Clariperu: Bryan Crumpler - Rhapsodie For Clarinet and Piano

[doogix]

that was amazing. bravissimo!

[theFrigatt]

wow !!

[ratanapol]

your music is breathtaking

Bravissimo!! Mr. Kingtama

[willtecg]

es un exelente video me encanta la musicalidad que tiene y la forma de interpretacion

[basseto3]

Es una versión increíble, lo único que no me gusta es que el clarinetista se mueva tanto. Le hace perder intensidad en algunos momentos.

[sutphoe]

wow, your debussy kicks ass

[rankfrankrank]

beautiful music

[michaelrusman]

beautifully played

[niwana]

should not a triplet be played like one? I love this edition of the piece, i think care has been taken but the triplets are not triplets! also some minor tempo and dynamics are not quite as debussy seems to have wanted

[calclar]

BTW, in case anyone may have missed it, I've already stated that I think the performance is excellent and has many fine qualities about it. It's nothing personal, just a piece (and composer) that is near and dear to me that enjoy discussing in detail. If that's too much tree and not enough forest for you or anyone else, please know that this type of discussion is about the music and performance practice of Debussy - not necessarily the performer per se.

[calclar]

I've worked and played for Boulez many times over many years and it is, as he explains, irrefutable that the impressionists should be viewed as saying what they mean and meaning what they say - this having nothing to do with "intentions". Again, there is no way to divine any dead composer's "intentions", only their text and (hopefully) writings are there to inform us.

[clairannette]

I'm not convinced any composer can accomplish this, regardless of what Boulez says. I would be thrilled to find one who actually does. Stravinsky made this attempt, and even so, his music still varies widely between performers and performances... even when we intend to follow the exact instructions as given.

[calclar]

I'm quite capable of understanding what the forest from the trees means and how it applies to this discussion. It is striking to me that impressionism in the visual arts (or in music) can be described as resulting from a lack of precision and detail when it is precisely the opposite. I think that this kind of overview is what lies at the basis of what I see as a justification of loosely interpreting that precision and detail.

[clairannette]

It is only striking because you clearly do not understand what the difference is between realism and impressionism. It is realism (or exactism in the era of electronics) where precision and detail are at the forefront. NOT impressionism... neither in music NOR in graphic arts. This performance is by no means a "loose" interpretation, not at the end or otherwise. I took the big picture and fit the details therein, while you are now looking at speckled details and still missing the big picture.

[calclar]

Does one take a large rit. during one un peu retenu and not the others? Especially when the augmentation of time is already explicitly written out by the composer? The momentum and sweep of the ending (which starts building just before the last Anime) is lost if one plays a "cadenza-like" moment when the composer writes out that kind of moment so precisely and explicitly on the page. Taking a bit of time on the triplet bar is one thing but why suddenly play quarter = dotted quarter?

[clairannette]

As we have gathered from the classical period, musicians have ALWAYS dealt with the text liberally. What we see in the score is simply a guide for learning the basics. You might as well have a midi-player playing back these pieces if you take on an exactists view of what is written on the page. You're still missing the point.

[clairannette]

How often does a composer ever write "Cadenza here", where a cadenza occurs? Knowing Debussy, would it thus be plausible to not even explicitly indicate a cadenza on the score? He was clearly a pioneer, deviating from many practices of the romantic era, and intentionally so. I still strongly believe that *not* exploiting this opportunity at the end sacrifice rather than enhance the music, when musically all the red flags to set up this "moment" are there.

[calclar]

Using your same rationale, wouldn't you would then be playing twice as SLOW as what Debussy indicated after the un peu retenu (when playing quarter equals dotted quarter) when there is no indication to do so? As specific as Debussy is, wouldn't he have simply written ritenu or Cedez or some other gradual retuning to a slower tempo as he has earlier throughout the piece?

