clarinet

Three Songs, by Frank Bridge

Transcribed parts for Clarinet by C. A. Vater (originally for viola)

Alternative Parts for A-Clarinet or B-flat-Clarinet (no score), PDF $8.99

Frank Bridge composed his Three Songs for Voice, Viola, and Piano in 1906-1907, setting to music one poem each by Matthew Arnold (Far, far from each other), Heinrich Heine (Where is it that our soul doth go?), and Percy Bysshe Shelley (Music when soft voices die).  Both the poetry and the music are richly romantic, addressing with high emotion the various stages of grief experienced over the loss of a loved one.  Bridge is an accessible post-romantic composer who should be better known.  We at Noteworthy Sheet Music thought his Three Songs would work equally well with clarinet substituting for the original viola, thereby creating a new opportunity for its performance by the appealing ensemble of voice, clarinet and piano.  We prepared transcribed parts for both A-clarinet and B-flat-clarinet, so players can choose which instrument they prefer for each of the three movements.  Our edition includes both of the clarinet part options but no score, as a good quality PDF of the Bridge score for voice, viola and piano is available as a free download from imslp.org and our clarinet parts work well with the original score’s piano and voice lines.

A-Clarinet part, 4 pages; B-flat-Clarinet part, 4 pages; Total, 14 pages. 

Two Pieces: Pensiero and Allegro appassionato, by Frank Bridge

Transcribed for B-flat Clarinet and Piano by C.A.Vater

Score and Part; PDF $10.99

Certain chamber works written for viola can also work very beautifully when transcribed for clarinet, and indeed may actually be coveted by clarinetists.  Brahms’ Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano, Op. 91 is one such piece, and our transcription has become one of NSM’s most popular publications.   Clarinetists may discover that our adaptation of the viola part of Frank Bridge’s Two Pieces: Pensiero and Allegro appassionato, written for viola and piano, is also well-conceived and enjoyable to play.  As suggested by their titles, these two pieces were written in very different styles, but they complement each other well, showing off Bridge’s composing versatility and providing performers an opportunity to display a range of emotions and capabilities.  In our edition, we have raised the Pensiero key from F minor to G minor, taken a few passages in both pieces 8va to bring them into clarinet range, and created clarinet-friendly adaptations for the viola’s occasional double stops, but otherwise the pieces remain as Bridge composed them.   

Score, 10 pages; Clarinet part, 3 pages; Total, 16 pages.  

Grande Sonate, by Franz Danzi

transcribed for Piano and Clarinet by John W. Pratt

Piano score and B♭ Clarinet part, PDF $14.99

Danzi’s Grande Sonate, Opus 62, written for piano and basset horn, was published around 1823, along with an alternative part for cello. Please see additional information about this piece in the article describing our re-notated basset horn edition. The Grande Sonate comprises four movements and provides both sparkle and mellow rich beauty. It is nicely adaptable to other winds, particularly the clarinet. Certain passages in the final movement of the original work seem to invite elaboration or improvisation by the solo instrument, and arranger John Pratt offers suggestions for possible additions or alternatives for the clarinet, making it even more fun to play.

Piano Score, 28 pages; B♭ Clarinet Part, 7 pages; Total, 40 pages.

Sonatina, Op.100, by Antonín Dvořák

Transcribed for Clarinet in A (and Piano) by J.W.Pratt and C.A.Vater

A-Clarinet Part, PDF $11.99

From 1892 to 1895, Czech composer Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) was in the United States, serving as the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. He wrote his Sonatina in G major (Opus 100, B. 183) for violin and piano in 1893, and in some ways it reminds us of his triumphant Symphony No. 9, "From the New World", which was composed the same year. The Sonatina was written for and dedicated to Dvořák's own children. It has an average duration of 20 minutes and consists of four movements: I. Allegro risoluto; II. Larghetto (Indian Lament); III. Scherzo. Molto vivace; and IV. Finale. Allegro.

