 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: CuriousClarinet
Date: 2011-05-14 00:17
Quick question. Does anyone know how many/which songs in the Contest Album for Bass Clarinet from Alea Publishing (http://www.bassclarinet.org/alea/ALEA1013.html) are written in bass clef, and possibly how many require the extended range?
I would like to get a new book with bass clarinet/piano accomp. solo's in it and this one seems interesting. I noticed a few they have listed on their site are in bass clef... and I'm not familar enough with the pieces to know which ones in the book are bass clef. I can't read bass clef, and I don't have a low C bass clarinet, so if too many require bass clef/extended range I won't bother buying it.
I suppose you could also suggest other solos/books that might be interesting for solo contest.
Thanks in advance!
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Author: DNBoone
Date: 2011-05-14 05:05
Hello,
All of the pieces are in treble clef. At a quick glance, the only one with extended range is the last piece, a transcription of a J.C. Bach Concerto. There are low D's in some grace notes.
Not sure how long you have been playing but stuff of similar difficultly of the contest collection that have piano:
Bozza Ballade (the standard bass clarinet piece)
Kibbe Sonata (some low D's, has upper octave written as an option)
David Bennet Deepwood (not the greatest piece in the world, but fun with an odd jazzy section in the middle)
If you are able to do unaccompanied pieces there are a few more things like:
Dubois Voltage Suite
Koch Monolog (for any clarinet)
Cahuzac Arlequin (probably the hardest of everything I have listed, for any clarinet)
Bass Clef isn't really a 'must' for solo literature as 90% of it is written in treble clef, but it would be good to get your mind wrapping around it if you ever play with an orchestra.
Happy Bass Clarineting!
Post Edited (2011-05-14 05:11)
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Author: CuriousClarinet
Date: 2011-05-14 23:23
Cool. Thanks for the info... I actually haven't played bass clarinet for that long. Probably almost two years. I started on ordinary clarinet, and have played that for eight years. This year for solo competition I played Leroy Ostransky's Concertino in D Minor (on bass clarinet). It's in the Concert and Contest Collection book. Although I did go to State with the piece (that was a nice), I thought it was pretty easy, so I'm just trying to find some challenging bass clarinet solos to work on during the summer school break and possibly for next year's solo/ensembles competition.
Do you think the solos in the Contest Album would be too hard?
I've listened to Deepwood on YouTube and quite like it...but I've only been able to find it written in bass clef, so I haven't bought it. Is there a place that has transposed it for treble?
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Author: DNBoone
Date: 2011-05-15 01:04
The Contest Album is moderately easy. I never played the Ostransky but a friend of mine has. I would say the are pretty similar with a few pieces in the Contest album being harder, mostly because of range leaps. I have never seen Deepwood in bass clef. I have the Carl Fischer edition and it is entirely in treble clef.
Some pieces that are more similar to the Ostransky are
Desportes - Andante and Allegro
Eccles/Goldberg - Sonata in g minor
Galliardhkriman - Adagio and Allegro
They are frequently played at the Solo and Ensemble contests around here. Personally, I try to avoid them as they are transcriptions, as is the Alea Contest Album. It seems the easier stuff out there is transcriptions and the harder stuff is the original pieces.
I have always found the Van Cott website useful too as he gives a brief description and usually gives a grade level. He is also a helpful person and you might ask him what you are looking for and see what he has that is close to it.
http://www.vcisinc.com/clarinetbassmusic.htm#Music
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Author: CuriousClarinet
Date: 2011-05-15 02:01
Hm... I'm one of the few people who play bass clarinet and get to the state level in our solo and ensemble contest, so it's hard for me to find other good pieces to play. We all use the same book, Concert and Contest, anyways. =p
It's interesting that you say the Carl Fischer edition of Deepwood is in treble clef. Perhaps I'm just confused. sheetmusicplus.com sells the Carl Fischer version and have a picture on their site of the music. Looks like bass clef to me. Am I mistaken? (http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Deepwood/3558270#)
So you wouldn't recommend the Contest Album then? What should I get? I'm a Junior in high school this year, I'll be a Senior next year. If it were you, what would you pick for a good solo piece? To "go out with a bang" kind-of a thing. I might also use it for a few college auditions. Not really sure, though. I guess I'm just looking at my options.
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Author: DNBoone
Date: 2011-05-15 03:07
A piano score that is in C instead of transposed Bb will show the bass clarinet in Bass Clef so the pianist sees the actual pitches we are playing. The bass clarinet part will be in treble clef.
If you are looking maybe do college auditions with it, the Bozza Ballade or Deepwood is the way to go I think. Both show contrasting sections and styles, the Bozza more so than Deepwood.
There are a few oddities in the Bozza though that you will have to make some decisions on. After the 3/4 allegro, the 6th measure has an Eb against an E in the piano. Some recordings change it to a written F#. It is also marked quarter note = 120. I have yet to find a recording this slow.
The Bozza is probably more respected as far as auditions go. If you have a specific college in mind, call and ask the professor as well. Many of them don't want to hear a bass clarinet piece in an audition, or they might have a specific piece they would want to hear.
Post Edited (2011-05-15 03:54)
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Author: CuriousClarinet
Date: 2011-05-15 04:21
Oh. That makes more sense. =p I'm not really certain which college I want to go to. But I know at least one of the places I have looked at will allow a bass clarinet audition. I know a guy who made it into the music program there playing Ostransky's piece I mentioned earlier. But asking in advance is a good idea. (That would be sad to learn they didn't like the piece I picked after the fact =o)
Thanks for the info and suggestions! I will look into the Bozza Ballade more. =)
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Author: alea_publishing
Date: 2011-05-16 23:29
Wanted to write back on behalf of Alea Publishing to answer any other questions that might be out there about the Contest Album.
First, all of our transcriptions are in treble clef - we don't publish anything in bass clef - it might show in bass clef in the piano score, but the bass clarinet part is in treble clef.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there are any other questions!
Thanks,
Kim
Kim Davenport
Alea Publishing & Recording
www.bassclarinet.org
bassclarinet.org@gmail.com
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