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The Authentic Clarinet: Tone and Tonality Author(s): Colin Lawson Source: The Musical Times, Vol.

124, No. 1684 (Jun., 1983), pp. 357-358 Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/964062 . Accessed: 20/09/2013 21:43
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Colin Lawson

The Authentic toneand tonality Clarinet:


Thus, in assessingMozart's choice of it can be misleading to differenclarinet, forthe tiate betweenhis consideration for andhispreference a particular players timbre. F and C werenotthemselves with keys Mozart the instruwhich associated usually ment.They occurin contexts where the ofclarinets wasnotanoverriding presence andmay involve consideration, prominent for theC clarinet; include writing examples thearias'Vedraicarino'(in C) and 'Non midir'(inF) inDon Giovanni andtheduet vidono'(inF) inCosifan tutte. Out'I1core side opera,F and C occurprincipally to suitanother as intheoboeconinstrument, in F K416f certo orchestral fragment (with andthequintet in F C clarinets) fragment basset-horn and K580b for C clarinet, trio.Onlyoccasionally is Mozart's string choiceofclarinet notboundup withhis as in the Kyrie in D minor tonality, A clarinets in four flats K341/368a where ofC clarinets. areused instead Here colour is clearly theprimary consideration, sinceclarinet are compartsin D minor monin Mozart(e.g. in theSerenade K388 andthePianoConcerto K491).The Kyrie alsoillustrates ofcomposers thewillingness inextreme towrite occasional clarinet parts flat whileavoiding thesharp of keys, keys D andevenG. On thefive-keyed clarinet the intonation off' sharpwas variable, whilef" sharpwas rather a weak note thesecond oftheClarinet subject (though Concerto that Stadler wasableto suggests overcomethese difficulties).5 In D an technical additional wasthenegoproblem tiation oftheadjacent keysforb' and c" in C sharp.A rareuse ofB flatclarinets occurs intheoverture toLa clemenmajor za di Tito,wheretheir partsare notated without C clarinets areused key signature; in theopera. elsewhere to IvanMiiller'ssubmission of servatoire his newly-invented 'omnitonic' 13-keyed B flat in 1812.The continued clarinet use ofthevarious sizesofclarinet was recomnotontechnical mended, grounds (though claimtobe clarinet couldhardly Miiller's but because the genuinely omnitonic) exclusive useofasingle instrument would ofan important tonal deprive composers of the character resource.6 In outlining each size,theConservatoire commission oftheC a positive included appreciation as wellas clarinet etvif'), ('le sonbrillant theA ('propreau genre and B pastoral') flat etmajestau genre ('propre path~tique a has presented ueux'). David Charlton detailed oftheFrench of practice analysis in scores with clarinets notated publishing C evenwhere in A or B flat instruments tobeused.Thistechnique wasobservwere ed bySaint-Sains thepreparation during ofhisedition andissumofGluck's Orphie of marized Thus a knowledge byForsyth. isnecesFrench conventions performance inorder thecomposer's tocomprehend sary since ofeachsizeofclarinet, appreciation theimmediate left impression by survivand ing scoresis thatthe transposition left choiceofinstrument wereapparently to the copyist or player.There is little evidence thatthistechnique was applied in Germany and Austria. Beethoven's clarinet notation often reflects thedifficulties aboutby brought the increasingly wide tonalrangeof his can music.Again,an authentic approach technical expectto differentiate scarcely from choice ofcolour. specific expediency tounderestimate Professor seems Longyear A varieBeethoven's use oftheC clarinet. his seemsto haveprompted tyofmotives in orchestral choice of the instrument theC minor solointheAgnusDei music; oftheMass in C occurs before the shortly andtheLeonore modulation tothemajor, overtures nos.2and3 present similar cases, a C clarinet intheintrosoloinA flat The conventional viewofthedifferent with inC. Byconduction toa principal in theearly clarinets 19th Allegro century maybe in thereaction oftheParisConobserved thepresence ofC clarinets for theG trast,

