y Jean- Guy Boisv ert

in the secondpart ofthis article, which began in the

Ferdi nand Rebay's works for clarinet and gu,;tar are explored
s life and relationship with the clarinet.
September 2015 issue of1he Clarin et with a discussion ofRebay'

erdin and Rebay comp osed six origin al
works for clarin et and guitar , the first
two in 1925 and the lase four betwe en
but Rebay nonet heless wrote it for B-flat clarinet).
The Prelud e is in shore binar y form. The clarinet
plays an expressive melod y accom panie d up to the
final caden ce by a moto perpetuo of l 6 h notes. The
1

1939 and 1942. They are of varyin g

12-ba r theme is resum ed, devel oped for 18 bars, and
si and scope , and their langu age is resolu tely
tonal, neoclassical, and imbu ed with elegan ce and
Vienn ese humo r. Many were premi ered at the
renow ned Fescsaal des Indus crieha uses in Vienn a.

DRE I KLEI NE VOR TRAG S-ST UCK E

followed by a short caden za. This piece, less than
three minut es in durat ion, is remin iscent of the firsc
fantasias by Schum ann or Gade , but Rebay's use of
the guitar consi derab ly lighte ns the textur e.
Othe r than in the fairly rustic natur e of its
I
(COM PLE TED FEBR UAR Y 6, 1925 ) theme - it is like a drink ing song - Rebay's VillaneHe
This suite of three fantas ias is proba bly Rebay's first has nothi ng co do with the Neapo litan villanelle.
work for guitar (or lute) and wind instru ment. The The 12-me asure theme is annou nced by the guitar,
manu script has no dedic ation, then taken up by the clarin et and followed by four
nor could I trace the premi ere variat ions in which it is clearl y restate d in freer
of the work. It was in the struct ures. In the first variat ion the guitar has the 0 f
posse ssion of guitar ist Gerth a theme , accom panie d by a contin uous movement_
Hamm ersch mid - Rebay's niece eighth notes on the clarin et. In the secon d variauon
the guitar restat es the openi ng of the theme , ch
and also his muse - but she ·11 and h en
was very young in 1925, and accom panie d on the clarin et by a .long en
d .. n t e
a return to eight h notes. In the chir vanan o ical-
it is possib le chat she was not
theme is in the parall el mino r key and more 15 _Iyr
involv ed in chis premi ere.
In che fourth , it return s in canon , and there a ding
Rebay specif ied a B-flat . 1· asce0 v
vircuo sic endin g, with the clarin et p aying c. rn
clarin et for the Prelu de and . h . . . araced rro
chrom auc scales. Eac vanan on IS sep ar or'"' lnrinel,
the Waltz-Rond o, and an A ·
clarin et for the Villan elle. This the next by a bridge , playe d by ch e gu1t c1orrTl• 'Jhe
instru ment chang e is unusu al The Waltz -Rond o is in ron d o-sonaca cogetherD
. · alczes . ) in
in the solo repert oire, bur Vienn ese comp oser chain s variou s w ( rratn c.
'
in its seven sectio ns. The main theme re peririo11
Rebay uses it regula rly both for . h he last re .,
s (the Prelu de is mino r, is playe d four times , wit t The rn.111
techn ical reason slower. d..1
in D mino r and the Villan elle in in D major . The och er w aJ tzes arenotes. At thedell,,,v 1
Rebay 's niec~ ·1·iary . I , an ·'
A majo r) and for color (the waltz walcz has many up b eat auxi
guitari' >t ~ ~ a-ttam m,:,r<,c h m id ·1· res mu 1up )
move me nt is largel y in E major , o f t he piece chese aux1 1ary no 6
ciOl
_JIJN-"
30 I THE CLAR .INET
 ' ( 11
The Blue kleine Vortrags-Stucke, but it was nor
of his final transcrip tion s was of by Karl
·Jls in the ocher waltzes, in, viol a and guitar. premiered until April 10, 1931,
erous en Danube, for flute, viol ests, it is
thenurtl ·d ble rechnical chaJlenge co Gans on clarinet. As the ride sugg
dura tion
resent a {orrni a a work of smaller dimensions; its
p erforrner. . SONATINA IN B-FLAT MAJOR
Jczes are never far away m is abo ut 13 min utes.
rhe P (SEPTEMBER 192 5) nt
5rrauss wa. . every work has at least one The exposition of the first mov eme
b 's music, The Sonatina in B-jlat Major was e in
Re ay b ofren transcribed works from Drei opens with an eight-measure them
va]tz Re ay completed a few monchs afte r the B-flac, which is then repe ated , with out
1 .• _ d romantic composers. One phra se
1
Jass1QIJ an transition, in D maj or. A thir d
key of B-B ac, and then
brings back che
an
the first eight bars return, chis time

