Five Late Baroque Works for String Instruments Transcribed for Clarinet and Piano A Performance Edition with Commentary D.M.A. Document Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of the The Ohio State University By Antoine Terrell Clark, M. M. Music Graduate Program The Ohio State University 2009 Document Committee: Approved By James Pyne, Co-Advisor ______________________ Co-Advisor Lois Rosow, Co-Advisor ______________________ Paul Robinson Co-Advisor Copyright by Antoine Terrell Clark 2009 Abstract Late Baroque works for string instruments are presented in performing editions for clarinet and piano: Giuseppe Tartini, Sonata in G Minor for Violin, and Violoncello or Harpsichord, op.1, no. 10, “Didone abbandonata”; Georg Philipp Telemann, Sonata in G Minor for Violin and Harpsichord, Twv 41:g1, and Sonata in D Major for Solo Viola da Gamba, Twv 40:1; Marin Marais, Les Folies d’ Espagne from Pièces de viole , Book 2; and Johann Sebastian Bach, Violoncello Suite No.1, BWV 1007. Understanding the capabilities of the string instruments is essential for sensitively translating the music to a clarinet idiom. Transcription issues confronted in creating this edition include matters of performance practice, range, notational inconsistencies in the sources, and instrumental idiom. ii Acknowledgements Special thanks is given to the following people for their assistance with my document: my doctoral committee members, Professors James Pyne, whose excellent clarinet instruction and knowledge enhanced my performance and interpretation of these works; Lois Rosow, whose patience, knowledge, and editorial wonders guided me in the creation of this document; and Paul Robinson and Robert Sorton, for helpful conversations about baroque music; Professor Kia-Hui Tan, for providing insight into baroque violin performance practice; David F. Robinson, whose sensitive continuo realizations are indispensable; members of the Ohio State University library staff, Gretchen Atkinson, Sean Ferguson, Nicholas Wilkenson, and Michael Murray, for providing assistance in my research; my students and friends, who provided constant encouragement throughout the writing process; and finally my parents, Carlton Clark and Bobby Suber, for instilling in me a strong work ethic and providing love and encouragement throughout my life. Thank you all! iii Vita June 1996…………………………………….Dinwiddie County High School 2000…………………………….....................B.M. Music Education, Virginia Commonwealth University 2000 to 2002…………………………………Albert C. Wright Scholar, University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music 2003………………………………………….M.M. Clarinet Performance, University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music 2002 to 2003……………………....................Principal Clarinet and Mentor, Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra 2002 to 2003……………………....................Principal Clarinet, Dearborn Symphony 2003 to 2004…………………………………Adjunct Professor, Clarinet/Saxophone, Randolph College 2003 to 2005....................................................Choral Director/Assistant Band Director/Musical Theatre Director/General Music Instructor, Linkhorne Middle School 2004 to 2008....................................................Principal Clarinet, Ash Lawn Opera 2005 to 2007…………………………………Graduate Fellowship, School of Music The Ohio State University 2006 to 2007…………………………………Second Clarinet Sub, Roanoke Symphony 2007 to present……………………………….Gateways Music Festival, Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York 2007 to present…………………....................Adjunct Professor of Woodwinds, Kenyon College iv 2007 to present…………………....................Eb Clarinet/Bass Clarinet/Principal Clarinet Sub, Westerville Symphony 2009 to present................................................Gateways Chamber Ensemble, Austin State Peay University Publications Colgrass, Michael, Antonin Dvorak, David Gillingham, Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. Winds of Nagal. Wind Band Classics, Performed by The Ohio State University Wind Symphony; conducted by Russel C. Mikkelson. Naxos 8.570244, 2006. Fields of Study Major Field: Music v Table of Contents Abstract...............................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………....iii Vita…………………………………………………………………………………….…iv List of Illustrations……………………………………………………………….