David Gould - Forgotten Clarinet

The Forgotten Clarinet is my first foray into recording music for clarinet and piano. The main goal of the project was to champion lesser known works for the clarinet from the French repertoire that rarely get played or in many cases are truly forgotten works. I studied in Paris, France for three years and developed a love for the culture and the music. The modern clarinet, in my opinion, is predominantly a French instrument, and has been heralded by at least 200 years of French composers that have pushed the clarinetist's abilities, through etudes, contest pieces, concertos, and chamber music. I am convinced that the music on this recording will enrich, or more appropriately, "re-enrich" the clarinet and piano repertoire that is steeped in the long French tradition. These pieces really show the affection that these French composers had for the clarinet. Marc Delmas (1885-1931) studied at the Paris Conservatory and won the Prix de Rome in 1919. In an earlier attempt for the Prix de Rome (1914) he finished second to Marcel Dupré after Camille St. Saens was brought in to break the tie. He went on to teach music in Paris and became a biographer of musicians. The Fantaisie Italienne was a contest piece at the Paris Conservatory in 1921 during Auguste Périer's second full year as the clarinet professor; there was no first prize awarded that year. Henri Busser (1872-1973) entered the Paris Conservatory in 1889. He studied organ with Cesar Franck and composition with Ernest Guiraud, winning the Prix de Rome in 1893. The multi-talented Busser spent time as musical secretary to Charles Gounod, was considered a protégé of Jules Massenet and later became a conductor. Claude Debussy requested Busser to conduct Pélléas et Mélisande for most of the opera's earliest performances. Henri Busser taught at the Paris Conservatory for many years. He was the only composer commissioned three times to write clarinet contest pieces for the Conservatory: Pastorale (1912 used for the competition again in 1919), Cantegril (1924) and Aragon (1934). Clarinetists André Dupont and Marcel Marcou won the first prize in 1924 playing Cantegril. Gaston Litaize (1909-1991), blind from his infancy, attended a school for the blind while studying organ at the Paris Conservatory. During his six years at the Conservatory he studied with Marcel Dupré, Henri Busser, and Louis Vierne, winning first prizes in organ, improvisation, fugue, and composition. He was runner up for the Prix de Rome to Henri Dutilleux. Litaize became a church organist, director of religious radio programs and was considered one of the 20th century's masters of the organ. His Récitatif et thème varié for clarinet and piano was written in 1944 for the exams at the Paris Conservatory. That year André Boutard won the first prize. Boutard later played in the Paris Opera and worked closely with Poulenc on the development of his Sonata for clarinet and piano. Boutard gave the French premiere of the Poulenc Sonata with Jacques Février at the piano. René de Boisdeffre (1838-1906) studied with Auguste Barbereau and Charles Wagner and won the Prix Chartier in 1883. He primarily wrote chamber music for strings, pieces for piano, and vocal repertoire but also composed a mass, and a symphony. The Trois Pièces opus 40 were composed around 1880 and dedicated to the architect Paul Sédille. These pieces were specifically written for the A clarinet. Little is known about composer, writer, and musicologist André Petiot (1886-1973). This true Renaissance man is credited for making the piano reduction of the Glazounov Concerto for saxophone and a transcription of the Pierné Canzonetta for flute. He wrote music for films like Cain, Verdun, and Visions d'histoire in the 1920's. Petiot wrote a 40-page pamphlet about the history of the clarinet and Buffet Crampon's development of the instrument since 1825. Petiot composed the piano part to the Adagio de Ferling (oboist Franz Wilhelm Ferling 1796-1874 wrote etudes for his instrument that date from 1840). Cyrille Rose (teacher of Louis Cahuzac, Paul Jeanjean, Henri Lefevre, Henri Leroy, Alexandre Selmer, and Emile Stievenard) adapted the Ferling etudes to fit the larger tessiture and grander technical abilities of the clarinet. These etudes have become a cornerstone of the clarinet pedagogical repertoire. Marcel Mirouze (1906-1957) studied composition with Henri Busser at the Paris Conservatory. Mirouze wrote music for films in the 1940's such as Martin Roumagnac and Pays Sans Etoiles. He was killed tragically in an automobile accident. The Humoresque was written for the Paris Conservatory competition in 1947 and is dedicated to clarinetist Maurice Cayol, a professor at the Marseille Conservatory. This was Auguste Périer's last year as the clarinet professor at the Paris Conservatory. Paul Ladmirault (1877-1944) was a child prodigy on piano, organ and violin. At the Paris Conservatory he studied with Gabriel Fauré and was a classmate of Maurice Ravel, Florent Schmitt, and Georges Enesco. Ladmirault finished his studies and returned home to teach counterpoint at the Conservatory of Nantes. He rarely left his beloved Brittany and was an advocate for the region's autonomy. His Sonate was written in 1942 and dedicated to clarinetist Victor Graff. Jacques Lancelot recorded Ladmirault's Sonate on two different occasions. Paul Jeanjean (1874 - 1928) studied clarinet with Cyrille Rose at the Paris Conservatory. He played in the famous Garde Republicaine band and other ensembles in Paris and southern France. An exceptionally prolific composer, Jeanjean wrote many etudes, solos, and chamber music works. The Andante de Concert, based on an etude by Cyrille Rose (adapted from a Ferling etude) has subtle differences in the clarinet text as well as a piano accompaniment part. Jeanjean no doubt studied these etudes with his teacher. Francis Bousquet (1890-1942) received a first prize in harmony from the Paris Conservatory in 1909. A contemporary of Gedalge and Widor, Bousquet served in the first World War returning home a decorated soldier. Following the war, he won the Prix de Rome for composition. Bousquet continued to compose, teach, and help develop the administrative side of the French conservatory system. His Solo de concours was published in 1941 but was not a commission of the Paris Conservatory. This work was most likely used at the Conservatory of Roubaix where Bousquet was the director. The Duo de Concert composed by Paul Jeanjean in 1904 was dedicated to two of his close friends, solo clarinetist from the Paris Opera Henri Paradis and P. de Sainte-Marie, bass clarinetist from Monte Carlo.