SEEING DOUBLE

Movement III. Andante poco adagio

 I’m now at the half-way mark, sort of. After the large proportions of the first movement—it is the longest movement at ten minutes, forty-three seconds—I decided to skip the second movement for now and jump to the third movement which is the shortest of the three movements at only 4:06. I also knew that the second and forth movements would need much more variety of thematic materials and would rely on borrowing material from the odd numbered movements. Regardless of my tendency to work non-linearly, I now have a draft of fourteen minutes of the twenty-eight-minute sonata. Take a listen.

Form

This movement is loosely modeled on the slow movement from the Brahms Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120 No. 1 both in form and in character. The form is, like the Brahms, a simple, slow, three-part movement (ternary). The melody and accompaniment of the A section remain calm and uncomplicated and, like the Brahms, includes a descending arpeggiation shared by the clarinet and piano. The middle B section contains faster rhythmic and harmonic motion and has a three-part form mimicking the form and proportions of the movement with new material in the central c section. Unlike the Brahms, I changed the tempo of the two digressions. The tempo relationship is not a metric modulation which is odd for me but concerns of energy levels and the effect of tempo on proportions won out—just this once. The return of the a’ ends with a false recapitulation just before j20 (see form below) stemming from the frequent harmonic shifts of the B section. The movement ends with an expanded restatement of the initial A section. Expansions are related to the themes and harmonies of the B section.

Energy and form of third movement.

Much like a revision at the end of the first movement, I decided to make a revision at the end of the third, not to reshape the energy but to come back to the original theme. Because of the increased tempo of the divergent themes, It was difficult to achieve the required energy. Ending with the divergent theme (b) also prevented me from mimicking one of the most charming characteristics of the Brahms, ending on a throat B-flat. For years while teaching the Brahms to students I would stress the fact that Brahms ended on the thinnest sounding note on the instrument creating a soft, almost disarming effect.

 The solution was come back to the original theme (a) at the phi mark of the final b segment after j21 creating essentially a j21a. This also allowed me to end the piece on one of those thin, throat tones—in this case a throat G. It’s also worth mentioning that I place the short segment of the phi unit at the end to match the relationship of all the phi units of the movement except for the relationship between the first and middle sections of the overall ternary form.

Much Simpler Harmonic Palette

Compared to the first movement, the harmonic palette of the third movement contains far fewer sonorities. The digressions in the form take the same governing synthetic scale but with a handful of simple transformations, transposition, and mode. For instance, the synthetic scale below may undergo a transposition (T) up by a minor third—in terms of pitch class theory, an interval of (3). Simultaneously the scale may be rotated (M) so that it starts on the fourth note for its original order much in the same way church modes are organized. The result is a transformation of T3M4.

To Dot or Not to Dot

The movement contains a distinct recurring rhythm. It is the even distribution of four notes across three beats, a quadruplet. In a meter of three-four this may be written as four dotted eighth notes. However, this notation disregards the engraving rule of two-level parsing—showing the pulse, sometimes called splitting the bar in four-four. If this rhythm had been used only once I would have certainly written it as a series of dotted eighth notes and eighths tied with sixteenths but given the extensive use of “tuplets” in the first movement and the frequency of the figure I originally used the quadruplet exclusively. My wife made me change it. Ok, she didn’t really but she and my on-line friends in the music engraving community convinced me it would be easier to read.

Extended Techniques: Multiphonics

This movement includes several extended techniques. Prominent in the refrain—the A section of the rondo form—is the use of multiphonics. Multiphonics are the production of two or more pitches at the same time through the use of special fingerings and careful shaping of the throat, tongue, and oral cavity. They don’t simply sound like two clarinets playing together, sometimes the tone is strident, thin, and uneven between the different pitches. Often composers use multiphonics as noisy bleating. I try to use them as reverent upwellings of energy.  I rarely write them above a dynamic of mezzo piano. I often isolate one of the notes before and/or after the multiphonic to make them sound more intentional and to integrate the pitches into the harmonic fabric of the piece. In fact, the possible multiphonics—not all combinations are possible—of the clarinet are highly influential throughout the sonata—or will be—in selecting the sonorities that create the synthetic scales for each of the four movements.

Barrel pops

Barrel pops are produced by, ironically, removing the clarinet barrel and using the palm of the right hand to percussively strike the opening of the top joint while fingering notes below. The result is a soft, pitched, almost pizzicato effect. I’ve used the effect in many of my pieces, most notably, in The Mpingo Parables. By using both the B-flat and A clarinets, and a neck strap, the player can move quickly from traditional playing to popping or even play the two clarinets simultaneously (maybe in the scherzo).

Michele Von Haugg performing barrel pops during a rehearsal The Mpingo Parables.

Extended articulations: slap tonguing

Slap tonguing, when done well, sounds very much like a string pizzicato. It is produced by creating a suction on the reed with the tongue and quickly pulling the tongue away, allowing the reed to slap back towards the mouthpiece. The effect is much easier on saxophone where it is more often heard but can be effective on clarinet in the lower register.

Flutter tongue

Flutter tonguing is produced by creating a rapid oscillation of the tip of the tongue just behind the reed. This is known as an alveolar trill and used in some languages to produce a rolled R. It can also be produced by vibrating the uvula—the fleshy extension at the back of the soft pallet—although this version of flutter tonguing is more common on flute. Flutter tonguing has been around for a long time. One of the first uses of the technique was in Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker but has also been used by Schoenberg, Shostakovich, Britten, Richard Strauss, Mahler, and more. Flutter tonguing is also common in jazz, particularly New Orleans style.  

Double Tonguing

Double tonguing is a technique used by many wind instruments to achieve rapid rearticulation—fast tongued notes. On clarinets and saxophones normal single tonguing is produced when the tongue touches the tip of the reed. However, in double tonguing there is an alternation between the front of the tongue touching the tip of the reed (Tah) and the back of the tongue touching the palette (Kah).

Doodle Tonguing

Doodle tonguing is a technique used by trombone players to lightly articulate fast moving notes. When applied to clarinet on a sustained pitch it creates a gently tremolo effect. Doodle tonguing is achieved by alternating the tongue between the syllable “Doo” and “Dle”. “Doo” is produced by dropping the tongue from the alveolar ridge just behind the gum line. “Dle” is produced by returning the tongue to the alveolar ridge in a narrow shape allowing air to flow around the tongue. Unlike other articulations, the air never stops, and the tongue never touches the reed.

I hope you have enjoyed this update. I’m now halfway through the project and will be digging into the second movement tomorrow. Please consider contributing to the project if you have not already. Thank you all so much for your patience and generosity.

Brett