R. M. Longyear's recent article onclarinet tone' raisesimportant issues about the orchestral oftheearly palette 19th-century theexact role While ofeachtype composer. ofclarinet in thisperiodmaybe difficult toascertain, an overwhelming casecanbe madeforidentifying and following comas a first posers'preferences steptowards there-creation oforiginal sonorities. The intone-quality difference theinstruamong inA, B flat ments andC wasperceived by all 18thand 19th-century writers virtually onthesubject; Gottfried several, including Berrand Weber,Berliozand theplayers that the choice Baermann, emphasized shouldbe the composer's responsibility rather thantheplayer's.2 Mozart a comprehensive provides guide to late 18th-century Like many practice. ofhiscontemporaries, hepreferred towrite clarinet inF or that couldbe notated parts C and advisedhis pupilAttwood to confine tothese.3 Forexample, himself theE majornumbers (thechorus'Placido e il mar'and thearia 'Zeffiretti lusinghieri') inIdomeneo for in B,4 werescored clarinet inF; Mozart with theparts returned tothis for in Cosi instrument theE major numbers fan tutte (thetrio'Soave sia il vento'and therond6 'Perpiet&'). The modern use of A clarinets hereseemsjustified untilone realizesthatMozart'sperception of difinorchestral ferent music took account keys of the shadesof colourcharacteristic of inclarinet timbre must each;thevariation in thesamelight be regarded as theeffect ofdifferent horncrooks or openstrings.

1 AprilMT, p.224 2 The minimal thetone-quality distinction between in Cecil Forsyth's observed ofA and B flatclarinets influenced Orchestration (London,1914)wasperhaps expressed bythecelebrated bytheover-simplification in Lazarus his tutor of1881: clarinettist English Henry 'those clarinets various C] aremade [A,B flat, pitched inkeys render music which would so as toavoid writing thefingering onlyone extremely difficult werethere as many and notforthechangeof timbre, clarinet, think'.
3 NMA X:30/1, Attwood-Studien,156f

in B was madeavailable bytheinser4 The clarinet de rechange) middlejoint(corps tionofan alternative theC clarinet; a similar wascommonly into technique flat A and B with to the instrument, an ineviapplied on intonation. tabledetrimental effect

an exception is the Notturno Mi lagnerotacendoK437,

of G are also rare; partswithin tonality 5 Clarinet

in G. and therarebasset-horn whichhas A clarinets

6 see David Charlton: Orchestration and Orchestral Practice in Paris, 1789 to 1810 (diss., U. of Cambridge, 1973)

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oftheViolinConmajorslowmovement C clarinet initsnatural noted key (a practice certo be a matter oftone since in Grove colour, thewithdrawal ofthe may 1) heralds from theA clarinets theGerman tradition couldreadily untilits havebeenre- latter tained from theouter In the movements. revival by Mahlerand Strauss.8 Ninth Beethoven takes into acIn Italy and EasternEurope the C Symphony, counttheinadvisability ofquickchanges clarinet retained an important rolein the ofclarinet; theAlla Marciaofthefinale, 19th inboth outdoor anddomestic century for B flat retains clarinets without popular example, music. It is no coincidence that it even when the notation was extensively key signature used by Rossini,Verdi, elsewhere movesfrom two flatsto two andSmetana. In Dvoi~k'sSlavonic Dvorak falsekeysignature ocsharps. Danceop.46no.1,for (A similar theinstruexample, cursin theclarinet soundandarticulation areas much partsoftheoverture ment's Leonore inthe no.1.)The useofC clarinets oftheconception as thecontribution part Scherzo seems a question oftim- oftheF trumpets primarily andthecarefully calcubre.In terms oftonality, themainraison latedpercussion effects. The overture to d'treoftheC clarinet TheBartered wasbynowitshome Brideis a further in context F major beenassigned toB flat whichC clarinets key, having are indispensable and clarinets from the SixthSymphony onsince some intended, evidently specifically wards.Composers remained reluctant to ofthelater in F arescored numbers for B notate clarinet inD longafter thekey flat clarinet. The rustic introduction toAct parts wasfirst inclarinet recommended tutors.7 I is also enhanced by adherenceto The locusclassicus here is the coda of Smetana's original scoring. Beethoven'sC minorPiano Concerto, where theB flat clarinets fall incongruously silent after themodulation to themajor. In works byBeethoven's contemporaries, the C clarinet was sometimes selected In tackling the complexproblemof where alternative soloparts werepublish- clarinet I believewe should sonorities, ed simultaneously. A conspicuous exam- follow thecomposer's instructions as closeple is the concerto even where by Pleyel;the florid lyas possible, conthey appear inSchubert's offertorium obbligato Totus servative oreccentric; tointeranyattempt incorde A rather pretthemotives for lanqueo thechoiceofa partimaybe another. more controversial context isthe cular clarinet must beundertaken with different, cauvariation movement ofSchubert's Octet, tion. A knowledge of subsequent where the ofC isprobably the ininstrumental manufacture tonality prin- developments oftheC canposea continuous threat toan authencipal reasonfortheappearance the resulting ticapproach. Canwebecertain clarinet, that Mozart though changeof timbre also needsto be accommodated in wouldhave preferred our A clarinets in In Spohr's inC for 'Soave sia il vento'or Schubert ourB flat Notturno performance. windbandand Turkish the instruments, clarinets intheGreat C major Symphony? idiomatic C clarinet in four ofthesix part The attitude tosuchproblems adopted by movements dictates the character players ofanyperiod should positively notbe regardofthemusic. ed as infallible, since adherence to the In a few contexts thechoice ofC clarinet original textcannotbe theirimmediate canbe ascribed to technical consi- priority. An instructive wholly example maybe A notable derations. is Mendel- found inthemusic ofRichard example Strauss; his ssohn's overture The ofdifferent clarinet tonecolwhere, appreciation FairMelusine for a statement inG ofthearpeggiated first ours is widelyacknowledged, yetin the thefirst clarinet isasked tochange cruelly subject, demanding parts E majorclarinet from B flat toC during thedevelop- oftheOboeConcerto thetemptation briefly toexment. This is among theleastpersuasive change B flat A clarinet for andtranspose contexts for authentic exreconstruction, is overwhelming. Even20th-century works cept on technical are not immune grounds. from Despite his theproblems suroftheC clarinet, Mendelssohn's rounding advocacy authentic performance! in the symphonies to notate tendency A clarinet for inthree flats rather than parts