:fEi~~~--~~~ #J -~ ~~:,#{tr- ~,._-:- r-~'~~~

- <Jr
sho rt brid ge brin gs us
octave lower. A
nd
co the dom inan t key and co the seco
s,CI. n a faste r thir d them e
p theme, a waltz. The
ved from the mai n

f=f-rk-i-=1;,;-ffl--t~V -~i+W-n +WW=t=fiW

I is rhythmically deri
theme. The development, based on
Grr. n theme,
variants and fragments of the mai
p mod ulat ions and
is a dizzy festival of
dist ant
juxtapositions of neighboring or
<Jrsr====1~ .EEt -=----=rr rc- r. -:-r~r<Jr~r.--=r--~:cl=H <b:

BI CL
~J:-~
~ =r-- -: ±2 _<Ir._
cones. The recapitulation
three chemes in the main key.
brin gs back the

' The second movement is in tern ary

~1-±t=tM=r~t-tt t~-=1~r~ ~
ns, is
form. Its first part, in three subsectio
Grr. ~ calm and expressive. The melody,
played
by a
in the clarion register, is foJlowed
ion in whi ch dom inan t
mod ulat ing sect
by inte rval s of a thir d,
harmonies move
ing a seco nda ry role.
with the clarinet play
eme nt, muc h
The central part of the mov
ar. Eigh t
faster, is encrusted co the guit
wed
solo measures, in tremolos, are follo
ntia l
by a section in rasgueado with cade
d part is
ondo passages for the clarinet. The thir
Dreikleine Voriroqs-Stiicke, Mvt. 3, Walzer-R
identical to the first.
The thir d movement presents an
cs:
imp orta nt aspect ofR eba y's aestheti
ents in this whi msic al
hum or. All the elem
y simp le. The re are
rond o are intentionall
ical
a mul titu de of grace notes, stereoryp
hms ,
acco mpa nim ent with simple rhyt
apo sed
echoing dialogue, and elements juxt
in rem ote keys with out preparation.
s
Ir was not until World War II, 15 year
wor k, chat Reb ay
after completing this
and
retu rned co the genre of clarinet
of vari ations
guitar, writ ing cwo new sets
and cwo sonatas.
'S
VARIATIONEN UBER SCHUBERT
LIED AN DIE LAUTE
(DECEMBER 18, 193 9)
her
This ama zing wor k has been neit
it at
pub lish ed nor recorded. I foun d
Heiligenkreu z.. Sinc e it is
the Abbey of
y, I will desc ribe it at
l' virtually ignored toda
greater length.
The choice of Sch ube rt lied is
the
interesting. In rhe original version,

THE CLARINET I 31
JUNE 2016
 five measures take n from the intr
od .
a classical con stru ctio n. Rebay Uction
uses the '
enti re lied, tran spo sed from D
. . to A m .
Th e inti mat e c h aracter 1s
. d
un erlined ba1or.
the general nua nce pp, which
highligh~s
the dar k and mel low ton e of the
A
clarinet. The Vie nne se compos
er adapts
arti cula tion s to bot h instruments
while
slightly sim plif yin g the accompa
niment, as
if retu rnin g to the original scor
e, now lost.
Wh ile Sch ube rt sim ply marked
the
piece, twice, wit h the nua nce
pp, Rebay
shapes the dyn ami cs of the them
e with
16 ind icat ion s ran gin g from p
to ppp,
and num ero us sho rt crescendos
and
Variationen i.iber Schubert's Lied dim inu end os. We find this atte
An die Laute, Va r. VI, Scherzo
ntio n to
detail in all his works.
The first var iati on, mor e moderat
e in
accompaniment perfectly imitates tem po, follows the stru ctur e of
a of flowers , moonlight, a calm sea, the theme
plucked sering instrument, a guit and while reversing the roles. The
ar or lute. of a mistress at a window, mur mur theme is
Tod ay, many musicologists - incl ing taken up on che guitar. The intr
uding rather quickly; che piece is marked oduction
my colleague Michel Cardin, lute Etwas becomes a cad enz a on che clar
nist at geschwind (rather quickly) . inet, which
the University of Monccon - chin then moves on co a batt ery of
k chis Schubert's lied is simple, elegant 16th-note
lied was first composed for the and arpeggios and trills.
guitar. The short: an introduction of four mea
lyrics speak, in a few words, of sures, a In che second var iati on, whi ch
the scene theme of 16 measures, and a pos is
tlude of quieter in character, che fou r incr
oduccory

