 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ruben
Date: 2023-01-24 00:04
When I took part in trade fairs representing my ex-firm, again and again I would hear snatches of the same great, but tired warhorses for clarinet (Poulenc, Weber, Debussy, etc.). If you see a clarinet recital announced somewhere, more often than not, you will see the same old pieces we have played and heard hundreds or thousands of times. Would you call the clarinet repertoire "small"? I love my instrument, but in my next reincarnation, I will choose to come back as a violinist or a pianist. Instead of having zero Beethoven sonatas, I will have ten violin sonatas, 32 piano sonatas and 16 string quartets!
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: davyd
Date: 2023-01-24 01:09
Compared to the violin or piano repertoire, the clarinet repertoire might be considered "small", though one might say the same for any of the winds.
But at least we have more options than the viola or the double bass.
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Author: Marnix van den Berg
Date: 2023-01-24 02:11
To me it's not that the repertoire is small, likely hundreds or thousands of works were written, but the fact that the warhorses overshadow everything else.
When you are offered a chance to play a solo concerto, will you immediately play Mozart or Weber? Or dig deeper and find some lesser known work that hasn't quite garnered the stature of the big ones? Would you even get it programmed by an orchestra? Can you get the music or is it languishing in a library somewhere?
Some players (e.g. as Dieter Klöcker did) do go the extra mile and record the obscure, but you will likely never hear them performed live.
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Author: m1964
Date: 2023-01-24 03:07
Marnix van den Berg wrote:
> To me it's not that the repertoire is small, likely hundreds or
> thousands of works were written, but the fact that the
> warhorses overshadow everything else...
Not counting pieces written for other instruments that can be played on clarinet, such as Bach violin sonatas or Telemann flute fantasias.
However, those may present certain challenges when performing because there are things that are easier to play on violin or flute but not so easy on clarinet...
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Author: prigault
Date: 2023-01-24 03:46
ebonite wrote:
> My main regret is that Bach didn't write for the clarinet
He did, he just didn't know about it ;-)
Quite a few Bach pieces (for solo violin, recorder, organ among other instruments) work especially well on the clarinet. Other pieces work well for orchestra (think Stokowski's adaptation of "Komm, süsser Tod" for example), or for the modern piano (for which he never wrote).
One of the perks of being an amateur is the freedom to escape both warhorses and music critics, so nothing is off limits. That is, only technical limitations and bad taste are the limits (I am not advocating adapting "Abîme des Oiseaux" on the tuba, although Gerard Hoffnung might have disagreed on that one).
Post Edited (2023-01-24 03:49)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-01-24 04:09
Of course there is so much small ensemble music. I don’t recall the number but there are a lot of just Reiche quintets.
……….Paul Aviles
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Author: ruben
Date: 2023-01-24 17:07
Marnix: What you say hits the nail on the head. Why the Poulenc Sonata and not the Hindemith or the Vainberg: both great works?
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Chris_C ★2017
Date: 2023-01-24 17:37
Slightly off-topic, but Bach wrote a lot of really good saxophone quartets, even if he didn't know that's what he was doing...
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Author: JohnP
Date: 2023-01-24 17:43
Bach did actually write a couple of concertos for the A clarinet, it’s just that they’ve been taken over by oboe d’amore players.
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Author: kerryklari
Date: 2023-01-24 18:14
If you want to play it, a lot of the music from the Renaissance and early Baroque periods was written for anything you could play it on. Ok, not clarinet even optionally because it hadn't been invented then, but a lot of the composers of the day would probably have been happy that their music was being played on anything at all. There were lots of local variations in instrument types and pitch and so forth anyway, and composers simply didn't have any expectation of the kind of "control" over how their music was performed that post-romantic era composers generally do.
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Author: jim sclater
Date: 2023-01-24 18:16
The repertoire for the clarinet is growing every year. Part of the problem, as I see it, is a reluctance on the part of teachers and performers to search out new music and embrace it. There are plenty of composers out there, myself included, who would welcome performers' interest in their music. The standard rep is over-used and over-recorded. I taught theory/composition at the college level for 40 years and grew very tired of hearing recitals on which Debussy was the "contemporary" selection. It's up to the performers and teachers to support today's music; it's also smart for composers to seek out performers for their music and to work with them. It's almost always a win-win situation.
Since retiring I have been delighted by the amount of quality new music available to hear on Youtube and other channels. Much of this music deserves to be standard repertoire, too.
jsclater@comcast.net
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Author: ruben
Date: 2023-01-25 10:32
Dear Jim: Is there anything in particular you would recommend? Thank you.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2023-01-25 13:01
Jim- I would also be happy to hear any recommendations that you have. Maybe this is a good topic for a new thread? (eg. Quality New Music for Clarinet)
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2023-01-25 14:58
No, if you have the inclination to look and do the research then you’ll be sure to find works that deserve to be discovered and resurrected.
