The Bass Clarinet Repertoire

Introduction

Of all the auxiliary clarinets, the bass clarinet is by far the one I feel the most at home on. I started learning bass when I was a second-year undergrad at Temple University studying with Philadelphia Orchestra bass clarinetist Paul Demers. While I liked the bass clarinet back then, my initial reasons for picking up the instrument were mostly pragmatic: Being proficient on auxiliaries opens up more job opportunities for you - ergo, it literally pays to be versatile. Thanks to Mr. Demers’s pedagogical ability, and the good fortune of having quality equipment to work with, I took to the bass clarinet rather quickly and developed a deeper personal interest in it. In my spare time I began researching the bass clarinet’s repertoire and history, and I was amazed by what I found. While the bass clarinet is a member of the clarinet family, it is very much a completely different instrument from the clarinet, and nowhere is the divide between the two more visible than in their solo rep.

The clarinet as we know it was first invented around 1700 and developed into a proper solo instrument by the end of 18th century. As such, there are plenty of works by the great Classical and Romantic-era masters that constitute its core repertoire: the Mozart Concerto, the Weber concerti, the Brahms sonatas, etc. However, the bass clarinet is a much “younger” instrument, and the development of its solo repertoire has long lagged behind that of its soprano counterpart. To be sure, the bass clarinet has been a staple of the orchestra since the Romantic era, but only recently has the bass clarinet emerged as a true solo instrument - so recently, in fact, that we can pinpoint the exact date of the first ever bass clarinet solo recital: March 24, 1955, with Czech virtuoso Josef Horak (1931-2005) as the soloist. As you might imagine, then, the bass clarinet’s solo rep is mostly defined by twentieth century conventions - in other words, the bass clarinet owes much of its growth to contemporary music, in a way that the B-flat clarinet does not.

I’m not sure how much consensus there is on a “core repertoire” for the bass clarinet. However, general discussion of the instrument at the academic level has increased in recent years, and more and more people have been taking the bass clarinet seriously as a solo instrument. This article is essentially my two cents on the matter. Below is a curated list of solo bass clarinet rep, taken from my perusal of recordings, online discussions, and academic theses.

Selected Repertoire: Solo

• Ambrosini: Capriccio, detto l’ermafrodita (1993)

• Berio: Sequenza IXc (1998)

• Bok: Vinho do porto brasileiro

• Busch: Suite, Op. 37a (1926)

• Bussotti: Brutto, ignudo (1980)

• Carter: Steep Steps (2001)

• Chin: Advice from a Caterpillar (from Alice in Wonderland) (2007)

• Cole: Excursions, Variations on a Theme of Paganini (1978)

• Dolphy: God Bless the Child (1961)

• Donatoni: Soft (1989)

• Dubois: Voltage suite for bass clarinet (1980)

• Ferneyhough: Time and Motion Study I (1971-77)

• Genzmer: Sonata (1986)

• Janssen: Sprezzatura (1985)

• Lang: Press Release (1992)

• Loevendie: Duo (1988)

• Mandat: Chips Off the Ol’ Block (1999)

• Martin: Grit n’ Grind (2012)

• Martino: Strata (1966)

• Montilla: Introduction and Joropo (2007)

• Pintscher: Seven Bagatelles with Apotheosis of the Glass Harmonica (1993)

• Planas: Spanish Rhapsody (2009)

• Siegel: Jackdaw for bass clarinet and computer (1995)

• Siegel: Salamander for bass clarinet and electronics (2019)

• Wilcox: The People of this Place (2016)

• Yun: Monolog for bass clarinet (1983)

• Ziporyn: Partial Truths (1999)

• Ziporyn: Tsmindao Ghmerto (1994)

Selected Repertoire: w/ Piano or Ensemble

All rep listed is for bass clarinet + piano unless otherwise specified

• Bennett: Deepwood (1937)

• Bowen: Phantasy-Quintet, Op. 93 (BCl + string quartet)

• Bozza: Ballade (1939)

• Desportes: Andante et Allegro (1939)

• Feldman: Bass Clarinet and Percussion (1981) (BCl + percussion)

• Mellits: Black, for two bass clarinets (2008)

• Rasse: Lied (1921)

• Russell: Sonata (2011)

• Schoeck: Sonata (1928)

• Semler-Collery: Legende et divertissement (1953)

• Xenakis: Echange (1989) (BCl + mixed chamber ensemble)

Selected Repertoire: w/ Orchestra

• Bacri: Ophelia’s Tears (2020)

• Ferran: The Castle of Dr. Bassclar (2013) (BCl + wind ensemble)

• Musgrave: Autumn Sonata (1993)

• Russell: Concerto (2014)

Personal Top Ten:

1. Yun: Monolog

2. Donatoni: Soft

3. Siegel: Jackdaw

4. Pintscher: Sieben Bagatellen

5. Chin: Advice from a Caterpillar

6. Montilla: Introduction and Joropo

7. Dubois: Voltage

8. Ferneyhough: Time and Motion Study I

9. Xenakis: Echange

10. Bussotti: Brutto, ignudo