[clairannette]

There are many things Debussy wrote that aren't even included in the publication from Urtext note wise or otherwise, that aren't even comparable to what we now consider to be "the Premiere Rapsody". I've never gathered that Debussy ever was an exactist. If anything, he was a non-conformist. The cadenza moment lasts 5 beats and is picked back up in tempo at the "au Mouvement". You keep hinting at the fact that we should ignore this musical moment.

[flyingcutie]

Bryan, this is a fabulous performance. I agree that someone on here is overlooking the forest. It's brilliantly played and I enjoyed it. You are ultimately the artist. I don't think Debussy or Mozart intended for their music to be over-analyzed, just enjoyed.

[clairannette]

Yes, I would agree. Although I do feel the analysis (or at least discussion thereof with someone of differing opinion) can be insightful for improving the performance in the end. My own dissection of this video reveals aspects that have yet to be mentioned; while aspects that have been determined and executed so with good reason are precisely the ones being contested. It makes for interesting discussion. Thanks for the compliments. ;-)

[calclar]

What I am suggesting comes from an interpretation of the "impressionists" which can be linked from Boulez's discussions about impressionism back through Ansermet with a direct connection to Debussy. It would also seem that trying to determine a composer's "intentions" is virtually impossible while alternatively, ascertaining their suggestions through the written text is plausible.

[clairannette]

Can't argue with Boulez, although my experience working with living composers reveals that rarely (if ever) do they precisely dictate their intentions on paper or in the score. The finality or lack thereof in publications is something you can only gather when working closely with the composer him/herself. Unfortunately, we are not in a time when Debussy can confirm any of this for us.

[calclar]

In short, it seems that if played as printed, the effect of a "cadenza-like" moment is already written into the existing music. To take that written suggestion and add more than what's already there would seem to be putting a bit of honey on sugar.

[clairannette]

There is nothing necessarily "added" here. The quarter in the clarinet is taken over in the stride of the dotted quarter from the piano. This in turn accentuates the un peu retenu. If taken in the tempo you suggest, which would be nearly twice as fast, then this idea is lost completely and there is no cadenza-like moment, which I believe is most important there. The flourish at the end otherwise becomes rushed and unmusical leading to a rather childish, less fascinating result.

[calclar]

Changes in timbre can refer to pure acoustical science (such as the varying speed at which the sound is received by the ear due to moving the clarinet), or referring to changes in tonal timbre in the service of the music. The type of fluctuations in color that I meant are that of things relating to musical interpretation such as the speed of the dynamic fluctuation, the rapidity of changes of texture and harmony, all things in service of the music.

[calclar]

Following the composer's every printed detail thereby allows or frees the overall "palate" of the musical score to attain an impressionistic "forest" (as you put it). The visual equivalent would be to look at a painting of Monet close up to observe the precision and detail of every brushed stroke with the exact textures and colors that the brush strokes impart - then, to step back and see that the sum of their details are what create an impressionist's work.

[clairannette]

"Overlooking the forest through the trees" has nothing to do with impressionism, although the application is worthy of attention. It means you are focusing so much on details that you miss the big picture. It is the *lack* of precision and detail that make visual art impressionistic. Regardless, I'm not certain there are any radical deviations from the "text" as a performer in this work that detract from this greater whole.

[calclar]

Despite Debussy's philosophy of preserving a sense of mystery in his music, attaining nebulous qualities through his mastery of music's suggestive power, his music is not at all vague. Indeed his music shows a composer of scrupulous and methodical craftsmanship with attention to detail regarding articulation, dynamics, and especially flexibility of tonal color. The music of Debussy is not by nature therefore to be loosely interpreted.

[calclar]

There are some additional bits that may benefit from a reexamination of what Debussy explicitly wrote on the page about tempi and rhythm if you are perhaps receptive to their mention....a few more examples that may (or may not) add to an already very classy performance!

