04-02 05:57
Dammit... I said I-bert when I first read that name. I sight read it for someone's conducting class last year.
I-Bert.... bah
--CG
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Author: Robert Moody
Date: 2005-04-02 18:54
First update, the French Horn player has not mentioned another word since I put the question to him as to exactly what is not musical about our playing. The flute player teased me that "You almost made him cry, you meanie."
Other update is that I have since listened to a number of groups attempt to make music out of the piece and while it can be lovely, I do not hear any great depth of musical expression coming through. In the best cases it delights in its simplicity and lyrical lines. In the worst some tries seem convoluted attempting to make it over operatic in nature. When noticeable, the clarinet invariably runs over into and covers up the flute line.
I sat down with the oboe player listening to some recordings and he agrees with me, not from fear have you. He has no problem making his opinion known and in conflict with mine.
Lastly, the flute player has played for me her line and given me her ideas of where she is going with it. I feel I have a better idea of where to bring mine out and where to sit back, adding complimentary nuance to her ideas.
Robert Moody
http://www.musix4me.com
Free Clarinet Lessons and Digital Library!
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2005-04-02 22:56
I have played this piece in public probably 100 times. I was in a 'travelling" woodwind quintet, associated with the Toledo SYmphony, and we used this piece often, especially in the concerts where we "introduced the instruments".
This is Ibert, not Brahms...don't try to make too much of it. It's a lovely flute "aria" with a moving clarinet accompaniment. Play it smoothly, with some, but not exaggerated rubato. The clarinet has to play "beneath" the flute and with a soft, velvety, tone.
Make it lyrical and let the melody express itself.
Audiences usually love it - then go on to the acrobatics of the third movement.
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
world class clarinet mouthpieces
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