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Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music syllabus 2008-2013, Clarinet grade 8
François Devienne's music has long been highly rated for its grace and balance. One of the first professors of flute at the new
Conservatoire in 1795, Devienne's Flute Concertos played by the
composer at the Concerts Spirituels in the 1780s reflected the
elegance and brilliance of classical music in Paris and earned
Devienne the title the 'French Mozart'.
Until recently clarinettists have only been acquainted with Devienne's
music through two of the Sonatas in an edition dating from the 1960s
and his Concerto for 2 Clarinets. When not playing in the RLPO or as
a soloist or training young musicians at the RNCM, Nicholas Cox has
been active for many years in researching and realising new editions
of Devienne's extant Clarinet Sonatas. Published in first edition form
as teaching material for the first students at the Paris
Conservatoire, these Sonatas for Clarinet and Bass have now been
realised in scholarly editions for Clarinet and Keyboard.
As examples
of the classical sonata for clarinet they represent probably the
finest sonatas of the period and are faithfullly reproduced with
editorial notes and commentary. The original articulation is retained
to enable the developing player of both classical and modern clarinet
to develop their own understanding of the articulated style of the
period. Recommended for about AB Grades 7 or 8 onwards.
The appeal of the C minor example examined here gives cause for us to deeply regret that so much of Devienne's music was destroyed by fire in the early 1800s.
The Consort, Summer 2007
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