 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-09-06 14:51
I've just made my first pass through the Rose 32 and started digging into th Ernesto Cavallini Thirty Caprices.
The contrast is startling. The Rose etudes are very musical and call for expressiveness and subtlety in performance. The Cavallini, however, is 'way out there for me. I don't "get" them.
They seem long, repetitious and uninteresting. For example, #3, consists mostly of a progression of repeated (play each twice) minor 7th arpeggios.
What am I missing? Is the player supposed to vary the phrasing, slip the rhythm? Or is the aim to simply play the same dit de-ah dit rhythm along for 3 minutes?
Bob Phillips
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Author: GBK
Date: 2006-09-06 15:04
Cavallini (1807-1874) was a clarinetist who played in the La Scala Orchestra. He intimately knew of the works of the great composers of his era, and they wrote many solos with him in mind.
He was a virtuoso performer and his 30 Caprices were written to show off that unique style of playing.
The 30 Caprices encompass the entire range of the clarinet. You should work on establishing flawless technique, especially in the large leaps and intervals. Observe the articulation markings carefully and strive to make the music sound easy and seamless.
This is music that has been used for training and teaching by the greatest clarinet instructors of our generation. It will eventually pay dividends in your playing, so it is well worth the time invested...GBK
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Author: vjoet
Date: 2006-09-06 15:27
It was recording Cavallini Opus 1, #1 that I noticed my legato needed work. (Today's post) They weren't arpeggios, but rapidly ascending notes, and the runs were again passing through the notes, and not a beautiful legato.
I like all the caprices I've studied. I think all of them can be played in the "grande expressione" manner of Italian opera, as Hite suggests in his edition. (#5, as repetitious as #3, lends itself to high drama.) As such they seem interesting and musical to me. (I am having problems getting the feel for Opus 1, #4 -- basically a study in cadenzas -- but any further study of that one will await correction in my legato.)
vJoe
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Author: 2E
Date: 2006-09-07 04:24
I havent played the Cavallini Caprices but ive heard great things about them. If they improve your ability as a clarinettist, surely theyd be worth the time and effort. In the mean time, try understanding the Jean Jean etudes! :P
2E
Post Edited (2006-09-07 04:25)
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Author: Gregory Smith ★2017
Date: 2006-09-07 05:10
Two of the better slow Caprices (numbered differently depending on the edition - the Ricordi is a quite fine one) are exemplars of the Bel Canto style and can easily stand on their own as fine pieces of music worthy of programming in recital.
The same may be said about the quality of many of the Jeanjean 16 Moderne. The 16 are all about color in French music of that day which manifests itself in tremendous technical demands, highly chromatic and modal harmonies/melodies with special emphasis on the "speed" of the dynamics to facilitate the changes in color.
These two books of etudes are really supreme works for the clarinetist. I know of none better for what they were meant to accomplish. My best students have always made their largest strides after having completed them. I know that I did.
For the Germanic repertoire, the Baermann 4th and 5th divisions are the rough equivalent - sort of like 2nd class Schubert with the pyrotechnics thrown in.
-----
Robert Marcellus told me (and I've seen it written in an interview somewhere), that he prepared all 16 etudes of the Jeanjean for Bonade when RM was in his late teens or perhaps 20 years old. He played the first 8 in one lesson and the second 8 at the next lesson, all flawlessly and with great brilliance...the time, as he said, that he acquired most of his technical facility. He mentioned it as being his one and only intense period of "real" practice - 6 weeks one summer - that he can remember as a young clarinetist!
Bonade, not to be outgunned or give his pupil too much a sense of self confidence (RM had a natural plenty I assure you), exclaimed at the end of the two lessons, "Ha! You think that's so great. I just had a young woman come in here and play completely through the entire Stark Arpeggio Studies in ONE lesson without a mistake!".
Gregory Smith
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-09-07 14:24
Thanks for your insights. So far, this thread has told me that the Cavallini Caprices are good for me.
What's missing so far is getting me to understand how to approach them. Sure, its difficult to make all the leaps in the ones I've tackled so far, and its clear that working through them will greatly refine my ability to make the register changes (I thought I had the "break" pretty well working for me!); BUT I still have problems making music out of them.
I also have trouble catching a breath. The C-minor and B-minor exercises (there may be more than one of each). (B-minor and A-minor concert keys) run 2 pages without a single marked rest.
Looked up caprice/capriccio and found that I might have the "right" to vary the tempo a bit --perhaps manipulate the performance to creat spaces for breath taking.
But is that legitimate? What are the chances that I could create a flow, and interpretation that would pass inspection with you advisors? How much can I be trusted to play these things with a bit (OK, a lot) of rubato and not be asassinated for heresy?
Bob Phillips
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Author: vjoet
Date: 2006-09-07 19:58
Hi Bob,
I'm an older amateur, like you, but perhaps I can shed some like on Opus 1, #3.
To me, it is a jovial piece, kinda like children skipping down the road. I play it lightly and with good natured humor. (The numbers I give refer to the Hite edition, in his Artistic Studies, Italian school.)
In the exposition, 1 thru 40, I treat the final eighth note as a pick-up to the downbeat. Starting at the key change at 41, I don't see the last eighth as a pickup, but concluding the sequence. The contrast can be quite pleasing. At 61 we have an abbreviated recap, with a delightful contrasting 4 bars at 69.
For breathing, in 1 thru 40, I'd do it NOT where Hite marked at the end of the measure, but just before the final eighth. In the contrasting section, with the clear bar delineation, I'd breath at the bar, as he marked.
This study, just modulations with the one established pattern. fits Arban's description of his "Characteristic studies": "Written to provide the student with suitable material with which to test his powers of endurance." :-) A bit repetitious, but fun. For a really dramatic "grande expressione" operatic caprice, play opus 1, #2. I've subtitled my page: "The Redneck and the Coquette". :-)
I kinda think study of the Italian masters is liberating, and especially like Magnani. :-)
vJoe
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-09-07 20:39
Vjoet,
I agree that the breath needs to be taken before the far. When my lower lip recovers from this morning's torture, I'll try out your other suggestions.
Interesting, my Carl Fisher edition has NO breathmarks.
Thanks
Bob Phillips
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Author: Tim2
Date: 2006-09-07 20:52
The Cavallini Caprices are wonderful to work on and perfect. As GBK said earlier, he wrote these to show off that unique style of playing. And what was important in that unique style? I believe these pieces show off:
beautiful singing style,
clear, strong sound,
dramatic expession,
a multitude of notes played with flawless technique. he technique is in itself an end here.
Opera!!! These are all drama pieces. Consider yourself an opera singer when you play these. Italian!!!!!!!
As for breathing, yes, if you need it, if it's appropriate, do it. Some of them, like the very first one, I find myself leaving out notes because, to me, it is more important to keep the momentum going. Circular breathing is not in my arsenal.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2006-09-08 01:04
If you have the Carl Fischer version of the Cavallini Caprices, be aware that there are a number of note mistakes/misprints and inconsistencies in the (articulation) markings ...GBK
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Author: DAVE
Date: 2006-09-08 01:26
Go and listen to some Verdi, Rossini, and Puccini. THEN, you will get it.
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-09-09 23:01
Greg,
I GET IT.
All it really took was to turn a few pages and find the "other" style of music in the collection.
Certainly more difficult than the "Play Puccini" CD I've got.
Thanks
Bob Phillips
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Author: bcl1dso
Date: 2006-09-13 02:47
"Some people play the Caprices, some play the JeanJean, some play Baermann, some play Klose, some simply play Major and Minor Scales. Not one of them is wrong or better than the other."
Some play them all. : )
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Author: Tim2
Date: 2009-03-30 01:18
Wondering if anyone knows about a CD containing a majority of the Cavallini Caprices? Csaba Klenyán is the clarinetist. There are 22 of the caprices on the CD. Hungaroton HGR 32590 is the cat#.
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Author: LarryBocaner ★2017
Date: 2009-03-30 12:39
Greg Smith's anecdote about Marcellus and Bonade reminded me of one of my own experiences with DB. After I had (for once) nailed a particular sticky etude and given a smug smile, Bonade admonished me: "You think that's good -- you come in here one morning when you are hung over and sleepless and play for me like that -- then you'll know you're good!"
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Author: kilo
Date: 2009-03-30 13:11
I've always loved them ... I find myself humming and whistling them during the day. It's the only way I can get them up to speed.
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2009-03-30 14:48
The Cavallini Caprices! I haven't played these in years. I played them off and on for lessons in high school and college, and I played them out of the Lazarus Book. Some of these caprices are quite playable, but I remember that some of them are extremely difficult. When I first started them, I wondered if some of them were possible to play.
There is one memory of these caprices that I've always had, and I just went and found my book. In the fourth of the thirty caprices (Opus 1), in 6/8 and marked Adagio, there are some 128th notes and 256th notes.
In all my years of playing, I don't think I've ever seen these notes at any other time.
In the 8th bar of the 4th caprice, the rhythm is challenging to say the least. Looking now at my copy, my teacher from almost 40 years ago tried to help by writing in the counting. With all of the beams of 32nd, 64th, and 128th notes, it was not an easy task. Looking back now, I noticed that he was a bit stumped because he wrote in a seventh beat in this measure!
I've just looked carefully at my edition, and I think there is a mistake.