In transcribing this popular work for clarinet, we have incorporated several changes in the part to account for sonic differences between the clarinet and the violin. In so doing, every effort has been made to maintain the spirit and character of the original composition. In places the New World feel is even stronger with a wind instrument. We provide here our transcribed A-clarinet part only; Dvořák's original piano part works well with the new clarinet part, and the score for violin and piano is readily available in the public domain as a free pdf download from imslp.org.

A-Clarinet Part, 11 pages; Total, 14 pages.

Romance, Op. 11 by Antonín Dvořák

Transcribed for B♭ Clarinet by C. A. Vater (originally for violin)

Part for B♭ Clarinet, PDF $6.97

Czech composer Antonín Dvořák based his Romance, Opus 11 on the slow movement of his String Quartet in F minor, composed in 1873, re-working that Andante con moto quasi allegretto to create two versions of the Romance, one for solo violin and orchestra (B.39) and another for solo violin and piano (B.38).  The Romance is one of Dvořák’s most magnificent melodic works, teaming with romance, lyricism, and emotional intensity.  Understandably, the piece became extremely popular and has been transcribed for several other instruments, including viola, cello, guitar, and flute.  In creating an NSM edition of the work for clarinet (and piano), we have incorporated several changes in the solo part to account for sonic differences between the clarinet and the violin.  In so doing, every effort has been made to maintain the spirit, character, and flow of Dvořák’s original composition.  We provide here our transcribed B♭ clarinet part only; the score for violin and piano is readily available in the public domain as a free pdf download from imslp.org, and that piano part can be used in performance along with our clarinet part.

B♭ Clarinet part, 4 pages; Total, 6 pages.

Na Rua dos Meus Ciúmes, Traditional Fado

Arranged for Woodwind Quintet by Antonio F. Figueiredo

Parts and Score, PDF $10.00

Na Rua Dos Meus Ciúmes is a traditional Portugese fado, still highly popular among recording artists today.  This passionate love song tells the story of the intense jealousy experienced by a girl upon seeing her lover pass by with another woman on the street near her home.  Though her pain is palpable, the girl is proud and determined to endure her suffering resolutely and without tears.

Antonio Figueiredo was born in the Azores, Portugal, and now resides in Massachusetts.  He grew up listening to (and falling in love with) fado music, with all its romance and passion, and its timeless themes of love, loss, jealousy, poverty, and the sea.  Figueiredo is a bassoonist who plays regularly in various orchestras and chamber music groups in the Boston area.  He enjoys arranging folk tunes for woodwind quintet, and he created this delightful and engaging arrangement of Na Rua Dos Meus Ciúmes for one of his own groups.  The piece is scored for flute, oboe, clarinet in B-flat, horn in F, and bassoon.  

"This brief piece is a charming addition to the quintet repertory."  Read John Ranck's full review of Figueiredo's arrangement of Na Rua Dos Meus Ciúmes. 

Score, 5 pages; Parts, 1 page each; Total, 12 pages.

Moon Shadows, by Walter A. Finlayson

Contemporary Composition for 2 Flutes, 2 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, and 9 Percussion Instruments

Score and Parts, PDF $14.25

Walter Finlayson (1919-2000) was an American composer, musician, educator, and music innovator, with nearly twenty original compositions and some forty arrangements to his credit.  While serving in the navy, he played saxophone and clarinet in the US Naval Reserve dance band, seated next to the great Artie Shaw.  Finlayson's ASCAP output includes music for band, dance band, orchestra, voice, and chorus.  His compositions and arrangements have been published by Boosey & Hawkes, EB Marks, Boston Music, and Mercury Music, and performed by major college marching band programs.  One of his best-known compositions is I Had a Premonition, which was written for voice and piano, but which was later arranged for the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra, one of the preeminent bands of the swing era.  A recording of the tune can be heard on The Jimmie Lunceford Collection: 1930-47 compact disc released in 2014 on the Fabulous label, and on YouTube.

