message: 2 date: Fri, 04 Feb 2005 13:59:35 -0600 from: Karon Ismari <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> subject: [Hornlist] Trios
Hello. I would like some thoughts , in any direction you choose, on the trio combination of flute, clarinet and horn. Comments concerning music type, availability, transcribing from other instruments, adjustments in horn playing, and so on, would be welcome. Thanks. Karon
Hi Karon.
Many years ago, my wife and I met a fellow who had played Clarinet in High School, but hadn't played at all since. We convinced him to buy a clarinet, to start practicing, and began to search for literature. Suffice it to say that there is little to none for this combination. However, we stumbled on the Beethoven Trio for 2 oboes and English Horn, and I thought I could transpose one of the C parts for Cary, and the English Horn part for me (I'm the hornist in the bunch.)
Now, I'm sure those of you who are Horny for a living are wondering, What English Horn Transposition? Well, if you KNOW that the EH is pitched if F, it's a no brainer. If you DIDN'T know that the EH is pitched in F, then it's perfectly logical to wonder what the transposition is. Well, suffice it to say that the C-Bb transposition went very well for Cary, but damn if I could figure out what to do with the EH part. I tried C, D, and Eb, writing out the ENTIRE first movement each time, and was royally POed each time when it didn't work. Finally, I wrote the first few bars in G and A, and THEY WERE WRONG TOO! Ach! It was enough to cause me to start drinking! Well, ok, I was already drinking, but what the heck.
Finally, something persuaded me to simply read the part as it was written, and lo and behold, it was FABULOUS - the lines worked, the music soared, and I didn't have to transpose any more!
We played this peice for years together. We used to go camping a lot, and once, we hiked 15 miles into a hot desert-mountain campsite, and set up to play Our Trio while sitting in the middle of a babbling stream. Oh it was fantastic, until I took a deep breath in preparation for one of those nasty 16th note passages that seemed to go on and on for pages, and I swallowed a mouthful of those little gnats that were buzzing around our heads the whole time. We were done for it, then.
So, while the piece demands quite bit of technical skill from all players, it is a great piece of music, and it lays very well for this combination of instruments. I wish you all the joy from it that Cary, my wife and I have received, without the protein!
Bo
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