 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: poopsie
Date: 2005-10-05 00:09
Would it be wise to set up a woodwind quintet with the following instrumentation: Eb clarinet (instead of flute), Bb clarinet, Soprano sax (instead of bassoon), oboe, and alto sax (instead of French Horn)?
~~~Edit
Thanks for your comments! Okay, now for another spin on a question. Is there a good way to combine an oboe, two clarinets, and two saxes in a group with normal instrumentation?
Post Edited (2005-10-05 23:51)
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Author: clarinetist04
Date: 2005-10-05 00:28
not too good i don't think. especially the soprano sax for the bassoon. they sound nothing alike; not even in the same range.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-10-05 00:30
I can understand most, however I would be most cautious about the substitute for the french horn. That's a VERY delicate instrument to try to replace . . .
Alexi
But if it's just because you DON'T have the other instruments, and still want to play the piece, I say play it however you can, instead of the alternative of NOT playing it all.
US Army Japan Band
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Author: johnsonfromwisconsin
Date: 2005-10-05 00:35
having an alto saxophone as the lowest instrument in the ensemble, along with three soprano instruments and a soprillo is probably not the greatest recipe for overall balance.
I'd recommend possibly a bass clarinet, or a tenor or baritone saxophone instead of the soprano sax. IIRC, the bass clarinet will probably have fewer issues with range wrt the bassoon's.
-JfW
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2005-10-05 04:33
I've always thought that flute, soprano sax, clarinet, horn and bass clarinet would be an interesting quintet...
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-10-05 04:57
I'm thinking of the logistical nightmare of transcribing all those parts for the proposed instrumentation.
I'm fortunate to have a ww5 in our town, and love the instrumentation as it is.
That is not to say, however, that your chosen combo couldn't be made to sound wonderful. BUT, it would take a lot of creative work to do/redo the orchestrations.
I'm reminded of advice I recieved to form a ww5:
Run an ad in the local papers that says, "Woodwind Quinted forming. Need oboe, flute, bassoon and french horn plyers."
Bob Phillips
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Author: susieray
Date: 2005-10-05 05:58
Our quintet used a bari sax in place of the bassoon when our bassoonist was out of town for three weeks. It actually wan't too bad!
Sue ![[happy]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley12.gif)
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2005-10-05 06:46
Poopsie, for what purpose?
I also think you meant for playing woodwind quintets but maybe you meant for composing to this quintet?
Either way, I don't like saxophone that much, so I won't give my advice.
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Author: Ron Jr.
Date: 2005-10-05 13:48
Poopsie,
With two instruments pitched in Eb, two in Bb, and one in C, someone will be playing in a very remote key. Hopefully that person will not be sightreading.
Also I think there would be serious sound balance issues: since the oboe and soprano sax have a similarly pungent sound both of them combined will sound intense. The Eb clarinet on top of them would add more shrillness to an already bright tonal palette. The Bb clarinet would help to moderate the sound by disappearing tonally, but then the Eb alto sax would yet again pump up the intensity and shrillness. I just don't think it would sound good at all.
However, I'm always curious to hear different instrument combinations.
Merlin Williams said:
"I've always thought that flute, soprano sax, clarinet, horn and bass clarinet would be an interesting quintet..."
I agree entirely. The soprano sax would substitute for the oboe well. They both have similar tonal qualities. And if the soprano sax has a "classical music setup" the soprano could sound even more convincing. Bass clarinet would give a darker tone to the overall ensemble than the bassoon.
The whole ensemble would sound familiar, yet different.
Ron jr.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-10-05 13:52
Maybe if you played a metal clarinet with a power barrel along with your original ideas for instrumentation, you can just have a very LOUD quintet.........
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2005-10-05 15:29
I actually did sub into a WW5 once on bass clarinet, covering for the bassoonist in an emergency. I just read straight out of concert bass clef.
Reading up a tone on soprano sax is not too big a deal either.
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Author: sömeone
Date: 2005-10-06 03:37
Have you heard of Calefax (http://www.calefax.nl/home_en.asp?lang=en)?
Without a bass instrument it simply won't work. Alto sax replacing bassoon will be much better than soprano sax doing so if you have no choice. Good luck!
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