Faculty Recital
Delta State University Department of Music
Recital Hall, Bologna Performing Arts Center
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
7:30 PM

Program

Syrinx (La flûte de Pan)
Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918)

Rapsodie
Claude Debussy
ed. Rousseau

Petite Pièce
Claude Debussy

Two pieces
Claude Debussy
arr. Jolles/Lucarelli

1. Reverie
2. Menuet (from Suite Bergamasque)

from Children’s Corner
Claude Debussy
arr. Prorvich

1. Jimbo’s Lullaby
2. The Little Shepherd
3. Golliwogg’s Cakewalk

Première Rapsodie
Claude Debussy

Notes

Achille-Claude Debussy (1862-1918) is widely regarded as a leading practitioner of what, in his words, “some fools call Impressionism,” a term he felt was too narrow for his style. His works were crucial to the transition from the Romantic 19^th century into the Modernist 20^th, and hinted at each while fully embracing neither.

The Syrinx for solo flute was written in 1912 as incidental music for a play. The title refers to the chaste nymph from Greek mythology, who becomes a set of musical pipes in an attempt to avoid the romantic advances of the god Pan. The piece’s rhythmic and harmonic freedom are hallmarks of Debussy’s style.

The Rapsodie for saxophone was written during a period from 1903 to 1911 to fulfill a commission by wealthy American amateur Elise Hall, referred to in Debussy’s correspondence as the “Femme-saxophone” (the “saxophone lady”). Debussy was less than enchanted with Hall (and with the pink dress she liked to wear in performance), and also pessimistic about her ability to execute difficult technical passages. Debussy’s original version avoids any serious challenges in the saxophone part; contemporary saxophonists almost always play Eugene Rousseau’s edition, which reassigns some of the more virtuosic material to the saxophonist.

Two piano works, Reverie (1890) and the Menuet from Suite Bergamasque (1905), are presented here in arrangement for oboe and piano. Reverie was an early publication and reflects a charming but not-quite-mature style that embarrassed Debussy in his later career; the Menuet represents a more sophisticated and colorful harmonic approach.

Children’s Corner (1908) is a suite of short, witty piano pieces (arranged here for bassoon and piano) dedicated to Debussy’s daughter, Claude-Emma: “To my dear little Chouchou, with her father’s affectionate apologies for what follows.” The English titles are thought to reflect the games a young French girl might learn from a British nanny.

The Petite Pièce and the Première Rapsodie, both completed in 1910, are fruits of Debussy’s ongoing involvement with his alma mater, the Paris Conservatory. Both pieces were written as examination pieces for Conservatory clarinet students, with the Petite Pièce intended for sight-reading exams and the Première Rapsodie used as a competition piece. The fluently idiomatic writing testifies to Debussy’s grasp of the instrument’s expressive possibilities, and the technical and interpretive challenges testify to the high ability level of the Conservatory’s student clarinetists.

—Bret Pimentel

There are a number of criteria that go into these selections, but I mentioned one in particular back in the spring:

So far my two-semester tally, selecting recordings for four different instruments, is six white men and two white women. I’d like to improve on that in the future, though I do think that, ultimately, what comes through the earphones is more central to this project than the colors or genders represented on the CD covers.

I think I did manage to pick out two this semester that add a little diversity, and certainly without compromising one bit on quality: my oboe students are getting a fine recording by Brazilian oboist Alex Klein, and the saxophonists will be enjoying a new release by African-American saxophonist (and one of my teachers) Otis Murphy. On the other hand, I did end up with all men this time around.

One other victory this semester is that all these recordings are available for download on iTunes. I still like having the CD myself, but iTunes is a convenient and, more importantly, economical option for my students.

Here are the selections:

Oboe: Alex Klein, Oboe Concertos of the Classical Era

Find it on: iTunes | Amazon

Repertoire: Krommer Concertos, Hummel Introduction, Theme, and Variations

Clarinet: David Shifrin, Brahms/Schumann Soirée

Find it on: iTunes | Amazon

Repertoire: Brahms Sonatas, Schumann Fantasiestücke

Bassoon: Frank Morelli, Baroque Fireworks

Find it on: iTunes | Amazon

Repertoire: Zelenka Trio Sonata, Vivaldi Sonatas in B-flat major and A minor, Telemann Sonata and Quartet

Saxophone: Otis Murphy, Fantasy

Find it on: iTunes

Repertoire: Maslanka Sonata, Bozza Aria, Tomasi Ballade, transcriptions of Bizet, Saint-Saëns, and Narita.

I wrote this a few years back for a graduate school course. The professor, not a wind player, raised the question of why I limited the discussion to clarinets in B-flat and A, and ignored, for example, the C clarinet. The reason for this, which may not be obvious to a non-clarinetist, is that the B-flat and A instruments use the same mouthpieces, reeds, and sometimes even barrels. Since other sizes of clarinet require their own mouthpieces and reeds, there is a clearer separation between these instruments.

Photo, Ollie Crafoord

Alert concertgoers will be aware that the orchestral clarinetist is often seen on stage with not one, but two clarinets, which appear to be nearly identical. These are clarinets in the keys of B-flat and A, and, in truth, they very nearly are the same—identical in keywork and playing approach. The difference is one of an inch or so in length, giving the A clarinet a range that is deeper by one semitone.

It seems a redundancy to have two instruments so close in range. The ubiquity of the B-flat and A clarinets is a vestige of the clarinet’s early days, when its simpler keywork made it poorly suited to playing in more than a handful of keys; early clarinetists owned several instruments of different transpositions so that they could play in whatever key was required. But the modern instrument has a more involved mechanism that allows much more chromatic agility. The problem that remains is that the clarinet has accumulated two hundred and fifty years of repertoire, some of which calls for the instrument in B-flat, some of which calls for the instrument in A, and even some that calls for a little of each.

The question, then, is this: for a given piece of music, did the composer simply choose a specific clarinet in an attempt to make life easier for the clarinetist? If so, it may no longer be necessary to use two clarinets to do the job of one, with the modern instrument’s more sophisticated keywork giving it more chromatic freedom. The clarinetist might pick his or her preferred instrument for the situation, regardless of which is specified by the composer. (Jack Brymer is willing to leave the decision up to an even lower-level employee: “There is a fairly strong school of thought which suggests it [the use of both A and B-flat clarinets] is an archaic hang-over and that the composer should simply write the score out in concert pitch and leave it to the copyist to sort the matter out.”)

The other possibility is that composers selected either B-flat or A clarinets to exploit a difference, real or perceived, in tone quality. Colin Lawson points out that composers as orchestrationally astute as Francis Poulenc and Richard Strauss have scored for B-flat and A clarinets to be used simultaneously, with the clear intention of contrasting the instruments’ timbres. Brymer, however, contends that “one can prove scientifically that the sounds of the B flat and A clarinets are identical,” and attributes any perceived timbral difference to preconceived notions.

The clarinetist who chooses to use only one clarinet to play parts written for either instrument must, of course, become skilled at transposing. Another issue is the very slight difference in range: the A clarinet’s low E (concert D-flat) is unobtainable on the ordinary B-flat clarinet. Some musicians have used a B-flat clarinet built to reach the extra low note, but Lawson quotes the conductor Sir Henry Wood as calling this practice a “great mistake.” Sniffs Sir Henry, “I always missed the particular quality of the A instrument.”

The debate over the B-flat and A clarinets is built essentially on differences of opinion. The only clear conclusion that can be drawn at this point is that clarinetists for generations to come will walk onto the stage with a clarinet in each hand.

Sources

Brymer, Jack. Clarinet. Yehudi Menuhim Music Guides, ed. Yehudi Menuhin. New York: Schirmer, 1976.

Lawson, Colin. “Introduction: Clarinets in B-flat and A.” In The Cambridge Companion to the Clarinet, ed. Colin Lawson. Cambridge Companions to Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 1, 2010

Bret Pimentel Signs On As First FLAVOREEDS™ Artist

FORT WAYNE, Indiana.—FLAVOREEDS™ Flavored Clarinet and Saxophone Reeds, Inc., is pleased to announce the first in what it hopes will be a series of “fruit”ful relationships with professional woodwind players in developing and promoting its new professional line of premium cane instrument reeds.

The first FLAVOREEDS™ Artist to join the roster is multiple woodwind performer and educator Bret Pimentel. Dr. Pimentel has performed with such acts as Dave Brubeck, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the O’Jays, and is currently Assistant Professor of Music at Delta State University. He is an experienced performer on all the major woodwind instruments, and expects to bring this expertise to bear in consulting on new and current product lines.

“As soon as I made a verbal commitment to the company, I forwarded them some thoughts about their new Papaya-Mango Bass Saxophone Reeds™,” Pimentel said in a telephone interview. “I found them to be a little overpowering in the papaya department, with not enough mango. I’m working closely with FLAVOREEDS™ to better balance the flavors.”

FLAVOREEDS™ Flavored Clarinet and Saxophone Reeds, Inc., spokesman Morris Tromper echoed Pimentel’s excitement.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Mr. Pimentel on the team,” Tromper reported. “A lot of people see fruit-flavored reeds as a gimmick for kids. And while the beginning band market has been very good to us, we felt it was time to appeal to adult instrumentalists who want a little more ‘flavor’ in their playing. Mr. Pimentel has the woodwind skills and the grown-up palate to help make that a reality.”

In addition to consulting on existing products, Pimentel is in the process of approving prototypes for his own Artist Series FLAVOREED™. “Each Artist Series™ reed will reflect the musical demands of the individual FLAVOREEDS™ Artist, as well as the distinctive flavors of their favorite dishes and recipes,” Tromper said.

An initial brainstorming session with Pimentel reportedly led to a wide variety of prototypes. “At first I was going with all fruits,” said Pimentel, “but they said to come up with as many ideas as possible, no matter how strange.” This led to preliminary taste tests, which included flavors like Turkey Gravy, Ritz and Cheddar, and Tilapia. “They were surprisingly good,” said Pimentel, “but then I tried the strangest one of all, and immediately fell in love with it.” Pimentel’s final Artist Series™ reed flavor is being kept a closely-guarded secret until product launch next month, but Tromper confirmed that the reeds will be available for soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, as well as clarinet and bass clarinet, with Artist Series™ oboe and bassoon reeds remaining a future possibility.

For up-to-the-minute availability information on the Bret Pimentel Artist Series FLAVOREED™, click here.

At this point it’s gotten hard for me to imagine doing a full recital on a single instrument. I enjoy getting to play several, and audiences seem to enjoy the variety. And since this was my first faculty recital at my new gig, I wanted each of my students to hear me perform something from the core repertoire of their instrument.

I would like, ultimately, to be able to put together a full recital of woodwind pieces without making any special concessions for the fact that I am playing multiple instruments. In this case I did play it a little on the safe side: I chose a program that was not overwhelmingly technical, and I programmed something short of an hour’s worth of music so that I could take a few extra minutes between pieces.

One note-to-self for next time: I experienced a few onstage symptoms of not being thoroughly warmed up on each instrument (water in oboe toneholes, low note response issues on bassoon). I purposefully avoided playing too much on the day of the recital, but I think I can find a better balance the next time around.

And now, without further ado:

Hindemith: Sonate (oboe)

Play

Bernstein: Sonata (clarinet)

Play

Osborne: Rhapsody (bassoon)

Play

Dubois: Concerto (alto saxophone)

Play

Department of Music
Delta State University College of Arts and Sciences
Recital Hall, Bologna Performing Arts Center
Monday, February 15, 2010
7:30 PM

PROGRAM

Sonate for oboe and piano
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)

1. Munter
2. Sehr langsam – Lebhaft

Sonata for clarinet and piano
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

1. Grazioso
2. Andantino – Vivace e leggerio

Rhapsody for bassoon
Willson Osborne (1906-1979)

Concerto for alto saxophone
Pierre Max Dubois (1930-1995)

1. Lento espressivo – Allegro
2. Sarabande
3. Rondo

NOTES

Paul Hindemith wrote his Sonate for oboe and piano in 1938. In that year, he left his native Germany and settled briefly in Switzerland, in part due to increased scrutiny on his family because of his wife’s Jewish ancestry (he would emigrate to the U.S.A. two years later). The Sonate is a particular favorite of mine because of its no-nonsense approach to form—no time wasted on frivolous introductions or transitions here—and because the composer’s conscientiously idiomatic oboe writing reveals a deep affinity for the instrument.

Leonard Bernstein’s Sonata for clarinet and piano was his first published work, written without a commission in 1941-2 (the composer completed it at age 23). In an interview later in life, Bernstein expressed his affection for the piece despite a certain “student element.” The element to which Bernstein referred may, in fact, have been the strong influence of Hindemith, with whom Bernstein had come into contact as a student at the Tanglewood summer music program. This influence is most evident in the first movement; the second betrays Bernstein’s interest in jazz. The piece represents a true equal-partner collaboration between clarinet and piano, rather than clarinet solo with piano accompaniment.

Another of Hindemith’s American pupils was Willson Osborne. Osborne’s 1952 Rhapsody for bassoon is the most frequently performed of his works, few of which are well known. The Rhapsody’s copious expressive markings and frequent tempo and meter changes suggest that Osborne found standard musical notation somewhat rigid for his flowing musical lines.

Pierre Max Dubois wrote a number of works for the saxophone family, including this charming Concerto for alto saxophone in 1959. Fellow Frenchman Jean-Marie Londeix, who commissioned the piece, was apparently unhappy with the first movement’s opening solo section, and rewrote it to his own satisfaction. The composer approved the rewrite, and the piece was published in that revised form. The second and third movements are a sarabande (a very old, very sensual Spanish dance) and a lively, romping finale.

—Bret Pimentel

For reasons unknown to me, the post from which I originally quoted has been removed, but there are similar thoughts expressed in a more recent post.

Anyway, I got a kind offer from someone at Légère to send me a few samples.* They asked about my current cane reed preference, and sent three reeds in different strengths close to what I currently use.

Goodies via Canadian mail

As I mentioned in the previous post, I have used Légère reeds (not the Signature Series) on the largest clarinets, but have not, until now, experimented substantially with the smaller Légères.

I am pleased to report that the Signature Series are highly playable reeds. In fact, they respond nearly identically to my current cane reeds of choice (a popular, leading brand).

I mention response first because I think it’s the most important aspect of how a reed plays, but of course the question on everyone’s mind is tone. I have been playing the Signature Series reeds exclusively for the past week, and I find the tone of these reeds to be clear, dark, flexible (but not overly so), and characteristic of good cane reeds.

The reeds are very well-balanced. Since the reeds I received are of different strengths, I don’t think I can comment conclusively on consistency from reed to reed, but they strike me as having identical playing characteristics other than a predictable difference in resistance between the strengths (which isn’t always the case with cane reeds).

With the usual traffic of students and colleagues in and out of my studio, there have been a number of raised eyebrows at the sight of a plastic reed on my clarinet. In casual demonstrations, the consensus is that these sound like the “real” thing.

Here’s my exhaustive list of what I find to be different between the Légères and my cane reeds:

• Inside my head, there seems to be a little more articulation noise with the Légères. However, after recording myself, I’m convinced that it’s not audible to a listener. Still, perhaps it will push me to further refine my tonguing.
• The flat side of the reeds seems slightly more slippery than cane, which means I have to take a little extra care to get them positioned just right on the mouthpiece.
• The plastic, at least in my studio in January, feels just slightly cool against my lip. I find this minor thing to be vaguely pleasant.
• That’s it.

I would tend to choose the Légère over cane reeds in doubling situations and in my teaching studio, where the advantages of stability and non-warpage are clear. I also wouldn’t hesitate to use them for ensemble playing. As I do have a solo recital coming up, I’ve been doing a little soul-searching about whether I will use the Légère in that situation. At this point, I think I can find and adjust a cane reed that will outplay the Légère by a small (very small) margin. But in a pinch I would gratefully fall back on the Légère, and I think no one would be the wiser. I think these are worth keeping on hand for just such an eventuality, even if you’re not convinced that they’re right for normal performance situations.

On the Légère website, you can take the blindfold test with Richard Hawkins playing the Légère against a cane reed. I figured I might as well offer my own blindfold test, so you can gauge whether the difference is audible with a clarinetist rather less accomplished than the esteemed Mr. Hawkins. Can you tell which is the plastic reed?

Sample A:

Play

Sample B:

Play

See the answer

I understand that Légère is in the process of releasing a Signature Series reed for tenor saxophone, which I am anxious to try as well. Since they are releasing a tenor reed and not an alto reed (yet?) I assume that the saxophone Signature Series is geared more toward jazz players.

*In the interest of full disclosure:

I received three reeds from Légère at no cost, but I was not asked to do anything, including writing a review, in return. I am reviewing the reeds in what I believe to be an unbiased manner. (Phew!)

The purpose of this, of course, is to help the students develop good aural concepts of tone, phrasing, expression, vibrato, ensemble, and so forth. To try to learn to play an instrument well without a solid aural concept is like trying to learn a foreign language from a textbook. You might pick up a few things, but you’ll be sunk unless you get to really hear—over and over—how the words and phrases sound.

I’m discovering that it’s a challenge to make the recording selections meet all the criteria I’d like. For example, I would like for each one to:

• Be by a major soloist, preferably living
• Contain very standard literature that my students should know, without too many repeats from previous selections
• Contrast with last semester’s selection (for example, if last semester’s recording was music with piano, I tried to pick a concerto recording this time around)
• If at all possible, contribute to a sense of diversity

The last one has been a challenge. So far my two-semester tally, selecting recordings for four different instruments, is six white men and two white women. I’d like to improve on that in the future, though I do think that, ultimately, what comes through the earphones is more central to this project than the colors or genders represented on the CD covers. I’ve got a few ideas for future selections and welcome additional suggestions.

Here are this semester’s selections:

Oboe: Nancy Ambrose King Plays Oboe Concertos

Repertoire: Concerti by Mozart, Goosens, Vaughan Williams, and Martinů.

Clarinet: Paul Meyer, French Clarinet Art

Repertoire: Sonatas by Saint-Saëns and Poulenc, Chausson Andante et Allegro, Debussy Petite Pièce and Première Rhapsodie, Milhaud Sonatine and Duo Concertant, and Honegger Sonatine.

Bassoon: Dag Jensen, Musique pour Basson er Piano

Repertoire: Tansman Sonatine and Suite, Koechlin Sonate and Trois Pièces, Dutilleux Saraband et Cortège, and various short pieces by Bozza, Bitsch, and Mihalovici.

Saxophone: Claude Delangle, Under the Sign of the Sun

Repertoire: Ibert Concertino da Camera, Tomasi Concerto, Ravel Pavane pour une Infante défunte, Maurice Tableaux de Provence, Schmitt Légende, Milhaud Scaramouche.

1. If you buy into the myth that there are only two or three “good” reeds in a box of ten, you are buying the wrong reeds. There are many, many options available to you. When I’ve got the right brand, cut, and size of reed for my mouthpiece and embouchure, easily eight play respectably well right out of the box. Within 15-20 minutes, I can adjust nine or ten to play quite well, and maybe three or four of those at recital quality. I use the steps below and nothing else.
2. 

   Um, no.

   Don’t waste time and cane messing with the topography of the reed’s cut. With all the variation in reeds, the cut is the one thing that is really quite consistent. If you don’t like the cut, shop around some more. If you own a diagram like the one shown here, with elaborate instructions on which tiny sectors of reed you should sand, I recommend that you throw it away.

3. Make sure the reed is flat. Many aren’t, and one that was flat yesterday may not be flat today. A piece of 600-grit wet-dry sandpaper held against a piece of glass is the perfect tool for this. Concentrate on the part of the reed that contacts the mouthpiece’s table. For $2, I had a local glass shop cut me a 3″×4″ piece of ¼” glass, with the edges ground smooth. You can also use a mirror or window pane. A flattened reed will respond better and squeak less.
4. Balance the corners. This is the one exception I make for changing the reed’s cut. Well-balanced reeds have a nice clear tone and respond reliably throughout the instrument’s range and at any dynamic level. I find that balancing the corners can correct for much of the asymmetry of a typical reed. Even a reed that already seems pretty good can often be improved. Tom Ridenour’s method is dead simple and strikingly effective—required reading.
5. If absolutely necessary, clip the tip using a high-quality reed trimmer. I do this to maybe one in twenty reeds. I do it to make a reed feel a little stronger. Clip off the tiniest possible amount at first—a little clip goes a long way. It’s very rare that I clip off more than a tiny bit, and if I do, it rarely works out well.

That’s it!