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It is safe to say that the combination of flute and guitar yields close to a thousand or more entries. But, when one thinks of the music that might be written for the combination of clarinet and guitar, the thought of not being able to find much music seems almost certain. This was my thought as my search began, but I have been quite surprised with the wealth of materials gathered since. To date, I have catalogued fifty-three pieces for this duo ranging in years from 1811 to the 1990's, and this list is constantly growing. From Debussy and Küffner to Larsen and Schickele, there is a good mix of originals and arrangements for this combination. There are also quite a few larger works, currently numbering at fifty-seven, that include clarinet and guitar, which I have also catalogued. From time to time some pieces resemble one another, but for the most part this body of repertoire is quite unique.

There are quite a few interesting questions and topics to be discussed when presenting this subject matter. What were some of the characteristics of the music? What were some of the major differences between the older pieces vs. the newer ones? Did they differ at all? Are there any particular pieces that may be of definite interest? How did the two voices fit together? Does one instrument function as an accompanist while the other a soloist, or are they both equal parts? What is the graded level of this body of music? Is there any historical significance to this music? Did composers have a particular reason for composing any of these pieces and, if so, what were they? Have any written multiple compositions for this combination? Were these pieces written for any particular performers? Other things to consider might be how to approach the sensitivity to balance and tuning; to amplify or not and the problems related to one or the other; diferent colors achieved with these instruments; the difference in approach between pieces for flute (and even violin) and clarinet, and what makes the clarinet such an interesting (and perhaps better) alternative to these instruments. It would be good to present a piece (to be selected later) from the list and to discuss some more specific points about it, including detailed composition techniques used in the piece, trouble spots from an acoustic perspective, what makes it unique to others on the list, and if it can stand on its own as an important piece of repertoire. Lastly, it would also be fitting to include some of the steps in research that were made for this project to get off the ground and become what it has.

The audience would receive a detailed handout of each duet which would include things like: how many movements a piece has; title, publisher and composer name of each piece; the years published and composed; whether the piece was a transcription or not; clarinet used; the degree of difficulty for the work; and more importantly, a brief description of all pieces that I have seen. This handout would also include any piece that I have heard about but have not seen, and perhaps the whereabouts of said piece. I would also include a similar handout of all the larger combination pieces that contain clarinet and guitar, and another for some of the recordings that contain this combination.

 

 

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