The Beginnings of Clarinet Literature: Notes on a Clarinet Concerto by Joh.

Stamitz
Author(s): Peter Gradenwitz and G. D. H. Pidcock
Source: Music & Letters, Vol. 17, No. 2 (Apr., 1936), pp. 145-150
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/728793
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 THE BEGINNINGS OF CLARINET LITERATURE
NOTES ON A CLARINET CONCERTO BY JOH. STAMITZ

EXACT information concerning the earliest compositions for the

Clarinet is, even to-day, almost entirely lacking. Hitherto the
musical savant has been interested primarily in the development of
the instrument itself, its first appearance in the orchestra, and its part
in symphonic music. The probability is that neither chamber music
nor concertos for clarinet were known before Mozart's masterpieces:
the Quintette for Wind Instruments, K452; the Trio for Piano,
Clarinet and Viola, K498; the famous Clarinet Quintette in A, K581;
and the Clarinet Concerto, K622, which is the last concerto Mozart
wrote. (1)

In many respects it is, therefore, a matter of some interest that I

have discovered a very early Clarinet Concerto, the composer of which
is Stamitz (probably Johann), and which is most likely the first
example of a solo work for this instrument. As we shall see, it was
written certainly before 1772, and probably before 1757.
Let us summarize our knowledge of the early use of the clarinet.
After the improvement of the ' Chalumeau '(2) by Denner of Leipzig
(1655-1707) we hear of the new instrument being used,(3) though
Mattheson had not mentioned it in 1713.(4) J. G. Walther wrote in
1732 that from a distance it sounded like a trumpet.(5) In 1739 we
find two clarinettists playing in a concert at Frankfort,(6) and in
1755 the first official mention of it in Paris.(7) Of early compositions
the only one we know is a Mass by J. A. J. Faber, with ' Konzertante
Klarinette ' (1720: Antwerp Archives; part published by Cucuel.(8))
Hans Engel(9) says that the first concertos for the clarinet were certain
works by Telemann, in which wind instruments appear in various

(1) Abert-Jahn: ' Mozart ' II, 726.

(2) See Sachs: ' Handbuch d. Musikinstrumentenkunde,' 1920, p. 333.
(3) See Cucuel's admirable 'Etudes sur un orchestre au XVIIIe siecle,'
Paris, 1933, and ' La question des clarinettes dans l'instrumentation du
XVIIIe siecle' (Zeitschrift der I.M.G., XII, 10, 1911); also C. Mennicke:
Hasse und die Gebriider Graun. .. .,' p. 277, et seq.
(4) Neither in 'Das neueroffnete Orchester,' 1713, nor in 'Das beschiitzte
Orchester,' 1717.
(5) Musiklexikon, p. 168.
(6) Israel: 'Frankfurter Konzertchronik,' p. 29.
(7) 26th March, 1755: ' Symphonie de Stamitz avec clarinets et cors de
chasse ' (Mercure de France).
(R) Cucuel: 'La question des clarinettes. . .' p. 17.
(9) Hans Engel: 'Das Instrumentalkonzert,' 1932, pp. 564 and 89.

