New music for bass clarinet and string quartet

Raull Kottler

Raull Kottler

Raul Kottler
Next time you find yourself in a room with a string quartet you might like to try my new piece for Bass Clarinet and String Quartet, called BC&SQ#1 (5min25sec). Catchy title, eh? Maybe it's obvious that I'm not a clarinetist, (hello, violist here) but my buddy in the orchestra told me this is tough but doable. Something about crossing the bridge...

You can see and hear the scrolling score at
. Or search "Raul Kottler BC&SQ#1"

You can view and print the score for free at raulkottler.com. Let me know if you want pdf of the individual parts (free).

Regards,
Raul Kottler
Ojai, CA
raulkottler.com
 
Hey, this is a pretty nice piece!
It's got some pretty good writing through it, but I did notice this: I think measure 202 would work a whole lot better as a trill, that seems rather awkward to do as metered out like it is. No other major problems I notice with it, but I don't know how hard you expect it to be for a player, but I'd expect college students and up to be able to play it well! (although I must add my usual sort of caveat emptor for this and say that that's based on my expectations of people I knew and know in high school and college, ranging from those who are last chair to those who can sound awesome at Nielsen's concerto.)
If I had a string quartet to play with and a low C bass, I'd look into playing it next year!
 
Thank you for taking the time to comment, TrueTone. But I want that minor-third warble (or tremolo). (OK, it's actually an augmented second from Bb to C#, but still, three half-steps.) So, is that still a trill if played faster? Again, violist here, not clarinetist, but I'd accept anything close if it meant getting performed. (Not every composer would agree with that statement!) When you find a S.Q. and the low-C B.C. let me know and I'll email you the free pdf parts. A clarinetist from our local community orchestra sometimes shows up to our weekly informal amateur string quartet and we've read through Mozart and Brahms and Herrmann quintets and soon we'll try mine. (Actually, we prefer "competent enthusiasts" to "amateur.") Cheers.
 
The normal fingering for that Bb to C# is across the break. I think the only way to play that would be to use an alternate long fingering for the Bb that I have not seen on fingering charts. You finger a low Eb and use the octave key to play a 12th above it to get the Bb. Then you use the left pinky C# to alternate with it. Still might be too fast for most players unless you trim out half the notes.
 
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