The work I’ve done over the last 5 plus years has shown me that there is interest indeed. I’ve been lucky to have my recent recordings broadcast internationally and across the BBC. My US premiere of Susan Spain-Dunk’s Poem Cantilena in Reno last summer sparked lots of interest and I’m just sorry I can’t give out the music to the many that asked due to copyright issues here in the UK.
Promotors are slowly changing, I’m giving the world premiere in March of the concerto by Ebenezer Prout which I found and which began my journey of discovery. Albeit I’m performing it with the Mozart concerto but the fact that the promoter was willing to consider the Prout is a small step. In the past it’s been Mozart (possibly Weber) or nothing.
So much music, so little time.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Cdh
Date: 2023-01-25 16:13
Hi Peter,
Have you ever played the Rhapsody for clarinet and strings or piano (1940) by Geoffrey Bush (1920-1998) ? The piano version was published, and the string parts are still for hire, but I recently discovered I had inherited the handwritten score and parts given to the dedicatee, Kenneth Hunt, who moved to Australia from the UK in the late 40's. It is marked "Christmas 1940" which is quite astonishing when you think about it. It's a lovely work, very much inspired by Vaughan Williams.
With it I also found an unpublished work, Two Epigrams for viola, clarinet and piano (December, 1940), which was completely unknown. I'm working with the family to get it published.
I reckon both pieces would be right up your alley...
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2023-01-25 16:54
Hi Cdh,
I know this piece and have a copy of the published version for clarinet and piano. I was aware the the string parts are available for hire. I know Ian Scott’s recording with strings and I agree it’s a beautiful work which I would love to do at some point.
I wasn’t aware of the Two Epigrams you mention as well as the manuscripts for the Rhapsody. I’d love to chat with you about possibilities of having copies of these.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2023-01-25 19:17
ruben,
I realize that you're speaking primarily in the context of "classical" repertoire - but I feel it is important (especially for bboard visitors who might be thinking about picking up the clarinet) to point out how flexible the clarinet is in various styles of music, and how many options are available to a clarinetist in choosing styles/genres...making the overall repertoire of the instrument almost limitless.
Fuzzy
;^)>>>
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Author: ruben
Date: 2023-01-25 20:17
Our friend, Peter Cigleris, is cetainly one of the artists that has done most to expand the clarinet repertoire in recent times. 80 years ago, there was Benny Goodman and all the pieces he commissioned. Granted, he had more money than most of us!
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
Post Edited (2023-01-25 23:59)
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Author: jim sclater
Date: 2023-01-29 06:31
Some of you asked me to suggest literature that deserved being played more often. Below is a small list in which I have taken the liberty of including a few of my works for clarinet. Some are perhaps "near" standard rep now.
Sonatina - J. Horowitz
Quintet for clar. and string quartet - G. Jacob
Concerto - G. Finzi
Concerto in A major for oboe d'amore and strings JS Bach (A clarinet)
Nocturno - J. Gonsalez
Tres Bagatelas - C. Castro
Sonata - F. Finke
*****
Works by James Sclater
Six Folksong Studies
Rumanian Whirling Dance
Five Old American Songs for clar. and organ
Chorale Preludes for the Christmas Season, Books I & II - clar. and organ
Spirituals for clar. and piano
Sweet Swingin' Suite - violin, clar. & piano (commissioned by Argot Trio) -
recorded by the Argot Trio
Crucifixus - solo clarinet
Serenade - clar. & string quartet
jsclater@comcast.net
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Author: ruben
Date: 2023-01-29 13:14
Jim, are your pieces published?
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: ruben
Date: 2023-01-29 13:24
Although I don't usually blow my own trumpet, the following pieces composed by yours truly have been published and are available:
A Bitter Suite for solo clarinet
Variations on Blue Monk for clarinet and bassoon
Mouvements pour hautbois et clarinette
If ever any of you perform any of these pieces, please let me know.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: jim sclater
Date: 2023-01-29 18:00
Ruben,
Thanks for your interest. I realize this is an exercise in self promotion but I assure you I would not list these works if I didn't think they were worthy of performance.
You asked about publishers, so here goes..
Works by James Sclater
Six Folksong Studies - Southern Music (Hal Leonard)
Rumanian Whirling Dance - Southern Music (Hal Leonard)
Five Old American Songs for clar. and organ - EC Schirmer
The following works are available are available from Sheet Music Prtess
Chorale Preludes for the Christmas Season, Books I & II - clar. and organ
Spirituals for clar. and piano
Sweet Swingin' Suite - violin, clar. & piano (commissioned by Argot Trio) -
recorded by the Argot Trio
Crucifixus - solo clarinet
Serenade - clar. & string quartet
jsclater@comcast.net
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Author: bradfordlloyd
Date: 2023-02-04 00:34
Everything is relative.
Clarinet repertoire is small compared to violin and piano. But, when I go to look for things for bass clarinet, basset horn, contra clarinets or even for percussion repertoire (for my son), I realize that it's actually quite large.
We can always use more high quality additions to the repertoire, but I believe that there's plenty to build a career around for those that choose that path.
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