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 146 MUSIC AND LETTERS

combinations, e.g., two clarinets (one written in the violin clef and
one in the soprano clef) and strings. These works, however, are not
for the clarinet as a solo instrument. L. de la Laurencie gives some
information regarding Rameau's use of the clarinet.(10) In early
symphonies (Stamitz, Beck, Toeschi, Holtzbauer, Gossec, etc.) the
clarinet is marked ' ad lib.,' the parts are sold separately, and the
instrument either plays in unison with the oboe, or else replaces it.
In the French ' Encyclopedie ' we find: ' Clarinet: sorte de hautbois;
voyez l'article hautbois,' and it is not until the supplementary volume
of 1776 that a more detailed description is given of the instrument's
characteristics. La Borde(ll) stated in 1780 that the clarinet had been
known for not more than about thirty years, and Koch's ' Musikalisches
Lexikon ' said the same thing as late as 1802.
The first theoretical work for the clarinet is Valentin Roeser's
'Essai d' instruction a l'usage de ceux qui composent pour la clarinette
et le cor, avec des remarques sur l'harmonie a deux clarinettes, deux
cors, et deux bassons. .. .' (Le Menu Paris).(12) Mennicke (op, cit.
sup.) gives us information concerning the first appearance of the
clarinet in the orchestra. It is of interest to note that there is early
evidence of its use in London, viz.: by Charles Barbandt. (j) a
composer of German parentage, at Subscription Concerts at the little
Haymarket Theatre, from 1753 to 1763.(14) The first clarinet virtuoso
was Joseph Beer (b. 1744 at Griinwald, Bohemia; d. 1811 in Paris).
He it was who, on 2nd February, 1772, played a 'Concerto pour
clarinette de Stamitz ' at the ' Concerts spirituels ' in Paris.
The instrumental concertos of Stamitz and his sons have hitherto
escaped attention. I have discovered twenty-four concertos of
Johann, and from contemporary catalogues I am aware of the
existence of nineteen more, which however have not so far been
found.(15) Of those I have traced, fifteen are in print, and nine in
MS. Among tle latter is one that I found in the Thurn und Taxis
Central Archiv, Regensburg. Like many of the Stamitz compositions,
this bears no Christian name, the title reading: ' CONCERTO a
7 Stromenti / Clarinetto Principale Toni B / Violino Primo et
Secundo / Corno Primo et Secundo in B / Alto Viola et Basso / del
Sign. Stamitz.' As the only date known, 1772, is that of the per-
(10) 'Rameau et les clarinettes,' Revue Mus., S.I.M., 9.2.1913. See also
J. G. Prod'homme: ' Notes des archives concernant 1'emploi des clarinettes
en 1763' (Bulletin de la Societe francaise de musicologie, April, 1919).
(11) 'Essai sur la musique,' 1780.
(12) Advertised in 'Affiches de Paris,' 1764, p. 26.
(13) Gerber calls him an English composer.
(14) See C. F. Pohl: ' Mozart und Haydn in London,' II, p. 208.
(15) From a work by the author entitled 'Johann Stamitz (Biographie und
Themat. Katalog),' which is shortly to appear.

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 THE BEGINNINGS OF CLARINET LITERATURE 147

formance, it is of course possible that the concerto is by Karl Stamitz

(b. 1746). A short analysis of it may help to indicate its characteristic
features.

The work, which is in three movements, plunges straight into one

of those subjects (Ex. 1) that are so typical of Johann Stamitz, viz.:
a ' heroic gesture,' immediately followed and contrasted by a softly
sighing phrase.

Ex" I

At the repetition of the subject in the fifth bar the first violins
slightly vary the melody. They lead to a new theme, and then to the
coda. The solo instrument makes its first appearance at the twenty-
sixth bar with a variation of the first subject. The soli are interrupted
by tutti, which develop the subjects, and the movement ends with
a quotation from the main subject followed immediately by the coda.
The second movement has a strongly marked rhythm, and begins
thus, the strings playing in unison:

Lx 2 Adagio

g b d-2 r I ?

The clarinet enters at the fifth bar, and from the seventh bar it takes
the lead in the following lyrical theme:

EX.3 Adagio
"J Solo - -~

This is not overburdened with suspensions, as is the case in the

later works of Karl Stamitz, and it is interrupted only by short tutti,

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 148 MUSIO AND LETTERS

which repeat the rhythm of the opening. The third movement, a

jolly Poco Presto:

N.B.-Three pairs of quavers have been accidentally printed for semi-

quavers.

contains in the tutti two subjects and a coda, which later on are
worked thematically by the solo instrument. In general outline this
movement is in Sonata form. Stamitz was largely instrumental in
preparing the way for the use of this form by classical writers, though
he was not its creator, as Riemann thought.(16)
Karl Stamitz's works seldom begin with his father's ' heroic
gesture '; even those of his subjects that are marked forte have the
soft, feminine character of the second bar of Ex. 1. He has not
his father's verve. The frequent repetitions of his subjects are ampler,
and mostly keep faithfully to the original, whereas Johann always
varies them. Karl pays small heed to thematic work, of which this
concerto is so full, but writes with a sort of inspired abandon.
Further, in Karl's compositions we never find the repetition of subjects
beginning on different beats of the bar, as we do in Johann's (thus
in the first movement, which is in 4/4 time, the clarinet begins its
subject on the first beat, and repeats it some bars later on the third).
This in Johann is a survival from an earlier period, before the bar line
had come to exercise its trenchant influence on rhythm. Finally,
Karl's last movements are almost always ' Rondeaux.'
It is only possible here to make a few superficial observations; a
more complete analysis of the concerto would provide further evidence
in favour of Johann's authorship.(l7) The question remains whether
the concerto was originally composed for the clarinet, or whether it
was an arrangement. While some of Karl's concertos that are known
to me can be played either by the oboe or the violin, the present one
is particularly suited to the special character of the clarinet. This is
shown by the conspicuous avoidance of slurs that are difficult for the

