Quality: 8

Difficulty: Solo-7, Accompaniment-7

7:00

Highest Note: alt. A

Dedicated to Ulysse Delécluse, former professor at the Paris Conservatory; Bozza, Cahuzac, and Tomasi also wrote for him

Neoclassical style: ternary form (vif-modéré-vif), mostly tonal, B section somewhat Impressionistic, jazz influences (mostly rhythmic), with "twentieth-century" chords

A member of "Les Six," French Neoclassical compoers in the early twentieth century

For clarinet, also wrote: Caprice, op. 335a; Concerto, op. 230; Scaramouche, op. 165b; and Sonatine, op. 100

Also wrote chamber music with clarinet, including woodwind quintets; most known for his ballet La Creation du Monde

Comfort with accidentals

Abrupt character and dynamic shifts

Air support over wide leaps

Good sense of rhythm and accurate subdivision

Always be conscious of the character of the music and exaggerate the dynamics

Lots of practice with a metronome to get secure with some of the more unusual rhythms and to give it a sense of moving forward

Use rubato in B section so it doesn't get stodgy

Meyer/Le Sage; French Clarinet Art; Denon