Drafts by Samuel Gordon Huston
K623 (15 November 1791). 1 We now know that after sketching the Concerto for basset horn, Mozart ... more K623 (15 November 1791). 1 We now know that after sketching the Concerto for basset horn, Mozart rewrote it for basset clarinet. However, none of the work's early editions printed a part for basset clarinet, instead transcribing the material for a more readily available clarinet in A, without a low C extension. 2 This transcription went largely unchallenged for over a hundred years until George Dazeley, and others, questioned its veracity. 3 The Clarinet Concerto was first conceived as a concerto for basset horn, for which an undated autograph sketch of the opening 199 bars, K621b, survives. 4 Multiple dates for K621b have been posited: Alfred Einstein suggests 1789, close to the Clarinet Quintet, while the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe suggests 1791. 5 The reasoning for this dating in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe is that "Mozart usually proceeded rapidly to the working out of outlines", which is a sensible theory but cannot be strongly affirmed given the lack of tangible evidence. 6 Thus, while Mozart probably completed the Clarinet Concerto in late 1791, it is not entirely clear when he began work on either the Clarinet Concerto or on K621b. Colin Lawson has convincingly argued that the Clarinet Concerto was probably first performed at the Prague
Although the first reference that we have to the clarinet comes from 1710, the instrument enjoyed... more Although the first reference that we have to the clarinet comes from 1710, the instrument enjoyed only limited usage in the early eighteenth century. 1 When the clarinet was used, it was largely aligned with the trumpet (clarinetto translates as "little trumpet"); it was not until the middle of the eighteenth century that this changed with the advent of the five-keyed clarinet. 2 However, the chalumeau, from which the clarinet evolved, was often used in the early eighteenth century. For example, Georg Philipp Telemann wrote a Concerto for Two Chalumeaux, TWV 52:d1, Reinhard Keiser's opera Croesus includes chalumeaux parts, and many of Christoph Graupner's cantatas use the chalumeau. 3 Despite this, there is not a large repertory of solo works for either the clarinet or chalumeau from before circa 1750. This means that the modern clarinettist must appropriate music written for other instruments when finding repertoire to perform from this period. Works written for other wind instruments seem to be the most obvious place to start, and there is a substantial repertoire to draw from, including Joseph Bodin de Boismortier's Six Suites for Solo Flute, Telemann's Methodical Sonatas, J. S. Bach's Partita in A Minor or Johann Mattheson's Der brauchbare Virtuoso. I do not believe that there is something inherently wrong with playing baroque music written for the flute or oboe on the modern clarinet. We know that performers and instrument makers in the early modern period experimented with a wide range of sounds on certain instruments. For example, Johann Joachim Quantz was commissioned by Friedrich II of Prussia to produce instruments with contrasting characteristics: "Quantz is to make me two new flutes... one with a strong tone and one that is easily blown and has a sweet high register". 4 Given that some early modern musicians were seemingly happy to experiment with timbre, and the inherent discrepancies in instrument production and performance practice in pre-industrial Europe, I believe that we should be flexible about the instruments that we use for this repertoire. Indeed, while period instruments undoubtedly provide a fascinating insight into baroque performance, this does not mean that a convincing performance of such music can only be created using such instruments. However, a performer using a modern instrument must be aware of the extra-textual conventions that surrounded this repertoire.
Papers by Samuel Gordon Huston
The Adagio from Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 (1885) has received limited scholarly analysis, a... more The Adagio from Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 (1885) has received limited scholarly analysis, although the Symphony continues to be widely performed. Indeed, hermeneutic studies of the Symphony, such as that by Martin Pulbrook, focus on the work’s relationship to Wagner’s death, whilst wider Bruckner analyses by Julian Horton and Ernst Kurth largely overlook this movement. This essay will provide a close harmonic analysis of the movement’s two key themes, assessing the merits of functional and voice-leading analysis. This will contribute to a wider formal analysis of the movement’s continuous development towards a central tonal goal of C major, combining aspects of both functional and neo- Riemannian analysis to show how Bruckner’s form and harmony are fundamentally interlocked.
Musical borrowing in the early modern period has been widely investigated, with papers on the sub... more Musical borrowing in the early modern period has been widely investigated, with papers on the subject by scholars ranging from Franklin Zimmerman to Stephen Rose. However, only limited attention has been given to the fact that a great deal of musical borrowing in this period crossed denominational divides. Mary Frandsen has considered this to a certain extent, but her study of seventeenth-century Dresden focuses on the roles of Italian musicians at court, rather than the wider web of Catholic influences that impacted upon Lutheran composers.
This paper will analyse how changing political and religious priorities meant that Lutheran composers like Heinrich Schütz and J. S. Bach could repurpose Catholic musical models despite the context of inter-denominational conflict and the legacy left by Johann Walter and Martin Luther, who had sought to create a distinctive Lutheran musical style. To do this, I will draw on scholarship from across the humanities, including literature by art historian Bridget Heal and musicologist Bettina Varwig, creating a holistic assessment of this repertory that will look at sociological, religious and musical factors. This will culminate in an analysis of Bach's Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden: his largely neglected arrangement of Pergolesi's Stabat mater.
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Drafts by Samuel Gordon Huston
Papers by Samuel Gordon Huston
This paper will analyse how changing political and religious priorities meant that Lutheran composers like Heinrich Schütz and J. S. Bach could repurpose Catholic musical models despite the context of inter-denominational conflict and the legacy left by Johann Walter and Martin Luther, who had sought to create a distinctive Lutheran musical style. To do this, I will draw on scholarship from across the humanities, including literature by art historian Bridget Heal and musicologist Bettina Varwig, creating a holistic assessment of this repertory that will look at sociological, religious and musical factors. This will culminate in an analysis of Bach's Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden: his largely neglected arrangement of Pergolesi's Stabat mater.