Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2014-12-24 20:51
I'm agreeing with Paul on this one. Most of the lines and progressions where the bassett versions drop below the standard clarinet range may have pure musical justification, but they just don't sound good to me. It may have to do with the "workaround" design of the bassett clarinet, which seems to make the low register sound dim, or pinched, or unclear, or just really different.
If one's ear is so averse to "breaking" appegios or scales, then an analogous case could be made in a couple places in this piece for extending the lines upward into the rarefied altissimo register, but I've never heard anyone do that (outside my kitchen, that is, and you're welcome.)
It's easy to imagine I'm imprinted on the standard clarinet version, which does not sound wrong or jarring or unmusical to me in any of the pertaining places. However, I've heard around dozen recordings now on bassett clarinet, often featuring the greatest modern clarinettists, yet I'm usually disappointed when the lowest bassett registers are employed. On balance, I enjoy the performances - for example, Ricardo Morales's on Youtube - but there remains a niggling bit of tradeoff due to (my perception of) the "unclarinet" sound of the bassett instrument's low register.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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