 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Kc2edh
Date: 2019-12-16 04:37
Hello! I was asked to play clarinet for a Messiah performance next week. The group is using the Prout orchestral arrangement, which is written for clarinet in Bb. Most selections are in keys with four, five or more sharps leading me to believe that A clarinet would be a better fit. Does anyone have a source for these parts written out for clarinet in A?
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Author: Bob Barnhart ★2017
Date: 2019-12-16 09:38
I was just in a church concert where they performed the Messiah. To avoid being bored, I played the second Oboe part, transposing on sight. It does have a lot of work for a Bb Clarinet (mostly in the key of E or B) but it’s not too bad. If I’d had the part to practice it would have been OK. A clarinet would be easier, but you might just wind up transposing anyway.
Good luck!
Bob Barnhart
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-12-16 19:44
This is the full listing for the orchestral parts to the Prout edition in the Luck's catalog. It does say here specifically that there are parts transposed for Bb clarinet available. Apparently from what follows, they're $12.00 per part.
Karl
Handel, George F. 1685 - 1759
Style: Baroque
Reprint: G. Schirmer
Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2/2.2.3.0,timp,org,pf,str,SATB soli,SATB chs
Duration: 120:00
Language: English
Comments: This is the only edition with winds in modern keys. Transposed: cl 1+2 in Bb, hn 1+2 in F, tpt 1+2 in Bb, tbn 1+2 in Bass Clef.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2019-12-16 23:56
I played this edition back in 1955.
I couldn't afford an A clarinet at that time and so must have played only on the Bb.
I don't recall transposing anywhere but it was a very long time ago.
I know that Hayden's Creation features just the Bb clarinet. Any section with rater extreme keys just omit the clarinet. Rather a pity because there are so many beautiful movements.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-12-17 00:17
Oops! I confused myself and wrote as if you were looking for a Bb part. You already have that.
So, if Luck's is making a point of claiming to have the only "edition with winds in modern keys," what were the original Prout parts in? If not Bb, then certainly either C or A, and some may have been originally in Bb. Are non-Bb parts available in the Luck's set? You might have to call and ask.
Karl
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2019-12-17 00:50
I know that Hayden's Creation features just the Bb clarinet
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Wrong. It uses both B-flat and C clarinets.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2019-12-17 13:48
RMK54 indeed but the big solos are on Bb. Regarding the Prout he would have used A clarinet. He did in one of his solo clarinet works. He wrote three clarinet works in total, I wonder if anyone here can elaborate on what they might be? 😉
Peter Cigleris
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-12-17 19:45
Tangentially, I only realized when I looked at the information on IMSLP about the Prout orchestration, that he based it in part on Mozart's orchestration, which also used clarinets. Both sets of parts are available on IMSLP. I haven't taken the time to look, but you might find that some of the numbers you'd like to play on A clarinet are the same as the Mozart versions, or close enough that a few edits would resolve the differences. Mozart would certainly not have written for Bb clarinet in 4 or 5 sharps.
Karl
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-12-17 20:04
OK, curiosity got the better of me and I did a little comparing. Mozart didn't use clarinets in the overture, so if you can't find an original from Prout, you're stuck with the part in 4 sharps (though it isn't a difficult sight transposition if you're practiced at it). But #3, "And the glory...," in Mozart is almost identical to the Prout version (3 measures have different notes, a few slurs in Prout are absent in Mozart and the rehearsal letters are in different places). A few pencil edits and you have a version for A clarinet in C instead of the transposed Prout in B.
I suspect there are other such numbers.
Karl
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Author: Kc2edh
Date: 2019-12-22 03:56
Performance was today, I ended up playing a mixture of Mozart and Prout versions. We were only playing Part I and Hallelujah chorus, and throughout the ensemble members were using about four different editions. In a church with lots of reverb any articulation differences were lost in the room! Thanks for the help.
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