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Re: Rossini Oveture Question

Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-08-16 10:09

I've always questioned the composer. Mainly the birth date. So I tend to feel with older composers I will play the parts on a Bb clarinet. In this case with Rossini I've always used a Bb.

I'm very much with David on this. I don't like playing on C clarinets in general because like any clarinet they often need to be tuned up, new pads, undercutting, so it's paying $5000 for a decent horn which you may only use once every 5 years if you are lucky. So few are made you probably won't find a new one that plays well. So you may have to look in the used sections. You can find C clarinets on ebay for about $150. It will cost $1150 to make them play!

But often composers explicitly what to hear that C clarinet sound. It is different. Just as an Eb clarinet sounds so different from a C clarinet or a Bb clarinet. That 1 step makes a difference. We can hear and feel the difference between an A clarinet and a Bb. I've even played on an old D clarinet. It had a sound of its own. It was an opera and I can't recall the name.

I think we have to look at what and who the composer was. Did that C clarinet part really make that difference he/she wanted while composing the piece? If yes well we should play it on a C clarinet. It surely has a huge different ring to the sound.

Transposing is not a big deal if you were trained to do so. So lets leave that out and assume everyone knows how to transpose. We really have to study the emotions of the composer. Beethoven wrote a lot of parts for the C clarinet. The 9th Sym. has a killer movement and if you use the Bb clarinet I think you are in 5 sharps and the tempo is about 142 plus, depending on the conductor, expect 152. You are tonguing every note. It would be nice to have a C clarinet for this piece. I've played it twice and this movement kills me. Lots of hours go into practicing. Clean crisp articulation. The rhythms aren't too bad.

The last movement of Tchaikovsky's "Little Russian" Symphony is for the C clarinet. This is another piece where the notes fly by. 1 beat per measure towards the end. A C clarinet is a welcomed gift if you own one. Oh, this is his second symphony.

I have a C clarinet somewhere broken down, the goal was to make it play really well. I don't think it will ever happen! I'd rather transpose for now. I will fix it up if I'm convinced that the composer wanted the part played with a C clarinet.

So find a C clarinet if you can't transpose and if you happen to be playing that one piece which surely requires a C clarinet from the composer.

Hope this helps!

Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces

Yamaha Artist 2015

Post Edited (2017-08-16 10:27)

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Rossini Oveture Question new

chamberguy

2017-08-13 02:50