Early clarinet performance as described by modern specialists, with a performance edition of Mathieu Fre´´de´´ric Blasius's IIe Concerto de clarinette

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Luc Alain Jackman (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Kelly Burke

Abstract: "Increasingly, twenty-first century musicians are expected to render 'historically informed' performances. The necessary scholarship for this type of performance is gathered through examining surviving iconography, published critiques, method books, performance practice essays, and surviving instruments. Fre´de´ric Blasius's Nouvelle me´thode de clarinette is a relevant source with respect to early French repertoire, and the information is most likely applicable to the interpretation of his surviving works. To fully understand the content of early repertoire and method books, it is necessary to examine the fingerings, articulation, and ornamentation suggestions through the medium for which it was intended: the five-key boxwood clarinet. The absence of tangible aural sources makes the pedagogy of this instrument difficult to assess, and musicians are often tempted to gravitate towards the familiar sound and playing techniques of the modern clarinet. This study examines the current performance practice of the early clarinet. Twenty-one early clarinet specialists from around the world were asked to fill out a questionnaire on the modern approach to early clarinet technique. Answers were compiled and compared to surviving method books in six essays. A list of available fingering chart compilations, and a list of works offering complete translations of early methods was provided to help aspiring clarinetists undertaking the study of the five-key clarinet. Mathieu-Fre´de´ric Blasius was a prolific composer, conductor, performer, and pedagogue of the Classical era and his influence helped establish the foundation for the present day excellence of French wind players. Blasius's output for clarinet comprises Nouvelle me´thode de clarinette, several chamber music works, and four clarinet concertos. The latter illustrate virtuoso writing and playing characteristics of clarinetists at the Paris Conservatoire upon its foundation. Unfortunately, many of Blasius's works have been lost or forgotten. The parts to IIe Concerto de clarinette have only one surviving copy, located in the Edwin A. Fleisher Music Collection of the Philadelphia Free Library. They contain several inconsistencies with respect to articulations, dynamics, and ornamentation. This study presents a revised performance edition of the concerto in full score, reintroducing a significant French concerto of the early nineteenth-century to the clarinet repertoire."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2005
Keywords
musicians, musical scholarship, iconography, performance practice essays, Fre´de´ric Blasius's Nouvelle, me´thode de clarinette, five-key boxwood clarinet, Paris Conservatoire, clarinet
Subjects
Clarinet--Performance
Blasius, Fre´de´ric,--1758-1829.--Concertos,--clarinet, orchestra,--no. 2,-- F major
Concertos (Clarinet)

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