Soliloquy for Clarinet No. 20

This is my "Soliloquy for Clarinet No. 20".

Here is the link to my previous soliloquy for clarinet:

https://www.youngcomposers.com/t36672/soliloquy-for-clarinet-no-19/

Not bad. Would love to hear your thoughts on this work itself -your intentions, etc. 

Writing for a solo instrument can be extremely challenging. Some things to consider: graph out points of interest -i.e. where you want the highs and lows to be, when you want to repeat material, etc. This will help you strengthen the writing to better illustrate and provide interest to your ideas. Second, while I'm not a big proponent of overuse of extended techniques... writing for solo instrument is a great arena to experiment with them -and the clarinet is a rich instrument in that regard. Consider things like that to generate more timbres and textures. 

All in all, enjoyable. Love the idea.

3 hours ago, jawoodruff said:

Not bad. Would love to hear your thoughts on this work itself -your intentions, etc. 

Writing for a solo instrument can be extremely challenging. Some things to consider: graph out points of interest -i.e. where you want the highs and lows to be, when you want to repeat material, etc. This will help you strengthen the writing to better illustrate and provide interest to your ideas. Second, while I'm not a big proponent of overuse of extended techniques... writing for solo instrument is a great arena to experiment with them -and the clarinet is a rich instrument in that regard. Consider things like that to generate more timbres and textures. 

All in all, enjoyable. Love the idea.

 

Agreed.  Take a look at the Bach Partitas and his Cello Suites to get some ideas of writing for unaccompanied instruments.

8 hours ago, jawoodruff said:

Not bad. Would love to hear your thoughts on this work itself -your intentions, etc. 

Writing for a solo instrument can be extremely challenging. Some things to consider: graph out points of interest -i.e. where you want the highs and lows to be, when you want to repeat material, etc. This will help you strengthen the writing to better illustrate and provide interest to your ideas. Second, while I'm not a big proponent of overuse of extended techniques... writing for solo instrument is a great arena to experiment with them -and the clarinet is a rich instrument in that regard. Consider things like that to generate more timbres and textures. 

All in all, enjoyable. Love the idea.

 

Great advice. The clarinet is capable of enormous expression and my feelings about this piece were that it doesn't really explore what the clarinet can do. It could get considerably more adventurous. I wrote one; may just post it.

So, a nice enough piece but let the next one explore more of the timbral and performance possibilities of this instrument. 

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Thanks jawoodruff, maestrowick, and Quinn for you reviews and suggestions! I might look at exploring the extended techniques that you refer to in future compositions for clarinet, insofar as they might suit the boundaries of the definition of a 'soliloquy'.

14 hours ago, jawoodruff said:

Not bad. Would love to hear your thoughts on this work itself -your intentions, etc.

Thanks jawoodruff. Some years ago (2013) I had prepared a definition of the 'soliloquy' as I see it, for the program of a concert in which some of my soliloquies were performed. I think that reproducing it below would best describe what I have in mind when composing soliloquies. Let me add that they are the product of inspiration and not prior intention.

"I call many of my pieces by the name of "Soliloquy" which to me signifies a short (aphoristic), reflective, often calm, and sometimes sad, piece written for one instrument (or sometimes a set of instruments behaving as one). These pieces often serve as a kind of character sketch of the particular instrument for which they are written, and/or to present a single musical statement/argument in a brief yet parsimoniously meaningful manner."