 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ashley91489
Date: 2008-01-20 22:57
I'm playing the first movement of Clarinet Concerto by Stamitz. It ends with a cadenza comprised of mostly 32nd notes. It is almost seems to fast to play the 32nd notes. How do you play a cadenza on pieces like this? What would be the best way to shape it?
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Author: FDF
Date: 2008-01-20 23:28
Ashley, I'm sure you will get better answers than mine, but in my opinion you should first master the piece of music, then play the notes of the cadenza as an appropriate embellishment to the work, not as a series of 32nd notes. In other words, be expressive.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2008-01-21 00:44
If you could put up a picture of the clarinet part (or the last page of the score, so we can see the harmony), it would be much easier to answer your question.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Ashley91489
Date: 2008-01-21 00:54
Here are a couple of pics...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23000889@N05/
I couldn't easily scan it but hopefully this will give you an idea.
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Author: Mark G Simon
Date: 2008-01-21 01:23
Remember that in any 18th century concerto, the cadenza is almost never written by the composer, rather it is left up to the soloist to improvise. Printed editions of this music often supply cadenzas for players not adept at improvisation, but the soloist is under no obligation to play them.
You may compose your own cadenza, or you may adapt the given one any way you like. I suggest you play the written cadenza as fast as you are able but no faster, and don't worry about what the written note values are.
Clarinetist, composer, arranger of music for clarinet ensemble
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-01-21 06:27
It's only a guide.
Pull the tempo around in this cadenza as much as you feel like doing - it's not a technical study, and you're not a machine.
Just because you see semiquavers or demisemiquavers printed there on the page, it doesn't mean you have to play them all strictly metronomic. You have absolute freedom to take them at a pace that's comfortable, and speed things up or slow it down when it suits YOU.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: kilo
Date: 2008-01-21 08:57
Langenus II has some good suggestions on playing cadenzas. You don't have to hurry. You don't have to make a dramatic climax, there should be a sense of power in reserve. You can start slowly and increase the pace, looking for artistic expression rather than merely showing technical competence.
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Author: bill28099
Date: 2008-01-21 15:37
This is the Peters edition edited by Wojciechowski.
If you don't have teacher who can assist you in playing this section I would suggest listening to two or 3 recordings of the piece. The David Glazer recording is my favorite. I don't think too much of Sabine Meyer's except for her breath taking technique. However, every artist you listen to will likely perform this cadenza differently.
First play this at a free and every changing tempo, forget how fast you played the first part of the movement. Don't even think about the old tempo, this is a cadenza.
Here is what I was taught
pp the first fremata C then deliberately and not to fast up to the second increasing volume along the way, slurred and hold the high C, make ABSOLUTELY sure it's in tune.
Take a really really really deep breath.
Start really slow and pp tonguing only the first note of each group of 4. The run up and down is all slurred. You should now be about half speed and mf. Tongue the first note of the EGCG then tongue each E in the following EGEG group. Slur the run up and down (use the side key for the high D} and by now you are at high speed and f to ff for the syncopation down. The fermata A should be ff and held, now you are turning blue so time for a pause and another deep breath. Start the next group pretty slow and soft and be pretty fast and mf by the time you hit the F# then start slowing down building in volume all the way. Dramatically and with flair use a slow E to D grace note(not in the music), increase volume then tongue the final C grace note into an ff tongued C
A great teacher gives you answers to questions
you don't even know you should ask.
Post Edited (2008-01-21 15:42)
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Author: Noqu
Date: 2008-01-21 17:48
Wow - great and very detailed instruction. When I learned to play this a year or so ago, my teacher gave me very similar advice (although I am not sure if she put it into such a descriptive form).
I remember that I had some difficulties in consistently increasing the tempo all the way, so she said if I wanted to simplify, I might reach full speed just after the first up run, then slow down a little (dramatically) during the first down run, only to build up speed again so that at the end of the second down run I am at high speed again. I found this a little easier.
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Author: FDF
Date: 2008-01-21 23:14
My understanding of a cadenza is that it is an improvised passage within a concerto, for instance, wherein the soloist may embellish the original music and show their own virtuosity. Having such a strict adherence to a method of playing a cadenza as mentioned above seems to defeat the purpose. Even a cadenza written out, either by the composer of the work or by an arranger/editor may be subject to individual interpretation and expression according to one's abilities and creativity. Or am I mistaken?
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Author: Noqu
Date: 2008-01-22 11:14
I completely agree with you regarding the understanding of a cadenca. But, speaking for myself, with only about 3 years of clarinet experience I found it very helpful to have a detailed example of how it _might_ be done. Improvising would have been far beyond my abilities (and I also did not feel I had much virtuosity to show). So I tried to imitate what my teacher suggested - and once I could do this well enough, I started to change and adapt to my own likings.
Somehow this is like copying master paintings at the beginning of an artist's career. The approach may be controversial for creativity-advocats, but I personally found it helpful.
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