For those of you who are really interested, read on. For those who don't want to get involved, please skip the rest!
Here's the version in my edition:
Beat 1: One 8th note
Beat 2: One 8th note
Beat 3: A dotted 16th followed by a 32nd note
Beats 4 and 5: A dotted 8th followed by four 64th notes
Beat 6: Eight 64th notes
Beat 7: (This is really only half a beat) Two 64th notes, three 128th notes, and two 256th notes.
If someone has a better edition, I'd be curious to know where the error is.
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2009-03-30 15:12
I know I have been talking a lot about him recently, bu Alessandro Carbonare exemplifies this style so perfectly on the clarinet.
Here is a recording of a Donizetti study, not unlike the Cavallini caprices:
http://www.carbonare.com/cd/giapopera/donstudio.mp3
--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>
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Author: GBK
Date: 2009-03-30 16:04
clarinetguy wrote:
> Beat 1: One 8th note
> Beat 2: One 8th note
> Beat 3: A dotted 16th followed by a 32nd note
> Beats 4 and 5: A dotted 8th followed by four 64th notes
> Beat 6: Eight 64th notes
> Beat 7: (This is really only half a beat) Two 64th notes, three 128th notes, and two 256th notes.
Your mistake is in Beat 5.
Beat 5 is eight 64th notes.
Then, Beat 6 is four 64th notes, three 128th notes, and two 256th notes.
...GBK
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2009-03-31 12:10
GBK, thanks for the clarification. I checked out the web site that mrn provided, and found this caprice.
However, I still think there's an error. If you look at the measure as it's shown in the web site, there's still an extra half beat in the eighth measure.
Beat 4: The 8th note portion of the dotted 8th note
Beat 5: The dot (value is a 16th) plus the four 64th notes
Beats 6 and 7: Please see above
I'm wondering if the mistake is the dotted 8th note at the beginning of beat 4. I'm wondering if this should really be an 8th note. If you look near the end of the caprice, the 7th measure from the end, the pitches and rhythms are almost the same as those in the 8th measure. In this measure, though, there is an 8th note, not a dotted 8th, on the fourth beat.
If wonder if any other editions show this note as an 8th, not a dotted 8th.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2009-03-31 16:41
The dot on the eighth note on beat 4 is a misprint (thank you, Carl Fischer)
Beat 4 should be an eighth note without a dot.
Then Beat 5 will be eight 64th notes.
This is just one of the numerous misprints in the Carl Fischer edition of the Cavallini Caprices.
Use either the Ricordi edition or the Hite edition.
...GBK
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-04-01 00:39
You guys had me lost for awhile. The etude you seem to be describing is #25 in the Ricordi edition (which is the only one I own or have handy). The rhythm is clear in this edition (although the actual notation is open to question). Beat 4 is an eighth note. Beat 5 is 8 64th notes. Beat 6 is 4 64ths, then 2 64ths (separated only to make the subdivision clear) and then (here's the questionable notation) a 64th quintuplet that probably should have been printed as quintuplet 128ths (5 in the space of 4), but the intent is clear enough - he's put 5 equal notes into the space of 2.
Karl
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-04-01 00:56
In fact - I just played through it - the same measure (with an embellished 3rd beat) occurs seven before the end. This time the last quintuplet is written correctly as 128th notes. What is in the 7th bar from the end in the edition you're looking at?
Karl
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2009-04-01 11:27
Thanks, GBK and kdk!
Actually, the 6th beat (with the dot from the 8th note in the 4th beat removed) would be four 64th notes, followed by two more 64ths, three
128th notes, and two 256th notes. The notation in the seventh bar from the end is the same for beat 6.
I looked at this again last night, and I found another mistake, this time in the 9th measure. I think the quarter note in the middle of the measure should be an 8th note.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2009-04-01 11:43
clarinetguy wrote:
> I looked at this again last night, and I found another mistake,
> this time in the 9th measure. I think the quarter note in the
> middle of the measure should be an 8th note.
You are correct - it is another Carl Fischer misprint.
You might as well also fix the 9th measure from the end:
The descending C6 scale starting on the second part of Beat 2 and continuing to the first part of Beat 3, should be 64th notes, and not 32nd notes.
...GBK
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2009-04-02 21:42
GBK, thanks for the correction. However, in my book these notes are shown as 64ths.
The book it's in, Lazarus' Modern Method for Clarinet Part II, was purchased for $3.00 back in 1967 or 68. On the bottom of the front page, the publisher is listed as the Cundy-Bettoney Co. of Boston, but there is an additional stamp which says, "Cundy Bettoney Catalog is now owned and operated by Carl Fischer, Inc. 56-62 Cooper Square, New York, N.Y. 10003."
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The Clarinet Pages
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