……..viii PART I: COMMENTARY CHAPTER ONE Introduction………………………………………………………………..2 TWO The Violin, Viola da Gamba, and Violoncello……………………………6 The Violin………………………………………………………....6 The Violin Bow…………………………………………………...8 The Viola da Gamba……………………………………………..11 The Violoncello………………………………………………….15 The Violoncello Bow…………………………………………….17 THREE Commentary on the Works………………………………………………19 Giuseppe Tartini, Sonata in G Minor for Violin, and Violoncello or Harpsichord, op.1, no. 10, “Didone abbandonata”……19 Georg Philipp Telemann, Sonata in G Minor for Violin and Harpsichord, Twv 41:g1…………………………………23 Georg Philipp Telemann, Sonata in D Major for Solo Viola da Gamba, Twv 40:1……………………..26 Marin Marais, Les Folies d’Espagne from Pièces de viole , Book 2…………………………………………………....39 Johann Sebastian Bach, Violoncello Suite No.1, BWV 1007…...32 FOUR Conclusion……………………………………………………………….38 vi PART II: THE EDITION OF THE WORKS Giuseppe Tartini, Sonata in G Minor, op.1, no. 10, “Didone abbandonata”…….41 Georg Philipp Telemann, Sonata in G Minor, Twv 41:g1……………………….53 Georg Philipp Telemann, Sonata in D Major, Twv 40:1………………………...62 Marin Marais, Les Folies d’Espagne …………………………………………….70 Johann Sebastian Bach, Suite No.1, BWV 1007………………………...............87 Works Cited.......................................................................................................................97 Appendix: A Readings from the Principal Sources…………………………………102 Appendix: B Reference Recordings…………………………………………………..104 Appendix: C Performance Practice Comments for the Realizations………………….105 vii List of Illustrations 1. Ex. 1…………………………………………………………………………………...12 viii PART I COMMENTARY 1 CHAPTER ONE Introduction Solo clarinet music barely existed during the baroque era. The idiomatic writing for the early clarinet bore more resemblance to trumpet music than to the lyrically expressive writing for clarinet in the classical style. Today’s advanced clarinet student has few baroque pieces to choose from. When one encounters such music for the clarinet, it is most likely a modern transcription. The purpose of this document is to discuss the process of transcribing baroque string music for the modern clarinet and to promote the use of baroque music in the clarinetist’s repertoire. The practice of transcribing music for the clarinet is not a new phenomenon. Published transcriptions for the clarinet date as far back as the early twentieth century. The heyday of this practice seems to have been around 1940 to 1980. Transcribed compositions come from all eras, from the baroque to the contemporary. They represent many instruments and media, most commonly keyboard or strings. Most of the transcriptions are for the B-flat clarinet. 1 Prominent transcribers were Gustave Langenus, Simeon Bellison, Eric Simon, and Himie Voxman. They are regarded as great performers and pedagogues of the clarinet, and it is likely that they made these transcriptions for teaching purposes. Himie Voxman is particularly known for his many wind transcriptions and educational publications that make use of early music. His Classical Studies for 1 Joan Elizabeth Van Dessel, “Reexamining the Standard Clarinet Repertoire: A Selective Annotated Bibliography of Transcriptions for the Solo Clarinet and Clarinet and Piano” (D.M.A., Florida State University, 2006), 6. The earliest transcription mentioned in this annotated bibliography dates from 1908. 2 Clarinet features all of Johann Sebastian Bach’s cello suites, BWV 1007-1012, as well as the unaccompanied sonatas and partitas for violin, BWV 1001-1006. In the preface to this work, Voxman mentions that “the skillful employment of themes in these traditional forms…provides opportunity for unlimited possibilities in the development of musicianship on the part of the performer.” 2 Other popular transcriptions for the clarinet include Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chromatic Fantasia, BWV 903, transcribed by Gustave Langenus in 1944 and reworked in the 1970s by renowned clarinet pedagogue Stanley Hasty; and Jean Philippe Rameau’s Pièces de clavecin , transcribed by Yona Ettlinger in 1968. 3 In this edition I have transcribed five pieces from the late baroque period, all originally for string instruments. The pieces are Giuseppe Tartini’s Sonata in G Minor for Violin, and Violoncello or Harpsichord, op.1, no. 10, “Didone abbandonata”; Georg Philipp Telemann’s Sonata in G Minor for Violin and Harpsichord, Twv 41:g1, and his Sonata in D Major for Solo Viola da Gamba, Twv 40:1; Marin Marais’ Les Folies d’Espagne from Pièces de viole , Book 2; and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Violoncello Suite No.1, BWV 1007. These pieces were chosen because they offer students and professionals the chance to perform music in the Italian, German, and French baroque styles. They are important works in the oeuvre of each composer, and they offer tools for 2 Himie Voxman, Classical Studies for Clarinet: Based upon the Solo Sonatas, Partitas, and Suites of Bach and Handel, Rubank Educational Library, no. 139 (Chicago: Rubank, 1948). 3 Johann Sebastian Bach, Chromatic fantasia , arr. Gustave Langenus (East Northport,