Contrabass Digest

2000-07-17

Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 08:21:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: JJ McLallen
Subject: Re: [CB] [Contra Digest]

> I hope you have a low D and C on your bass clarinet,
> the piece is not the same
> without the low concert C's and Bb's you need to
> play, that's why it's such a
> good piece for bassoon, it covers the first three
> octaves of the bassoon
> perfectly.  Also if you hate when the piano (or
> chamber orchestra) plays the
> last note and you don't, you could always just belt
> out a low Bb on the final
> chord. :)

Agreed, the low notes do make that piece a lot better.
BUT, it does kinda work without them, so when I did
the arrangement I made sure that BOTH were on the
page, just in cas someone played it on either bass
clarinet. I personally was using a school horn that
only went to Eb. I wish I had the low C. I'm also
starting to think that the piece could work on
contra-alto, even in the high stuff. Anyone who has an
opinion on this, please let me know. This fits in with
thew original topic of discussion anyway -- altisimo.

JJ -- the young repair tech.

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Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 16:26:49 -0800
From: Andrew Stiller
Subject: Re: [CB] [Contra Digest]
 

>>  I hope you have a low D and C on your bass clarinet,
>>  the piece is not the same
>>  without the low concert C's and Bb's you need to
>>  play, that's why it's such a
>>  good piece for bassoon, it covers the first three
>>  octaves of the bassoon
>>  perfectly.  Also if you hate when the piano (or
>>  chamber orchestra) plays the
>>  last note and you don't, you could always just belt
>>  out a low Bb on the final
>>  chord. :)
>
>Agreed, the low notes do make that piece a lot better.
>BUT, it does kinda work without them, so when I did
>the arrangement I made sure that BOTH were on the
>page, just in cas someone played it on either bass
>clarinet. I personally was using a school horn that
>only went to Eb. I wish I had the low C. I'm also
>starting to think that the piece could work on
>contra-alto, even in the high stuff. Anyone who has an
>opinion on this, please let me know. This fits in with
>thew original topic of discussion anyway -- altisimo.
>
>JJ -- the young repair tech.

As someone who plays both contra-alto clarinet and bassoon, I
wouldn't recommend it.  The bn. part of the concerto goes up to Bb
above middle C, wh. on the bassoon sounds with bold confidence.  On
the c-acl that would be the top G, pinched and uncertain in any but
virtuoso hands, yelping even at the best. In general, the whole bn.
part of the concerto lies higher than average, spending most of its
time in the instrument's upper register.  The c-acl, playing this
same material, would spend its time wandering back and forth across
the altissimo register break--which, frankly, is *not* where it
belongs for any extended length of time.

I don't even much care for the bass clarinet idea here.  I could see
a case for tenor sax, trading off with baritone--that would work very
nicely!

--
Andrew Stiller
Kallisti Music Press

http://www.netcom.com/~kallisti

Ut Sol inter planetas, Ita MUSICA inter Artes liberales in medio radiat.
--Heinrich Schuetz, 1640

***End of Contrabass Digest***
 

 
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