Other figurations that occur more frequently in the Cartellieri clarinet
concertos and quartet than do chromatic scales include the short
written-out trill, use of which can also be found in Mozart or Stamitz’s
clarinet concertos. One illustration of this kind of figure is shown in
figures 35 and 36.
The dynamic levels Cartellieri uses in the solo parts range from
pianissimo to fortissimo. The softer levels, below mezzo-forte, appear
most often, and many times these are marked “dolce”. The slow
movement dynamic plan is generally arched, beginning and ending at a
soft dynamic level and reaching the loudest volume in the middle
section.
The final aspect of Cartellieri's instrumental writing for the solo
clarinet to be discussed is the character and extent of the virtuosic
passages. It is rather astonishing to see this display of difficulty and
virtuosity in his works, because it speaks to the high level of clarinetists
performing at this time. This remark is intended to be understood in a
framework of reference to earlier concertos, as for instance Mozart’s
concerto, the concertos of Tausch, Stamitz and the other virtuosos of
the end of the century and the nineteenth-century concertos by Crusell,
Weber, and Spohr. Certainly, if this remark were taken in the smaller
context of reference only to Cartellieri’s concertos and quartets, its
correctness is questionable.
An outstanding trait of Cartellieri’s works is the scoring. The timbre
and the texture selection innately suits the musical event at any given
moment. In the quartet, while the clarinet clearly dominates the works,
there are sly bits of imitation, textural relief of passages, and entire
sections without the clarinet, and a constant flux of timbres achieved
through varying the balance of the four instruments. In the concertos,
Cartellieri balances the clarinet and orchestra expertly. During
chalumeau passages, the accompaniment is reduced to minimal size
so that the orchestra does not need to strain its volume constantly
below the marked dynamic level (fig. 34).
A favorite frequently used pattern is a sequential, rolling diatonic
figuration, as seen in the figures 37-38-39-40.
The diatonic scale sweep through most of the clarinet’s range is
illustrated in Fig. 34. Long scale sweep through a large part of the
clarinet’s compass, a dramatic, precipitous dash from top to bottom, or
vice-versa. This kind of impetuous rush up or down the scale.
Antonio Casimir Cartellieri appears to have followed Valentin
Roeser’s advice to composer for the clarinet: “ The surest and best
rule for composer to follow in writing for the clarinet is to aim at a
goal of an agreeable melody and to avoid large jumps and passages
which are too chromatic”1. Cartellieri’s generous flow of expressive
melodies certainly follow the letter of the first part of these
instructions. To allow the player further opportunity for exhibiting the
clarinet’s tonal beauty and also its powers of dynamic gradation.
Roeser’s caution against large skips seems to deprive the composer of
one of the supposedly most distinctive idiomatic characteristics of the
clarinet, the difference in quality in the two principal registers of its
compass and its capacity for facile change from one to the other.
A very important characteristic in the idiomatic use of the clarinet is
the extent of the use of the chalumeau register. The concertos and quartets examined for the study vary considerably in the use of the
low register. In three movements a differentiation was made for
notes whose use is unusually heavy in certain passages where they
function as a pivot point for a broken pattern such as seen in the
following examples (fig. 26-27-28-29).
Cartellieri’s writing for the clarinet demonstrates an understanding of
the acoustical properties of the instrument. He is among the first
composers to approach the altissimo register by disjunct motion
without regularity.
Sudden octave or compound-octave shifts emphasizing the color of the
different registers become a trademark of Cartellieri’s style. At times
these large skips occur consecutively and in other instances, they are
isolated to provide expressive contrast from preceding or succeeding
middle-register passages by bypassing the clarion register. Compound
leaps are at the time used for demonstrating the flexibility of the
instrument and show disjunct rapid leaps requiring great agility that
was to become a necessary part of the clarinetist’s technique in the
nineteenth century.
