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Re: Kind of dumb Mahler question

Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-11-09 01:03

Well as one final foot note to the bells up idea I want to say this. I just finished doing three performances of Mahlers 4th and we, as well as the oboes, do bells up when the music asks. The reason we bend out necks is because we don't play like I believe the clarinet players did in the days of Mahler. That is we keep the clarinets much closer in to our body than they did then, perhaps some still play that way in Germany, I'm not sure. So if we were to simply hold the clarinet straight out, sort of Benny Goodman style, I think we would get a more unpleasant effect than even Mahler had in mind. While I was playing a passage with my bell up I began to think this. Since the tone actually comes out of the tone holes and not the bell, especially the notes in the left hand that are mostly used for bells up, the altissimo register notes, the sound is actually going up to the ceiling not out to the conductor and the concert hall. Those tone holes are now facing up instead of out in the direction of the audience. I don't mind doing bells up, I think it's kind of cool actually, but one again I must say that I can more readily do what I think Mahler wanted but keeping my instrument if my regular position. By the way, in those tutti passages the flutes, bassoons, english horn and bass clarinet keep their instruments in their regular position for obvious reasons. There is one neat place in the 4th symphony that the 2nd and 3rd clarinets do bells up in a solo duet for a few bars, I think that's neat but I could get the same effect by not putting my bell up. It does look cool though to the people in the balcony. Of course those on the level floor have no idea we're playing "bells up". OK, that's a long foot note but I'm through with this posting. I say, glasses up at this point. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com

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Kind of dumb Mahler question new

elmo lewis

2009-11-06 19:11