ICA ANNOUNCEMENT

Call for Honorary Members

hip N o m in e e s
In accordance with the Interna
tional Clarinet Association by-l
Honorary Membership has bee aws (Article V, Section 6), a spe
n created for persons of"unus cial cat ego r of
. .
board of directors invi h ual distinction:• The International
tes t e genera I mem bers h.Ip to . t . d" .d Cl . t YA . .
.
areas of professiona . . nomma e m IvI uals for Honorary Me mb e anne ssoC1atIon
l service, teachin di
g, performance an or I etIm1·f . . h" f
brief biographical sketc h of t h e achievements. Nominators rs ips rom the
e can d .d
I ate aIong wI"th f urth er · f · n as sh Id .
nomination per person. Nominat in ormatIo specified bel ow Th ou inc 1
ions must be postmarked no • .ude a
• ere .Is a 1ImI
later than December 31 t of one
• 201 6, an d sent to:
Denise Gainey
Secretary, International Clarine
t Association
Associate Professor of Clarine
University of Alabama at Birm t HC 241
ingham . 950 13th Street Sou
th • Birmingham, AL
Email: dgaineylCA@gmail.com 35294 _1260

Nominations for Hon ora ry

Memberships should includ
1. Printed name of the nom ina
e: ~
tor 4. Nominee's address,
2. Nominator's address, phone
and email address 5. Biographi cal sketch
3. Name of nominee
6. Suppo_.,

