Harp and Clarinet trio (atonal)

Here is another chamber piece. It was originally written as a harp and clarinet duet but the harp part was too difficult so I expanded it into a trio for 2 harps and 1 clarinet. It is an atonal work that develops 2 main motifs. Please leave comments on how I could improve the piece. Thanks and Enjoy!

Here is the link for the mp3

harp and clarinet trio.mp3 - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage

The score is attached

I have attached a score. Enjoy

I find it takes one listening to adjust one's hearing to atonal music, at least coming from classical tonal music. I thought this piece was quite good with some intriguing interactions between the harp and clarinet, and some good effects on the harps.

I did notice that there was no staccato for the clarinet which can be an effective device especially in the low register. Whether that would suit the elegaic mood of this piece is a question but it might provide contrast. Other than that, I don't have a suggestion on improving the piece which I found enjoyable in its present form.

I'm a little uncertain about the beaming over bar lines in the score but I'll leave that issue to a scoring guru.

Thanks for sharing this music.

Thanks Euler for the kind words. I am currently revising the piece for the purpose of inputting various staccato passages that you suggested. I feel that it is necessary and I am grateful that you pointed this out.

Here is another chamber piece. It was originally written as a harp and clarinet duet but the harp part was too difficult so I expanded it into a trio for 2 harps and 1 clarinet. It is an atonal work that develops 2 main motifs. Please leave comments on how I could improve the piece. Thanks and Enjoy!

Here is the link for the mp3

harp and clarinet trio.mp3 - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage

The score is attached

Not too familiar with atonal stuff but it certainly has atmosphere, a real sense of space, from the get go. Not sure if some of the harp runs ought to be split between the left and right channels. Overall it sounds nice with good rythmic variety. Some of the atonal stuff I've heard sounds like a bad attempt at "what if Beethoven wrote atonal music" and tends to dwell on the same rythms.

It was a very interesting piece. I don't normally listen to music as atonal as this but this piece intrigued me. I can't say I enjoyed it on first listening but on second it is growing on me. The choice of clarinet and harps is an interesting one, and it works very well. I especially liked that cluster in the harps - very cool. :thumbsup:

Some criticism: I felt that you could have chopped it up a bit less - it seemed like there were constantly pauses in between sections. Perhaps you could make some of the changes more sudden or make some of the sections longer? Then again, Webern wrote some pretty short movements/sections and it works pretty well for him, but here it seemed like you couldn't be bothered writing transitions, and it came off as quite choppy.

I think this also goes for some of the individual phrases. Again, I felt that many were too short and didn't really seem to get very far. I wouldn't try to revise this aspect of the piece though since that would require a major overhaul - just something to think about when writing future pieces.

One aspect of the piece I enjoyed was your use of motives - you developed them subtly without going HERE'S THE MOTIVE every time you used it. I also enjoyed your use of rhythm, as it suited the mood and wasn't exceedingly simple or complex.

Anyway, enough ranting from me, well done on this piece.

- ClassicalSax

I'm not a huge fan of atonal music, but I must say this was extremely tasteful and well put together. I enjoyed listening to it, which for atonal music is surprising for me.

Anyway, lovely clarinet part. I'm a clarinetist myself, and I must say it's very reminiscent of the Stravinsky's Three Pieces for clarinet solo (especially that whole bit at 57 ;)). None the less, great work! The only criticism about the clarinet part I have is that you seem to have used hardly any slurs in the faster part at 17. At 60-63, you have a great use of slurs, but then look at 71 and so on - that'll sound pretty choppy if tongued. I'm guess you're not a woodwind player?

If not, then what I always tell people is for each tongued note, to say "Ta" every time - it gets pretty exhausting and difficult in fast passages. Even sluring two notes together, or doing slur-two tongue-two is much easier than straight, percussive tongued notes. Some of the jumps you have there, such as measure 41, is very difficult at that speed....even just the octave F sharps would be hard.

I guess I should give you some background info on how the clarinet works...

The clarinet it sectioned into three main note sections - from the E below middle C to the Bb above middle C, B 5 to C6, and then everything above (the throat register). Mixing anything below B5 with anything above B5 in fast passages is very difficult. If you take a look at some clarinet literature, any changes between those ranges are usually arpeggiated.

The part isn't impossible, but it's definitely very difficult. It would take a lot of experience to master some of those changes and rapid tonguing.

Regardless, great piece :)

Some criticism: I felt that you could have chopped it up a bit less - it seemed like there were constantly pauses in between sections. Perhaps you could make some of the changes more sudden or make some of the sections longer? Then again, Webern wrote some pretty short movements/sections and it works pretty well for him, but here it seemed like you couldn't be bothered writing transitions, and it came off as quite choppy.

- ClassicalSax

Classical Sax, originally I wrote the piece with the title "vignettes for clarinet and harps," but I decided to change that. So the choppy feeling is intended since each part is supposed to be separated from the other parts yet remain similar in style. Thanks for the comment though.

look at 71 and so on - that'll sound pretty choppy if tongued.

Biddypocket,

Can't these passages be done with double tonguing? Or will that get too tiring after a while?

Thanks for the nice insight into the clarinet.

I enjoyed the way you developed the motive. Although, I think there should have been more timbral and rhythmic contrast (especially in the harps)- exploring the potential sounds of the ensemble.

Biddypocket,

Can't these passages be done with double tonguing? Or will that get too tiring after a while?

Thanks for the nice insight into the clarinet.

Hah, good luck trying to double tongue on a single reeded instrument :). In order for a tongued sound to be produced, the tongue literally needs to touch the reed. With brass instruments or piped ones, such as the flute, it can be faked because it's just stopping the air, but with a clarinet or sax you have to actually stop the reed from vibrating in order to properly tongue.

I've never heard of anyone able to double tongue on the clarinet, but I could be wrong. Either way, it would be very difficult, leaving that part only playable for a select few.

EDIT:

Also, after reviewing that part at 71, it isn't so much the tonguing that would be difficult but the switch in ranges. There are places where you have fairly swift tongued 16th octave C#s that pass through the two registers, then back down again. It's difficult stuff....again, not impossible, but pretty close. I'd say take a look at the Stravinsky's 3 Pieces that I mentioned and look at his use of slurs. It's especially important in the third movement, which is a very challenging passage at first glance...but once you take a harder look at it, it's mostly just technique....but a lot of his tongued notes stay within playable registers, such as having repetitive tongued notes hovering around C6, but never dipping below C5 and back up.

I hope that helped? :)

I hope that helped? :)

yes, very much so. Thanks again.