The Artistic Results, together with the Reflection section, are the center of the PhD results. The Artistic Results consist of 27 videos of a diverse selection of pieces, and this reflection will address the connection between them and how they are relevant to my field of orchestral players.
The Artistic Results are listed mostly chronologically from when I performed them and explore repertoire from the beginning of my instrument’s history in the late baroque period through the different eras of repertoire in the classical, romantic, and modern periods,culminating with the music from our time and a world premiere.
To explore affordances and how they influence phrasing, I went back to the beginning of the clarinet's history, to its invention around 1690 in Nuremberg. This was to have context for how phrasing possibilities have evolved.
PART 1, with research question, «What is the relationship between phrasing on a period instrument and a modern instrument?» focused on performances of original and unoriginal works, and then playing fragments of the same piece first on a period instrument and then on modern instruments to identify differences in phrasing. As a modern orchestral player, not a specialist in period instrument performance, I found it necessary to submerge myself in the baroque clarinet and the repertoire possibilities on this instrument to achieve the level needed to identify phrasing differences accurately. The pieces listed are grouped chronologically from when I performed them with the first three pieces (Viviani, Corette, and Viviani—none original pieces for the clarinet) performed in October of 2022 and the following four pieces (Rathgeber, Telemann, Albinoni, and Rathgeber—only Rathgeber being written initially for clarinet) performed in May of 2023. For the first presentation in October of 2022, I used fragments from the first nine bars of the beginning of Viviani by switching between the period instrument and two different modern instruments (boxwood and grenadilla) to identify and relate various parameters, exploring how the affordances of the instruments influence phrasing. I then did the same with a larger ensemble in the May 2023 presentation by playing excerpts from the first movement of Concerto 19 by Johann Valentin Rathgeber. This is the earliest known clarinet concerto, written in 1728. The pieces gradually increase in difficulty, with Viviani originally for trumpet, Corette for Muse, Telemann for recorder, and Albinoni for oboe. I pushed my boundaries and the instrument's technical possibilities with Telemann and Albinoni. LISTENING TIME: ca 46 MINUTES
After exploring the possibilities on the period instrument, PART 2 of the research project with the question «How does material influence phrasing?» started with a venture to familiarize myself with the modern instrument in boxwood with repertoire from the Late Classical (Arnold) and Romantic period (Schumann) together with a fortepiano. This was the process of finding possibilities in a modern instrument made of boxwood (the wood the baroque clarinet is made of), matched with a fortepiano for dynamic balance. These pieces, partnered with a fortepiano, made for clearer phrasings with the quicker response rate of the boxwood instruments. Brahms was intended to be performed with the boxwood clarinet and a modern Steinway, but during rehearsals, it could not match the dynamics needed to balance the instruments. The grenadilla instrument was thus chosen for the performance. This matchup was also apparent in Schubert, as the second performance playing with a modern Steinway only yielded adequate results when paired with a grenadilla clarinet, with further reflections in the case study.
Mopane as a third material was introduced into the project in April, 2024 as a third material. Mopane is increasingly relevant to my field as the woodwind manufacturing industry explores different materials following availability, cost, and sustainability factors. I could then explore the standard repertoire of Debussy and Mozart, which is on almost all orchestral auditions for clarinet, being relevant to the performance field. The various modern material instruments influenced how I phrased and are showcased with videos on all three wood clarinets, with further reflections in the case studies. LISTENING TIME: ca 1 HOUR 37 MINUTES
PART 3 of my project, with the research question «What is the future of phrasing?» explored first standard clarinet repertoire (Pierné, Rossini) with adaptations (Purcell, Piazzolla) together with the unconventional partner of an accordion, and then the music from our time and solo pieces with a world premiere. For each piece in this part, I chose the wood that matched or complemented the piece best. This was where material and methodological properties explored in the first two parts of the research project influenced my awareness of the clarinet’s qualities and my musical phrasing. My choice of reasons is elaborated in the specific videos (pending). LISTENING TIME: ca 56 MINUTES