 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: bill49
Date: 2011-08-06 01:18
I've picked up the clarinet after years of hiatus. I found a bassoon player in the area to boot, which now gives me a quintet to play with. We are starting small but I want to work up to the Nielsen quintet. The place I am stuck is with fingerings for the preludium in the third movement. There are a lot of people who play the piece, so it can't be a mystery -- just to me. Anyone offer to help?
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Author: davyd
Date: 2011-08-06 01:24
There's a lot of ink on the page in bars 17 to 20: can you be specific about which notes in particular you're having trouble hitting?
There's nothing wrong with ambition, but if you haven't played in a while, the Nielsen is a bit much.
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Author: bill49
Date: 2011-08-21 10:50
Thanks for posting. I was a good player when I was younger and have picked up the rest of the piece well.
I think the challenge I am having is mostly figuring out what the notes actually are. With six flats in the preludium, and then added flats in bars 17-20, I have just had to think more than usual.
The run starting in bar 17, as I understand it is as follows: e-flat, g-flat (fingered f), a-flat, b-flat, c-flat (fingered b), d-flat, e-flat, f-flat (fingered e), (bar 18), g-flat (I need the fingering for this note) -- then I am ok for the rest of the run. In the next run, I just need a fingering for the super-high g-natural.
Then in Var V, I need the fingering for the super-high f-sharp to e-flat to g in bar 2 (not counting the pick up as a bar) and the a-flat in bar 6. If I have that, I think the super-high g in bars 10 and 14 will take care of themselves.
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Author: genekeyes ★2017
Date: 2011-08-21 15:39
Hi..
First: Gb is the enharmonic of F#....not F. If the composer had wanted to add a b to the existing Gb in the key signature, it would have been notated as a double flat (bb).
the high Gb should be fingered with the basic fingering of:
TR OXO/OOO +D# key.
As far as the high G and other altissimo fingerings in question.........there are many possible alternatives and you have to determine what works best for you and tunes best on your instrument..........I would strongly suggest that you pick up a copy of Tom Ridenour's "Clarinet Fingerings". It's a great resource and lists many useful fingering for the altissimo register as well as some specific suggestions for various passages.
Good Luck.....it's not an easy part
gk
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-08-21 17:11
Check the fingering chart on my website and try different fingerings to see which one works best for you. ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2011-08-21 21:26
Bar 18: You are coming off an Fb (TR oxx ooo Eb), so another option to:
RT oxo ooo Eb (which tends to be flat) might be to use a long fingering for the Gb:
RT oxx xxx Eb
In the second measure of variation V, I would use the same long fingering for the F#:
RT oxx xxx Eb
then for the Eb:
RT oxx oox Eb
for the G, there are many options, a few things to try:
RT oxx xox Eb
RT oxo xox Eb
RT oxx xxo Eb
RT oxo xxo Eb
RT oxo oxx Eb or, perhaps even:
RT ooo ooo Eb
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-08-22 19:24
The Nielsen Quintet was written for the principal players of the the Royal Chapel Orchestra and embodied the individual players' personalities. Aage Oxenvad, the clarinetist, was known for his volatile temperament. A bassoonist friend says that it's common knowledge in the bassoon world that the Royal Chapel bassoonist, Knud Lassen, was a practical joker who delighted in prodding Oxenvad into a rage. Nielsen wrote this out in the Quintet. The movement begins with loud, blatting, annoying bassoon half steps, and the clarinet responds with outraged, near atonal screaming.
When you listen to the Royal Chapel Orchestra recording of the Quintet http://clarinetclassics.com/home/index.php?app=gbu0&ns=prodshow&ref=CC0002 with Oxenvad and Lassen, that's exactly what you hear. The clarinet licks are hysterical and they need to be that way in your performance. Of course you need to play the notes, but the character is just as important.
For more, see http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Study/Nielsen.html, which speaks of the "dry humor" with which the movement ends. The flutist, Holger Gilbert Jespersen, obviously had a wonderful sense of humor, reflected in the riotously funny ending of the Flute Concerto. Jespersen's performance is available at http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jensen-Conducts-Nielsen-Maskarade/dp/B000005CZG/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1314040499&sr=1-2, along with Ib Erikson's truly wild performance of the Clarinet Concerto (which sadly lacks Oxenvaad's combination of temperament and sophistication).
Ken Shaw
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Author: bill49
Date: 2011-08-23 03:26
Yes, I can hear that now. For a long time, I thought Nielsen's Fifth Symphony was the epitome if his composing. I close second was always the Fourth Symphony, especially the second movement which is just an expanded woodwind piece. The more I have listened to and played the quintet, the more it moves into first place. Great insights Ken.
Bill
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Author: bill49
Date: 2011-09-07 12:48
Attachment: Nielsen 3rd Movement Runs.pdf (29k)
I've taken Eddie Palanker's altissimo fingering chart and put it note-to-note with the Nielsen quintet 3rd movement. I'd like someone who has actually played it to note the differences (if any) in the fingerings they use.
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