Noteworthy Sheet Music's chief editorial consultant Peter H. Bloom received Finlayson's previously-unpublished score for Moon Shadows from the composer's daughter, and we were impressed with its quality and sophistication.  For a piece written in the late 1930's or early 1940's, as Gale Finlayson recollects (the score is not dated), Moon Shadows seems remarkably ahead of its time.  The work is scored for two flutes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, bells, vibraphone, xylophone, finger cymbals, maracas, bongos, roll cymbals, temple blocks, and tympani.  We notated our modern edition of the piece as faithfully as possible based on the hand-written Finlayson score; our edition of Moon Shadows includes both score and parts.  We at NSM are pleased to aid in the re-discovery of some of Walter Finlayson's works; for additional information about this interesting composer, please visit the Our Composers page under About Us.

Score, 19 pages; Parts for Flute-1, Flute-2, Clarinet-1, Clarinet-2, Bass Clarinet, Bells, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Finger Cymbals and Maracas, Bongos and Roll Cymbals, Temple Blocks, and Tympani, 1 page each; Total, 34 pages. 

Deux Esquisses, by Philippe Gaubert

transcribed for Clarinet and Piano by C. A. Vater

Clarinet part and Piano score, PDF $9.99

Philippe Gaubert was a prominent French flutist, composer, and conductor who held a professorship at the Paris Conservatory and principal conducting positions at the Paris Opéra and the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. We’ve created a transcription of his Deux Esquisses (Two Sketches) for B♭ clarinet, complete with piano score. These pieces were written for flute and piano but are nicely adaptable for other winds. They were originally published by Heugel & Cie, in 1915 (No.1) and 1914 (No.2), and are now in the public domain. No.1, Soir sur la Plaine (Evening on the Plain), opens intriguingly with the solo instrument playing alone, repeating a single note. This motif sets the lovely, mysteriously forlorn tone of Soir sur la Plaine, and returns multiple times later in the piece. No.2, the second sketch, is Orientale, which, as its name suggests, evokes an atmosphere seemingly strange and foreign, Eastern.

Piano Score, 10 pages; Clarinet part, 4 pages; Total, 20 pages.

Glazunov - Chant du Ménestrel, Op.71, by Alexander Glazunov

Transcribed for A-Clarinet and Piano by C.A.Vater

Score and Part; PDF $7.99

Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936) was an eminent composer in the late Russian romantic tradition.  In 1901, he published two versions of his Chant du Ménestrel, one for cello and orchestra and another for cello and piano, dedicating the work to Alexandre Wierzbilowicz, principal cello at the Russian Imperial Opera Orchestra and a professor at the Conservatory.  Chant du Ménestrel (Minstrel’s Song) is a sorrowful, romantic piece that evokes the image of a Russian troubadour wandering the countryside, singing his sad songs.  The lyrical, expressive solo cello line is without double stops and readily transcribed for other instruments.  Written in the key of F# minor, this short work (average duration 3-4 minutes) adapts especially well for A-clarinet.  

Score, 4 pages; A-Clarinet part, 2 pages; Total, 10 pages. 

Elegy, Op.44, by Alexander Glazunov

Transcribed for Bb Clarinet (and Piano) by John W. Pratt

Clarinet Part — PDF $3.99

Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov (b. St. Petersburg, 1865; d. Paris, 1936) was a major composer in the late Russian romantic tradition. His Elegy, Op.44, was written for viola and piano in 1893, and has been transcribed by John W. Pratt for Bb clarinet. The piece is about 6 minutes long, elegiac but not lugubrious. It consists of a lovely melody in 9/8 enhanced by a simple but warm piano accompaniment. The viola melody is readily transcribed for other instruments, since it is without double stops. The piano part is freely available at IMSLP.org.

Clarinet part, 2 pages; Total, 6 pages.