(17) If it is by Karl, it must have been a very early work of his, written
before he attained to full independence of style. Karl's works first appear
in the Breitkopf catalogue in 1768 (Symphonies without clarinets), the first
clarinet concertos in 1781 at the earliest. (The latter are also included in
South German libraries.)
(16) The last word has not yet by any means been said on this matter,

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 THE BEGINNINGS OF CLARINET LITERATURE 149

instrument, such as: i J J ; by the use of the low

registers, for which Engel (op. cit. sup.) says Mozart was the first to
write; and by a series of very characteristic passages and skips. It is
true that the virtuosity is greater than that of Karl's concertos, but
in spite of that, it is always in keeping with his thematic material.
In the concertos of Michel Yost, a pupil of Beer, which are apparently
those signed ' J. Michel' in the British Museum, virtuosoship has
degenerated into a series of empty roulades.(18) His works have until
to-day been regarded as the first solo concertos; but they are dated
'about 1780,' and can hardly have appeared before 1777, when he
first played in public at the age of twenty-three. Also, they show
clear signs of the corruption that results from too great virtuosity,
although they contain a number of pleasing ideas. Mozart was the
first to give the clarinet a fresh significance, and he made masterly use
of its characteristics.(19)

One last clue to Johann's authorship remains to be mentioned, viz.:

the composition of the orchestra, in which only horns are prescribed.
In his later instrumental works Johann almost always adds oboes or
clarinets and horns to the strings, and his sons hardly ever omit them.
It is true that the horns are missing in the one copy that has
remained; but comparison with other compositions reveals that they
are seldom missing in the full scores, and certainly only had, as was
often the case, to support crescendos and tutti, remaining silent in
the soli and the slow movement. They are therefore not indispensable,
though the part they played can be reconstructed with a fair amount
of certainty. Thus, the horns were omitted in an arrangement that
had its first performance at a concert of the Friends of Music in
London in January, 1935. No alteration was made to the original
except the correction of mistakes in the MS. and an attempt, in the
tutti of the last movement, to give the clarinet a variation of the
theme that should not exceed the bounds of ornamental technique.
To sum up: we may safely regard this work as the first concerto
written for a solo instrument, for Johann Stamitz died in 1757,

(18) The Brit. Mus. references are h.2189 c. and h.2164. (The works were
printed both in London and in Paris.)
(19) Mozart is known to have made his first acquaintance with the clarinet
in the Mannheim orchestra, which was brought to its highest pitch of perfec-
tion by Stamitz. From there he wrote on 3.12.1778: ' Oh, if only we had
clarinets! You have no idea of the glorious effect of a symphony with flutes,
oboes, and clarinete,'

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 150 MUSIC AND LETTERS

and even if it is not by him the latest date in question would be 1772.
For this reason it is of historical interest, as showing both the
development of music for the clarinet(20) and a new departure of
Johann Stamitz, the pioneer. Not only that, but it is also worth
hearing to-day on account of its charming tunes, its fine thematic and
harmonic work, and the fact that it is a grateful piece for any
clarinettist anxious to increase his repertory.
PETER GRADENWITZ.
trans. 0. D. H. PIDCOCK.

(20) It may be mentioned that, in spite of the increase in the number of

compositions for the clarinet after 1770, and a larger number of skilled players,
the instrument was apparently not yet widely known. Quartettes by
Karl Stamitz ' une clarinette / violon / alto et basse,' widely different in
style from the concerto here described, were published about 1773 by Sieber
in Paris with an alternative oboe part. In the Breitkopf catalogue of 1773
the beginning of the (transposed) clarinet part is given.

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