Bryan A. Crumpler, Clarinets – “Monochrome” = DESPORTES: Caracteres (clarinet sextet); BERTOUILLE: Concertino; BARBER: Adagio for Strings, for solo clarinet and clarinet choir; PETER SCHICKELE: Monochrome III; DONDEYNE: Symphonie – WTG

by | Nov 11, 2005 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

Bryan A. Crumpler, Clarinets – “Monochrome” = DESPORTES:
Caracteres (clarinet sextet); BERTOUILLE: Concertino for 4 Clarinets;
BARBER: Adagio for Strings, for solo clarinet and clarinet choir; PETER
SCHICKELE: Monochrome III for nine B-flat clarinets; DONDEYNE:
Symphonie des Clarinettes (clarinet sextet) – Who’s That Guy WTG-0001,
50:07  ****:

The Peter Schickele work which is also the overall title for this disc
is part of a series in which the composer (and discoverer of PDQ Bach’s
music) has written works for a multiple number of a single instrument.
The idea is to capture the singular timbre and feeling of the
instrument in the pieces, and that is what his work for nine clarinets
does. The idea of a single instrument in multiples has been stretched
for the CD to feature a single performer who plays all the
instruments!  I’ve long been attracted to ensembles of multiple
same instruments, and the rich woody sound of multiple clarinets is to
die for.

Crumpler is a superb performer on his instrument who studied at UNC
Chapel Hill and has won top prizes in international music
competitions.  He has become a versatile concert soloist and
chamber musician as well as playing in jazz, Klezmer, Dixieland and
other non-classical genres. For this CD he spent over two-and-one-half
years recording, multi-tracking and producing the sound of every
clarinet heard in this collection. The effect is of a single skilled
ensemble playing together, of from four to a whole orchestra of
clarinets.  The pieces are all melodic and lovely, in either a
French or American vein, and all receive their world premiere
recordings here. The opener by Desportes is made up of a half dozen
short sections which describe individual characters – The Loner, The
Dreamer, The Joker, etc. Schickele’s nine-minute work is a melodic and
swinging piece which makes ingenious use of the nine clarinet
lines.  The centerpiece of the album is a transcription by Lucien
Cailliet of Barber’s famous Adagio for Strings. Crumpler further
modified the transcription and the result is a gorgeous new sound of
this classic piece.  The CD was assembled using digital
multitracking technology, which according to the jewel box results in
“enhanced spatial sound.”  The various instruments are spread out
on a wide soundstage, widened even further by Pro Logic II
playback.  But the main enhancement here is the complete freedom
from hiss and noise which would probably have been part of the final
result if analog overdubbing had been used for the project.

– John Sunier

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