Appoirmnt,Awards
Richard Lawrence is appointed Arts Councilmusic in succession director to Basil Deane. artistic director oftheCity lan Ritchie is appointed ofLondon Festival. conGiuseppe Sinopoli hasbeenappointed principal ductor of thePhilharmonia Orchestra. Robert Bilson, GregoryEllis, Richard Ireland andPeter Tanfield(violinists), andAlison Hagley, Mark Holland, lan Platt and Lorna Windsor (singers)have won Royal Societyof Arts Music foradvanced Scholarships study. Eva Doroszkowska wonthejunior, Sarah Briggs themiddleand Nicholas Oliver theseniorsection oftheSurrey Pianist of the Year competition. Young Rubinstein Jeffrey Kahane wontheArthur Competition,Tel-Aviv. Herbertvon Karajan is awarded thegoldmedalof theRoyalPhilharmonic Society. Steve Martland haswontheKarlheinz Stockhausen International for hispiano Competition Composition piece Kgakala. Harry Mortimer is awardedthe firsthonorary inbandmusicianship Coldiploma graduate bySalford lege ofTechnology. * this from theGregynog Chair year lan Parrottretires ofMusicattheUniversity CollegeofWales, Aberyston 16 and wyth; concerts weregiven in Aberystwyth 18 May,including several ofhisworks, among them twopremieres. A BirthdayAlbum forThomas Pitfield,containvarious combinations soprano, ofpiano, ingpiecesfor countertenor andrecorder, hasbeenpublished tocele80thbirthday; bratethecomposer's contributors includeAlanBush,William Alwyn, Anthony Gilbert, Crosse andEdward and McCabe,Gordon Cowie, John from thesaleofthevolume byFor(published royalties at ?5) willbe givento charity. syth Sounds Natural is thetitle ofa songbook containing 19songs for classroom useandillustrations andinformation on several species;thesongsarethewinning entriesin a competition organized by the World Wildlife Fund,whichhas also issuedan LP record 12 songs, called'Save theAnimals' (profits featuring from bothwill go towards the fund'sinternational The bookis available tropical rainforests campaign). from Boosey & Hawkes (Retail) (?4.95plus?1 postage) LondonW1R 8JH,and the Street, Ltd, 295 Regent record orcassette Wildlife Fund (?4.95 plus55p)from Mail Order,3 Headingly Mount,Leeds LS6 3EL. What Price Music? is the titleof a 23-minute filmcommissioned documentary by thePerforming ofthe Right greater publicawareness Society tocreate valueofmusicto thecommunity, theimportance of thosewho create and disseminate it,and theroleof thePRS intheprotection oftheir Detailsfrom rights. thePRS Publications and Information Department, 29/33Berners LondonW1P 4AA. Street, Suppliers to Craftsmen Musical Instrument is published Makers, compiled byMarkNorris, by theScottish in a newenlarged Development Agency itlists craftsmen andmanufacturers from the edition; UK andoverseas incategories ofthematerials arranged Itis available theScotthey supply. ?1.50) from (price tishDevelopment 102 Telford Road, EdinAgency, burghEH4 2NP.

7 see M. F. Blasius:Nouvelle methode de clarinette (Paris, 1802-3)

8 Alan Hackerhas noted, thatnos.2 and however, 3 ofSchumann's op.73 appearto have Fantasiestiicke been intendedfor C clarinet(see sleeve-note to DSLO 17). L'Oiseau-Lyre

358

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