[clairannette]

Please, do add. Anything anyone states that they think will make it better, I will *consider*. Whether it will be integrated in my vision, however, will always be a personal artistic decision based on whether I feel it adds or detracts from the composers intentions.

[calclar]

Factoring out for any compression and miking, both of which I am familiar with, it is still nevertheless distracting to hear timbre fluctuations in a piece that is all about changes of color in the musical sense rather than the acoustical sense. I'm not a great believer in standing rigid as suggested by someone else, but there may perhaps be a compromise? IMO, the kind of body movement I sense doesn't add to the music or visual aesthetic - it can rather detract at times.

[clairannette]

I'm not so convinced this has anything to do with movement OR Debussy for that matter. Historically the French clarinet has SOUGHT fluctuation in timbre, while the German/Austrian sound seeks to blend with little to no variation at all regardless of register. The science of acoustics & comparing mouthpiece construction between these countries prove this. If timbre fluctuations are distracting to you, yet fluctuations in color aren't, then you would be contradicting yourself.

[clairannette]

And why would this be? Because timbre fluctuations ARE fluctuations in color. "timbre" & "color" are synonymous. Any music dictionary can confirm this.

[calclar]

Unfortunately it is common today to rob Debussy of his brilliantly conceived compositional devices during what is arguably one of the most important and brillant moments in this contest piece. I think that after dusting off the long-held tradition of playing 199 - 202 completely and inexplicably out of time, the piece would be even more exciting while also retaining fidelity to this admittedly "rhapsodic" score.

[clairannette]

I can't say that my performance of this work has anything to do with trying to maintain any type of tradition; although my own independent analytical perspective leads me to believe that 199-202 is a cadenza moment, not intended to be dictated by time. Having studied many works of Debussy from a theoretical standpoint, apart from clarinet rep, this statement here leads me to believe you're overlooking the forest through the trees.

[calclar]

If one read this passage literally in time from 197 with perhaps the little artistic licence needed to *slightly* broaden 201, the ending would be true to Debussy's printed instructions. Unfortunately it is common today to rob Debussy of his brilliantly conceived compositional devices during what is arguably one of the most important and brillant moments in this contest piece.

[clairannette]

The *effect* of the un peu retenu comes from the scoring, not from the fact that un peu retenu is written above it. The dotted quarter figure in the piano is what suggests this and is also what makes the piece all the more impressionistic in its compositional style. It *hints* towards a feeling, a tempo, etc as impressionistic art *hints* towards an "image" or scene, but doesn't define it explicitly.

[calclar]

(even slower than the piano's slight attempt at the printed augmentation) thereby making the au Mvmt by contrast much slower in relation, losing a good deal of virtuosity and the true excitement available during this "punctuation" of an ending.

[clairannette]

It was agreed between us both that the un peu retenu is not subito but should rather be taken in the stride of the beats flowing from whence it came in the measures before. The un peu retenu is scored with the dotted quarters, which is the tempo that is taken over from the clarinet voice, standing alone above hanging chords. Thus giving the effect of a cadenza moment since there is no underlying rhythmic pattern that would dictate an audible (or as you say, "explicit") rhymic argument.

[calclar]

197 onward: In measures 199 and 200, Debussy rhythmically augments the thematic cell preceeding it by 1/2, writing dotted quarters, purposefully heightening the dramatic effect of this "announcement" of an upcoming ending (as in most performances, the pianist skips over this typically Debussian device almost completely). Then you continue at 201 not in the tempo that was chosen at 197, but quite *substantially* slower.

[calclar]

Bryan - Your reply in regard to the notes during the only explicitly (as opposed to implied or otherwise parenthesized) printed "Scherzando" at 96 is very persuasive. This so, especially in light of the fact that these notes do appear in all sources - the autograph for both piano and orchestra as well as piano and orchestral printed editions whether Durand or Peters. Many thanks for the analytical insight. I look forward to playing it this way in future performances.

[marcomazzini]

I find this version one of the best I heard on the Internet or live. If I have to choose, I prefer choreography than to see a cold-stone performer on stage - I actually like to see how his body follow the music. Bravo Bryan!

[clairannette]

A doppler effect is only something you have from a point source, such as a directional microphone. These are NOT used in this recording. Only 3 ambient mics were used, which is why the piano sounds like it's underwater w.r.t. the clarinet voice since it is farthest from the one in view on the stage. I'm not sure whether your qualm is relation to video compression or if you are simply inventing this based on the fact that you see movement.

[clairannette]

As for tempi and rhythms, the only explicit tempi mentioned are crochet = 50 at measure 1 and chrotchet = 72 at 58. If these and other word-based rhythmic indications deviate from some known universal source(and I'm sure they would to some degree), I would be interested to have it as a reference. I would also be interested to know what your take is on these "explicit" tempo & rhythm instructions in the last two lines of the piece, besides what already stands in the Urtext (of course).

[calclar]

Doppler effect and choreography distracted from the music - even with my eyes closed. Few missed notes in the Scherzando but overall has a nice quality to the interpretation.

The performers may want to pay closer attention to Debussy's explicit instructions regarding tempi and rhythm - ex. the last two lines of the piece...

[calclar]

Doppler effect and choreography distracted from the music - even with my eyes closed. Few missed notes in the Scherzando but overall has a nice quality to the interpretation.

The performers may want to pay closer attention to Debussy's explicit instructions regarding tempi and rhythm - ex. the last two lines of the piece...

[calclar]

Too bad about the pitch and timbre distortions due to the Doppler effect. The choreography also necessitated me closing my eyes just to be able to listen without being distracted. This performance has some very fine qualities about it. Perhaps a short rethinking of what Debussy explicitly wrote on the page about tempi and rhythm (beside some missed notes near the beginning of the Scherzando) would make it all that much more enjoyable...especially during the very last two lines.

[clairannette]

If you saw the markings from my score and the analysis performed on this work prior to performance, your comment regarding rethinking the intentions of Debussy would be perceived as faintly irrelevant without specific references. As for incorrect notes, which of the 4 scherzandi and which edition would you be referring to? The performance follows the Urtext standard, with the exception of the D# and E natural in the triplet figure of measure 201.

[clairannette]

The C natural at 113 is an analytical blunder. From 96 to 104: take away everything except the last 16th of each measure and put them in order, highest to lowest, and you will see a chromatic scale from Eb to low E natural. If you do the same with the final 16th of each measure, it descends chromatically from C to A-flat. This would make it obvious why the rhythm is a dotted 16th/32nd at 104 to make the A-flat stand out, and why performances with a C-natural at the end of 101 are incorrect.

[clairannette]

The C-nat. at 113 I say was an analytical blunder because it was changed to match the repetition of the B-flats at 170 and 174 (2 b-flats, why not 2 C-nats at 109 and 113?). This should indeed be a C-flat, however. The material thrown inbetween 114 and 169 makes it hard to clearly see the chromatic link from the C in at the end of 109 leading to the the B natural (or C-flat) in 113, which in turn leads to resolution with a B-flat in 170. This is the way I currently perform it.

[Hachechulo]

Brilliant performance! Piano is perfectly matched with this wonderful clarinetist.

[clairannette]

Thx!

[Luchito1479]

Que Gran Clarinetista!!! es fabuloso!!!

[clairannette]

Gracias!

[felinofurioso]

Nice performance Bryan! Thanks Clariperu.

[clairannette]

Thx

[flyingcutie]

Fantastic performance of the Rhapsody! Everything from the shading, dynamics, technique was top rate. I'm sure others will agree. Thanks for the video.

[clairannette]

Thank Clariperu... I just puckered up and blew (trying to rhyme here - don't take it literally). It is less satisfactory to me for very good reason (and my own tastes), but I appreciate the positive commentary!