Clarinet quartet explained

Traditionally, a clarinet quartet is a chamber musical ensemble made up of one clarinet, plus the standard string trio of one violin, one viola and one cello. Nowadays, the term clarinet quartet can also refer to a combination of four clarinets of any size [including (contr)alto and (contra)[[bass clarinet]], and basset horn]. The term is also used to refer to a piece written for any of these ensembles.

History

During the second half of eighteenth and the first of the nineteenth centuries, a large number of quartets for clarinet and string trio were written and published, particularly in Paris, as they proved highly popular in Parisian salon concerts, apparently even more so than quintets for clarinet and strings.^[1] Among the earliest examples are the six quartets by Carl Stamitz published as his opus 8 in 1773.^[2] Most of these are in a concertante style, treating the clarinet as soloist.

Works for clarinet quartet

• Heinrich Baermann^[3]
  • Quatuor pour Clarinetto avec accompag[nement] de Violon, Alto et Violoncello, op. 18 (B-flat major, 1816-1817)
• Matthäus Blasius (1782, 1782-84, ca. 1788 and ca. 1799)^[4]
  • Quatuors concertants pour clarinette ou violon primo, violon second, alto et basse, op. 1
    • Clarinet quartet in F major, op. 1 nr. 1
    • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major, op. 1 nr. 2
    • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major, op. 1 nr. 3
• Charles Bochsa (ca. 1795)
  • Clarinet quartet in F major
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major
  • Clarinet quartet in C major
• Christian Cannabich
  • Deux quatuors pour un hautbois ou clarinette, violon, alto, violoncelle ou basson (1774)
    • Clarinet quartet in F major
    • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major
• Charles-Simon Catel
  • Clarinet quartet in D minor, op. 2 nr. 3 (ca. 1796)
• Bernhard Crusell
  • Clarinet quartet in E-flat major, op. 2
  • Clarinet quartet, op. 4
  • Clarinet quartet, op. 7
• François Devienne
• Franz Anton Dimler
  • Clarinet quartet in B-flat major (1798)
• Georg Druschetzky
  • Quartetto Clarinetto in B, Violino, Viola, Violoncello (F major)
• Carl Stamitz
  • Six quartets for clarinet (or flute or oboe), violin, viola (or horn) and cello, op. 8 (1773)^{[5] [6]}
• Johann Küchler (1770s)
• Georg Friedrich Fuchs
  • Clarinet Quartet in B-flat major, op. 2 nr. 1 (1788-91)
  • Clarinet Quartet in E-flat major, op. 2 nr. 2 (1788-91)
  • Clarinet Quartet in B-flat major, op. 2 nr. 3 (1788-91)
• Václav Pichl (ca. 1790)
• Paul Struck
  • Clarinet Quartet in F major, op. 12 (ca. 1795)
• Franz Anton Hoffmeister (ca. 1802)
• Franz Krommer
  • Clarinet Quartet in B-flat major, op. 21 nr. 1 [P IX:4] (ca. 1802)
  • Clarinet Quartet in E-flat major, op. 21 nr. 2 [P IX:3] (ca. 1802)
  • Clarinet Quartet in E-flat major, op. 69 [P IX:5] (ca. 1811)
  • Clarinet Quartet in D major, op. 82 [P IX:12] (ca. 1814)
  • Clarinet Quartet in B-flat major, op. 83 [P IX:13] (ca. 1816)
• Carl Andreas Göpfert (ca. 1803 and 1818)
• Jean-Xavier Lefèvre (ca. 1805)
• Johann Nepomuk Hummel
  • Clarinet Quartet in E-flat major, S 78 (1808)
• Iwan Müller (1817-18)
• Pieter Hellendaal
• Leopold Koželuch
• John Mahon
• Philipp Meissner
• Ignaz Pleyel
• Gaspard Proksch
• Valentin Roeser
• Nicholas Schmidt
• Albert Walter
• Johann Baptist Wanhal
  • Clarinet Quartet in F
  • Clarinet Quartet in B-flat major, op. 7 nr. 2 (W Vb:B1)
• Johann Paul Wesseley
• Peter Winter
• Alan Rawsthorne – Clarinet Quartet (1948)^[7]
• Donald Martino – Clarinet Quartet (1957)
• Berthold Goldschmidt – Clarinet Quartet (1983)^[8]
• Krzysztof Penderecki – Quartet for Clarinet and String Trio (1993)
• Michèl Yost and Johann Vogel (ca. 1789)
  • Six Quatuors Pour Clarinette, Violon, Alto Et Violoncelle, op. 2 (1790-1791)^[9]
    1. Quartet in B-flat major, op. 2 nr. 1^[10]
    2. Quartet in E-flat major, op. 2 nr. 2^[11]
    3. Quartet in B-flat major, op. 2 nr. 3^[12]
    4. Quartet in C minor, op. 2 nr. 4^[13]
    5. Quartet in D major, op. 2 nr. 5^[14]
    6. Quartet in A major, op. 2 nr. 6^[15]
  • Six Quatuors Concertants Pour une Clarinette, Violon, Alto Et Basse, op. 3 (1798)^[16]
    • Quartet in B-flat major, op. 3 nr. 1^[17]
    • Quartet in F major, op. 3 nr. 2^[18]
    • Quartet in A major, op. 3 nr. 3^[19]
    • Quartet in B-flat major, op. 3 nr. 4^[20]
    • Quartet in F major, op. 3 nr. 5^[21]
    • Quartet in E-flat major, op. 3 nr. 6^[22]

Arrangements

Around 1799, arrangements for clarinet quartet of three of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's chamber works appeared in publication, possibly by Johann Anton André: the violin sonata in B-flat major, K 378/317d, the violin sonata in E-flat major, K 380/374f, and the piano trio in G major, K 496.

Notes and References

1. Book: Hoeprich, Eric . 2008 . The Clarinet . New Haven and London . Yale University Press . 978-0-300-10282-6 . The Yale Musical Instrument Series.
2. Book: Lawson, Colin . 1998 . Brahms: Clarinet Quintet . Cambridge . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-58831-7 . Cambridge Music Handbooks.
3. Newhill . John P. . 1974 . The Adagio for Clarinet and Strings by Wagner/Baermann . Music & Letters . 55 . 2 . 167-171.
4. Book: Rice, Albert R. . 2003 . The Clarinet in the Classical Period . New York . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-534299-4.
5. Book: Rice, Albert R. . 2003 . The Clarinet in the Classical Period . New York . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-534299-4.
6. Catalog entry
7. Routh . Francis . 1984 . Rawsthorne's Instrumental Style . The Musical Times . 125 . 143-145.
8. Struck . Michael . Goodwin . Inge . 1990 . Evidence from a Fragmented Musical History: Notes on Berthold Goldschmidt's Chamber Music . Tempo . 174 . 2-10.
9. Catalog entry
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