 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: J Cohen
Date: 2012-02-13 00:59
Played it yesterday. What a fun part bass part! It's nice to play a piece in orchestra that I don't have to count 50+ measures of rests in one stretch (well, ok there is one stretch that was almost that long). I actually felt more involved in the orchestra than many of the pieces I've played.
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Author: donald
Date: 2012-02-13 02:10
Isn't the bass part for Rosenkavalier a basset horn part transposed for bass clarinet? I'm sure I can remember being hired to play Basset horn for this, but then being transfered to 2nd and the person who was to play 2nd played the part on Bass clarinet (part supplied with the rental)?
dn
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Author: J Cohen
Date: 2012-02-13 03:28
You are correct. That is why the bass part in the suite has so much altissimo in it.
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2012-02-13 15:44
It's been awhile since I've played it, but I think the original part calls for both bass clarinet and basset horn.
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
World Class Clarinet Mouthpieces
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Author: genekeyes ★2017
Date: 2012-02-13 16:37
I played Rosenkavalier wth the Met many years ago. my recollection is that there are 3 parts for clarinet utilizing instruments in A,Bb,C,D, and Eb plus a Bass Clarinet part which includes some Basset Horn. I've never played the suite and am not sure of the part distributution.
Post Edited (2012-02-13 16:38)
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Author: donald
Date: 2012-02-13 17:31
The suite has a part that covers everything on Basset horn (and has 4 players). There might have been some bass parts that were in a section that was "cut" but i don't remember this being so. d
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Author: J Cohen
Date: 2012-02-13 23:00
The suite I just played was for 1st, 2nd, E flat, and bass. It is published by Boosey and Hawkes, copyright 1945.
I have never played the opera but I read that it does have basset horn in it. I guess Strauss was more practical when he decided to arrange an orchestral suite and make more money.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2012-02-14 01:52
It is true that the opera calls for the player to play both bass and basset horn as well. I played the opera many years ago on a borrowed basset horn, it was a challenge for sure, it was not a very good horn. Remember, the suite is a condensation of the opera not just one or two sections. I believe the bass clarinet part in the suite has some of the orignal of both bass and basset horn sections. There are sections in the suite that are too low for the basset horn yet sections that are very high for the bass clarinet. Great fun part to play. ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: LarryBocaner ★2017
Date: 2012-02-15 00:54
"I guess Strauss was more practical when he decided to arrange an orchestral suite and make more money."
Well, actually the most commonly played Rosenkavalier Suite was not arranged by Strauss, but by Artur Rodzinski, erstwhile conductor of the Cleveland, NY Phil, and Chicago symphonies. There is a suite of Rosenkavalier Waltzes, I think arranged by the composer, which has a part for basset horn.
As has been noted above, the (Rodzinski) suite transposes a lot of the basset horn licks to the bass clarinet, making for some awkward passages that lay much better on the basset, including one that takes the bass clarinet to a altissimo g#!
I'm sure Strauss, or his estate, received royalties on both publications.
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Author: donald
Date: 2012-02-15 09:17
I just found the practise copy of my Basset horn part (while looking for something else in a suitcase full of music i don't think I'll ever use again but can't bring myself to throw out) and i see that it was indeed from the Rosenkavalier Waltze Suite. Good call Mr Bocaner.
dn
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2012-02-15 10:59
Wow, several of the top BC clarinet players in the "hood" chiming in on this thread. Outstanding and very enjoyable to read!
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Author: davyd
Date: 2012-02-15 18:33
When I got a call to play this, on one rehearsal with the concert the next day, I had no idea what I was in for. "Fun" for some maybe, but it was the hardest bass clarinet part I had ever seen -- until about a year later, when Grand Canyon Suite hit the stands.
The only way I could get through the Strauss, given the limited time, was to hastily write out the high stuff down an octave for Bb clarinet. I still have my manuscript (this was before software, and long before IMSLP) and it serves as a humbling reminder to be careful what I agree to play.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2012-02-15 22:18
Over the years I've played the two popular "Dance Sequences" from Der Rosenkavalier, I believe that are taken right out of the opera. My part on both were always on the bass clarinet, very nice parts too. I've never seen either of them as a basset horn part. I wonder if those too were arranged for the bass or if they are originally written for the bass. ESP
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Author: J Cohen
Date: 2012-02-16 00:16
The version I played last weekend went up to altissimo G#, did not have an arranger listed, and is titled "Rosenkavalier Suite". The recording I practiced with is a 1995 cd of Lorin Maazel conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. It also has an excellent Don Jaun and Also Sprach.
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Author: J Cohen
Date: 2012-02-16 01:41
Actually, now that I think of it, I remember our conductor telling the audience that a prominent conductor of the day helped Strauss arrange the suite. I guess for some reason Rodzinski (or Strauss, or Boosey & Hawkes) didn't want his name on it.
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Author: donald
Date: 2012-02-16 04:35
Hi Mr Palanker- my performance (some years ago) was of the Dance/Waltz Suites (memory jogged by finding the music, as stated above). At the time I was told by the orchestra librarian that the Bass clarinet part was INSTEAD of the Basset horn. I had spent some time learning the Basset horn part and was a bit annoyed to be switched to 2nd. The reason given for this change in part assignment was that the Principal clarinet hated the basset horn (he later expressed this opinion to me in person) and thought the part would sound better and be better in tune on the Bass Clarinet. The conductor/music director indicated no preferance. There was a Bass Clarinet part, OR a Basset horn part. Not both, but one or the other. Infer from that what you will, but I can't imagine a publisher making a basset horn part "just in case there's no bass clarinet!"...
I quite enjoyed playing the 2nd part despite being annoyed at having to learn another part.
dn
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Author: LarryBocaner ★2017
Date: 2012-02-17 01:00
Strange, Eddie -- when I subbed for you in the BSO many years ago at an Oregon Ridge summer concert, we played the Rosenkavalier Waltz Suite -- Sergiu Commisiona conducting. The part I played was for basset horn. As I remember it was a "rental only" orchestration.
Best Regards,
Larry
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