The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

C clarinets and so on

Author: Jaysne
Date: 2007-10-24 22:54

I was looking over the clarinet book for Verdi's Rigoletto, and it calls for Bb, A, and C clarinets.

Why would that be necessary? There is only one section calling for the A horn; why not just play it on Bb? And why orchestrate for the somewhat obscure C horn (about half the book is in C)?

I believe that one reason this is done is to keep the Bb player from playing in hefty key signatures. But do the orchestrators also do it because the somewhat different timbre of the A and C horns are what they want in a particular piece? Did Verdi himself call for Bb, A and C horns?

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics