Clarinet

Instrument Name: Clarinet
Key: Bb or A
Family: Woodwind
Sound production: A reed vibrates quickly against the mouthpiece, opening and closing the pipe hundreds of times a second.
First Invented: By Johann Christian Denner in c.1700 and improved by his son, Jacob Denner. The modern instrument as we know it was developed by Hyacinthe Klosé and Louis Buffet around 1840 and was inspired by Theobald Boehm’s work with flute key systems.
Ancestors: Chalumeau, Recorder.
Materials: Grenadilla wood for the body and silver plated nickel for the keys. Student instruments are often made from ABS resin.
Range: 3 octaves+
Famous Clarinettists: Emma Johnson, Martin Fröst, Benny Goodman, Stanley Drucker, Jack Brymer, Carl Baermann, Anton Stadler.
Famous Clarinet Makers: Buffet. Peter Eaton, Yamaha, Leblanc, Selmer.
Clarinet Family: 
 
Here are 10 pieces of music played on the clarinet which are  really worth a listen. In no particular order:

1. Rhapsody in Blue- George Gershwin

   This is one of the most awesome openings to a piece ever. At the beginning, the clarinettist has to slide up the notes of the instrument all the way to the top. This technique is called a glissando and its not easy, but when it’s done well it’s a real showstopper!
   

2. Clarinet Concerto- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

   Mozart is one of the world’s most famous composers. It might not sound like it to you, but at the time he wrote his music (1780s), his sounds were cutting edge. He is especially well-known for writing big pieces for orchestras that feature a single soloist playing over the top; these are called concertos. These are a great chance for wind players to show off how quickly and brilliantly they can play.
   

3. Concertino– Carl Maria von Weber

   ‘Concertino’ is Italian for ‘little concerto’ and this piece is like a condensed version of the longer concertos written by composers before Weber’s time (like Mozart). It starts off with a slow section and then suddenly picks up speed. At this point in history, clarinets were starting to be built with more keys so that clarinettists could play more difficult music with greater speed- this piece is an even better opportunity for showing off!
   

4. Clarinet a la King- Benny Goodman

   Goodman was a major figure in jazz from the late 1930s onward and was known as the ‘King of Swing’. This piece by him is played by a swing band and features the clarinet player as a soloist. Listen to the speed with which he ‘improvises’ (makes it up as he goes along) as he moves away from the tune at the beginning. Benny Goodman’s sound uses a lot of ‘vibrato’; he uses his jaw to wobble the note. See if you can hear it!
   

5. Sonata for Clarinet and Piano- Francis Poulenc

   This piece has a very modern feel; it was only completed in 1962! It was first performed in 1962 by Benny Goodman, who had asked his friend Poulenc to write this piece in the first piece. A ‘Sonata’ is a type of piece that comes in three parts called ‘movements’. Each movement of this piece has it’s own different mood and feel. See if you can write down some words to describe each one.
   

6. Five Bagatelles- Gerald Finzi

   This piece is made up of five different movements (as the title suggests), each with their own different feel. Some of the movements are more technically demanding than others and as a result, parts of this piece can be found on the ABRSM syllabus anywhere between Grades 4 and 8! Listen out for the beautiful melodies and how they mesh with the piano accompaniment.
   

7. Flight of the Bumblebee- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

   This piece wasn’t originally written for the clarinet, but a chap called Sergey Rosanov wrote out this great version for clarinet and piano. It’s a really challenging piece that uses all the notes of the instrument at considerable speed! Plus, it also sounds quite a lot like the insect its named for.
   
    

8. Clarinet Sonata- Camille Saint-Saëns

   Saint-Saëns was more famous for writing things like Carnival of the Animals and the Danse Macabre, but this piece for clarinet and piano is beautiful and impressive in its own right! He wrote this piece for a clarinettist friend shortly before he died. Each of the four movements has its own distinct character and I think my favourite is the last because it has such energy!
   

9. Klezmer Dances- Göran Fröst

   This is a really exciting piece that uses all kind of extended techniques, extreme speed and twiddly bits to captivate the audience. Göran Fröst wrote this for his brother Martin to perform (See below). Klezmer is a type of music that originated in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe and later America. The clarinet features heavily as a solo instrument in this genre and this piece uses the Klezmer style to show off the clarinet (and Martin Frost) to its full extent. Enjoy!
   

10. Czardas- Vittorio Monti

    Although this piece was originally written for the violin, I thought that I should include a piece of music that was performed by more than one clarinet! This arrangement features a clarinet quartet (three clarinets and a bass clarinet) and shows off the full range of pitches that these instruments can play. The Czardas is a type of gypsy dance famed for it’s speed and complexity. The tune changes between major and minor keys, can you tell when?