 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2007-01-15 14:58
Have been playing quite a bit on my new Buffet 1193 bass in the past few days but have been sort of dismayed at the quality (and quantity) of really PRETTY bass solos. Some are technically-challenging, which is good in terms of practice material, but they often don't flatter the bass (screeching runs ni the upper octave or lame melodies).
One of the nicest of the pieces is Bennett's Deepwood. Certainly not that challenging, but very pretty and showcases the best aspects (and range) of the bass. Spotlight on the Bass is pretty nice too. Am wondering if there are others in that ilk out there. The Schoenk Sonata is almost there for me, although there are some dull moments in that piece too.
On a side issue, I have played Selmer basses in the past and the Buffet bass has a smaller sound to me than the Selmer. Have others of you made the switch and had to do reed/ mouthpiece changes to compensate?
Eefer guy
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: bahamutofskycon
Date: 2007-01-15 15:37
I've played and enjoyed playing "Deepwood" also.
Currently I'm working on "Ballade" by Bozza - also not too difficult, but interesting enough and sounds good so far. As far as I know its originally for BassCl.
If you don't mind doing transcriptions there's the Eccles "Sonata" (originally for cello I believe) or a Chopin "Etude" (no. 25 maybe?). The Eccles is a very nice Baroque piece - lots of fun to play. The Chopin has a nice little cadenza run and a couple of challenging licks and forays into the altissimo; seems to be a good transcription.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but I'll check my (meager) BassCl library and add on later if I find any more worth mentioning. Unfortuantely I have a hard time finding quality BassCl music period - "pretty" or not.
Buffets have a big full sound for me on my ancient Vandoren B45 and my ancient Selmer C* with Vandoren #3 reeds. But I've never played Selmer, only Leblancs (university owned).
Steve Ballas
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: bob49t
Date: 2007-01-15 21:53
You're lookng for pretty pieces..............................
Vaughan Williams - Six Studies in English Folk Songs for Cello and piano rewritten for clarinet, but great on bass as the piano accompaniment is set for cello.
Brian Dykstra - Two Rags. for Bass clt and piano.
Giovanni Bottesini - Elegia in Re for string bass and piano - I've re-written it for bass clt.... Great piece uses great bottom end and super altissimo. Quite a challenge to get well tuned super altissimo B's.
William Grant Still - three pieces ...one of them "Bayou Home"...can't lay my hands on them at the moment....but it's for sop clt and piano....cracking on bass though. Will post details if I find it....just performed it 2 wks ago !
Just a few for you. All of them pretty, some easy, some a little challenging all of them a credit to the bass clar repertoire. All would be good audience pleasers.
BobT
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2007-01-16 12:28
Thanks for the suggestions! Pulled out the Luyben list to see which ones they had.
And yes when I was playing the pieces, my thoughts were "would an audience appreciate this?". Most of the time the answer was "NO". It seems the composers have made technically-challenging pieces but often times ones that aren't in good parts of the range of the bass. Above high G I don't consider a pretty or effective part of the range IMHO. Have CD's of a number of bass clarinetists so am going to go through them to find some more possible pieces. And yes the Bozza Ballade was one I pulled out yesterday and put in the "pretty" pile too. It also shows off the bass clarinet's prettiest part of its range.
The Buffet 1193 seems to be built with a different philosophy than the Selmer. I do like the intonation on this horn, especially some of the peskiest notes like the B in the staff, that is often stuffy or out of tune, was right on with the Buffet. Right now I'm using a Grabner mouthpiece, VanDoren Optimum ligature, and Gonzalez #3 bass clarinet reeds as my set up. Have also tried a Selmer C*, a Bay, and a VanDoren V44 with Rovner and VanDoren ligatures plus alternated Grand Concert and Van Doren bass reeds but what my setup is seems to work best. Would appreciate any suggestions for variations on that list that you think I might try.
Thanks again. I really do enjoy playing the bass.
Eefer guy
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2007-01-16 12:43
I don't own a bass clarinet or music for it yet and I'm curious about the practical range of the instrument, after reading the comment here, about notes above high g. The Rubank "Introducing the Alto and Bass Clarinet method book includes a fingering chart up to c six spaces above the staff. How high do today's composers write for the bass--and do those composers know what they're doing? Do you bass players tend to reject buying a piece of music if you see that it requires notes above X?
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2007-01-16 14:44
Lelia,
"Extreme altissimo" notes are far easier to achieve on bass clarinet than on soprano clarinets. Reaching C above high G chromatically is a walk in the park, and getting chromatically to the F or so above that is not too hard either! Not sure why anyone would want to HEAR those notes, but historically, if something CAN be done, some composer will insist on it being done.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-01-16 15:38
About the Buffet and Selmer comparison, I have tried both. About ten of the model 1193, one 1183 (the low Eb version), one Selmer Series 9, one Selmer 35, two Selmer 37, and three Selmer Privilege (two low C and one low Eb). My conclusion is that the Selmer is generally louder and has a more aggressive sound. The Buffet has a more clarinety sound and is less aggressive. Intonation is pretty good on new models from both companies. Almost all bass clarinet players that I listen to play Selmer and I like their sound a lot. I personally prefer the Buffet, both the sound and keywork (I especially don't like the Selmer keywork).
About pretty pieces - it is very subjective. Some music that I listen to sounds to me very beautiful and melodic, while to others it just sounds strange.
"Not sure why anyone would want to HEAR those notes, but historically, if something CAN be done, some composer will insist on it being done."
I can understand why someone would want to hear those notes. It is because some players can use them in a very logical and musical way that completely fits in a context. In those cases, I am not sure why anyone wouldn't want to listen to it.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2007-01-17 12:17
David Spiegelthal wrote,
>>Not sure why anyone would want to HEAR those notes, but historically, if something CAN be done, some composer will insist on it being done.>>
Thanks for the information about range. On my contra-alto, though altissimo sounds weird, it's easier to play than on soprano clarinet--but this thread made me wonder if bass had some special difficulties up there. Apparently not.
As an amateur composer with a lot still to learn, I'm interested because, by asking the bass clarinet player to reach up there into soprano clarinet range once in a while, I can be more flexible about how many instruments to require for a piece. I also wanted to know whether I'd written something impractical (a piece for bass clarinet, piano and one male dancer) because, although the bass clarinet doesn't spend much time above the staff, I want the musical flexibility of the whole range. The bass sings bass most of the time, but I do ask it to spend some time in clarion, with fewer than a dozen notes as high into altissimo as e three lines above the staff. It's okay if those notes sound squirrelly, because the clarinet is the singing voice of the dancer and the dancer might want to go a little bit squirrelly right there. I think I may try to get this piece performed/published, and if so, no doubt I'll pimp it here. If I never say another word about it, you'll know how far I got with that grand idea....
;-)
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
