Chamber Music Clarinet
Trio
SKU:
PR.114424090
Composed
by Igor Stravinsky.
Arranged by Gregory
Barrett. Set of Score and
Parts. 8+16 pages.
Duration 5 minutes.
Theodore Presser Company
#114-42409. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.114424090).
ISBN
9781491137383. UPC:
680160690107.
Strav
insky’s 1918 Three
Pieces for Solo Clarinet
has long been savored by
clarinetists as a rare
gem in the
instrument’s
repertory, full of
rhythmic drive and
Stravinsky’s jazzy
neo-classicism. Composer
and clarinetist Gregory
M. Barrett’s
remarkable adaptation for
3 clarinets is a tour de
force, assimilating
Stravinsky’s
harmonic, rhythmic, and
contrapuntal style to
create a striking
addition to the clarinet
literature.
Igor
Stravinsky’s Three
Pieces for Solo Clarinet
(1918) is a core work in
clarinetists’
repertoire, and I
havereimagined it for the
convivial grouping of
three players. The
arrangement contains all
of
Stravinsky’sorigin
al, but now his solo line
is shared among three in
a new matrix of harmony,
imitation,
andcounterpoint.The molto
tranquillo first piece
develops from the
emphasized C# in
Stravinsky’s first
measure andmoves to a
somewhat somber mood when
C# is revealed to be the
dominant of F# minor.
Withincreasing expansion
of tessitura in the
sustained harmonies, the
sun comes out in the last
phrase with ajoyous Eb
major chord.The
circus-like second piece
finds the three clarinets
whirling in the air in
synchronized trapeze
artiststyle. The emphasis
is on imitation and fluid
hand-offs. Chords with
major 7ths and 2nds
contrast withtriadic
harmony. Following the
cat and mouse middle
section, where dancing
patterns of twos
andthrees alternate, the
summit of the big top is
reached again just before
the players settle down
to earthwith a welcome C
major chord of
respite.The ragtime
burlesque of
Stravinsky’s third
piece is heightened by
homophonic rhythm among
the threeplayers. Each
clarinet part has its own
specialty. Clarinet 1
loves 32nd notes,
Clarinet 2 shows off with
fasttriplets, and
Clarinet 3 likes the low
notes and in general
supporting its friends.
Quartal harmony
withstacked 4ths is
emphasized, but where
Stravinsky’s
melody suggests triads, I
have taken his hint.
Thepropulsive rhythms are
truly exciting, and with
the wink of an eye, the
music ends all too
soon.
Gregory M
