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Majesty, Thank you for posting a score. As I mentioned previously, this is something that needs to be discussed at more length here. We need to find a way to have the composers that post here (myself included) feel as secure as possible about these things.
Now, on to your piece. This piece is a lot of fun. I especially like the polyrhythmic runs (like at m. 5) and the little motifs in the clarinet (like at m. 7,8,9,10).
One thing that would concern me if I were writing it - and I’m not a wind player at all so this may be totally off-base - is the sixteenth note patterns (like at m. 3) that are mimicked in the piano accompaniment. It just seems to me, from an arranging point of view, that the piano is unnecessarily doubling the clarinet. Sometimes note for note, although never for too long.
For instance, at m.4, take out the F#s and the cl. Is playing DDCDDC, while the piano is playing all Ds and doubling the F# on the off-beats. It just seems that the piano accompaniment is stealing the soloist’s thunder so to speak. I don’t know if this makes any sense but to put it another way, the subtle ways that a clarinetist might interpret this may tend to get masked by the piano, which is not really accompanying so much as doubling in places. Well, pseudo doubling.
Like I said, it’s not so much a criticism as it is a concern. And you may be more in touch with how this will sound with real instruments that than I am. But even playing it in Finale, the clarinet tends to get lost in the mix quite often when playing that particular figure. My solution, (if your interested) would simply be to make the piano rhythms more contrasting here - Maybe dotted quarter - sixteenth or sixteenth - eighth - sixteenth figures - or whatever. - maybe even more quarter-notey - heck, less may be better than more in this particular case - because it will feature the soloist more.
Anyways, very nice work.
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Thank you for your comments and analysis. Your concerns for the pseudo doubling is justified. Normally,
I would have been just as concerned. But in this case the piano and bass clarinet have such different timbres and the pseudo doublings usually occur in different octaves. Also, I'm not sure if you are familiar with the 'symphony concertante' style. In this style the soloists and ensemble aren't always as seen as separate entities. At times the soloist(s) will loose their "thunder" but the timbre of the instrument will speak. Therefore there is usually a back and forth thing going on between the soloist(s) and ensemble. I tried to use that concept in this concertante as my ideas was to depict two distinct personalities fused/intermingled together in friendship as well as back and forth converstation. Yet, at times the unique personality of the Bass Clarinet shines out by itself as the featured solo. I'm not entirely sure if by others perception of the piece that I conveyed the concept successfully or not. But, I truly understand what you are saying and what the concerns are and I will definitely take a listen to the performance keeps those things in mind.
Thanks!