32 I THE CIA lllN ET

 disappear' and the com pose r
o1ea.sores s the har mon ic sequ.ence of the
001y keep
and as
rherlle 1h.
hort sect ion of its mel ody on
· l . .
itar. is is an orna men. ta h
vana tton
.
rhe go I sec in the h1g regi ster
b Icanto sty e, .
in e . ch sync opau on.
and' v1ch .01u hree mark e d lento , begm .
\lariauon c , 1
· . 1he clari net plays a gar an d
in
0
Anunor. 1 h
f i heh an d 16th note s whi e t. e gua ar
. ha s at least one w al tz .
e g . h chro mati c harm onie s,
lores nc
e,xp . ll the key of B-flat (Nea poli tan)
PeciaY
eslbe . dh
codetta confirms the A min or an t e
dof a section.
en With the following vari atio n in 2/4, we
move to anocher expressive char acte r: that
ofViennese humor. Wit h dact ylic rhyt
hm,
many grace notes, and quic k _dialo ~u~
between che rwo part ners , this vana tton
stretches to 38 measures.
Variation five: anot her cont rast; E
major; a slow temp o; a song with out
words . One thinks of Men dels sohn .
Except for a brief surge in the high est
register, the composer mul tipli es
indications suggesting softn ess: melo dy
!nnpre un poco vibrato (gui tar), molt
o brings back the A clarinet and a slow
cantabile, dolcissimo, free and expressive.
The sixth varia tion, long er than
everything yec played, com es with out a
pause. It is a large tern ary form , a sche rzo-
waln-scherzo of 282 bars , not incl udin
the repeats!
The first p:m in A majo r, a very lively,
animated and stacc ato 3/8, pres ents a
challenge for rhe clari net; the diffi culty
is not so muLh the need for spee d as for
clarity, lighu:L ,s and delicacy. Re bay likes
to surprise u t the cade ntial poin ts
by repeating r two, four, or eigh t
~
ACI.
¢ dotte d rhythms. The exposition ends in
r t
p
Kleine Va,; .
at,onen ube, ein Them a von Friedrich Chop
St ra us s w al tz es are never fa r
s
aw ay in Rebay's music; every w or k
.
bars , a sing le note that does not lead
to a reso lutio n or even tuall y takes on
anot her mea ning .
The follo wing walt z is mor e calm and
fluid in char acte r. The them e is played
first by the clari net. Whe n the guita r
take s the lead , Reba y goes directly into
F-sh arp majo r. The retu rn of the clari
net
corr espo nds to a mor e chro mati c versi
on
of the them e in D major. The danc e
ends
with anot her varia tion of the them e,
chis
time rang ing over nearly three octaves.
The sche rzo retu rns to end this piece
, in
whic h all the sensitivity of Schu bert's
work
is resp ecte d.
KLEINE VAR IAT ION EN UBER
EIN THE MA VO N FRIEDRICH
CH OPI N (AP RIL 28, 194 0)
Her e Reb ay uses Cho pin's shor t Prelu
g de
in A major, Op. 28, No. 7, and a different
appr oach , one closer co that of Baroque
vari ation . The num ber of measures of
the
them e rema ins the sam e for each varia
tion.
This wor k is muc h shor ter than the
prev ious one, henc e its title, Kleine
Variationen. The them e of 16 measures
is play ed twice, first on clarinet then
on guita r; dolce e semplice. Then , on the
I "a la Gavotte"
in, Var.
VI '
clarinet and played in triplets, comes the
real first variation. The next variation
is a duet in 16th notes and in imitative
coun terpo int. Then , something surprisin
g
for a work of this size: Rebay calls for a
switch to B-flat clarinet for the following
three variations, which are in F and C
major. It is possible to play these variations
on the A clarinet, but in my opin ion, the
instr ume nt change brings a little variation
in color that well suits their playful
character. The fourth variation calls for
a
dott ed rhythm, and che fifth is in the spiri
t
of the tarantella. The sixth, in E major,
tempo. The final variation, in 2/2, is in
the
style of a gavotte with lots of grace note
s,
and is played once more with humor.
SONATA IND MIN OR
(NO VEM BER 1, 194 1)
This sonata in D mino r is light in
character. Its three movements offer three
contrasting climates, three soundscapes.
The initial Allegro mo/to moderato is
in sonata form. Right at the start, the
initial theme covers the classical range of
the clarinet, three octaves. Its improvise
d
character recalls traditional music, or
Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies. After a guita
r
solo, the second theme invites us to waltz
,
and then moves on to a closing them e
in
F mino r. The rather shor t development
section picks up where the exposition left
off, and brings back all the material of
the
exposition except the initial them e, but
in disorder. The improvised natu re of the
first them e is resumed in a long passage
of chromatic scales span ning almost four
octaves. This development is a game of
mirrors chat brings us back to our start
ing
point. The recapitulation, which resum
es
verbatim the first theme, reserves two
surprises: the second them e '.n a m~jor
key,
and a dramatic dom inan t mmo r nmt h
hord chat brin gs back the begi nnin g of
C
the first them e one last time in D mmo.
r.
THE CLARINET I 33
 :11e balance between the protagonists here
is remarkable; it is a true duo in which the
partners take turns in the spotlight.
By contrast, the second movement,
in B-flat major, is intimate in nature
and resembles a popular song. The
theme, a small arched ternary form
played in quarter notes with an eighth-
note accompaniment, owns the beauty
of simple things. It is followed by a set
of variations. The first, marked sehr
zart, is even more delicate. The second,
fully in the chalumeau register, is only
made more dramatic by the breathless
accompaniment in triplets of repeated
notes on the guitar. A nice surprise comes
with the third variation, In modo di una
Sarabanda. Rebay here uses the principle
of the sarabande: lengthening the second
beat (quarter note, dotted quarter note,
eighth note) every second measure. For
the last variation, while the clarinet plays
syncopated ostinatos, the guitar takes up
the initial theme. This movement is full
of tenderness.
As is often the case with Rebay, the last
movement is in the character of a dance,
and several grace notes add a humorous
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~ T
touch. This Tanz-Rondo is in rondo-
sonata form. Here Rebay does not follow
the classical key relationships between
sections; the movement begins in F major
but finishes in D major. To close the
movement and bring the two partners to
an equal footing, the two instruments join
to play the main theme for the last time
and the coda.
This sonata, perhaps Rebay's most
beautiful one, has great thematic and
structural richness. Of all his works, it is
the one most played.
SONATA IN A MINOR
(DECEMBER 2 , 1942)
This is Rebay's last work for clarinet and
guitar, in four movements, and the most
complex. The score specifically calls for A
and B-flat clarinets.
The opening Allegro is preceded by a
classic slow introduction marked "very
calm." It is very soft, ppp, but made
dramatic by the use of the Neapolitan
chord over a tonic ostinato. The first
theme of the Allegro (al/a breve) section,
determined and energetic, is shared by the
two instruments. Again, the Neapolitan
color leads to the second theme in a
slightly slower tempo, a romance. This
is interrupted by a break in tempo, a
dissonant chord leads to F major, the
third theme enters, and discourse seems
to stop permanently. Then, unexpectedly,
the tempo and the second part of the
introduction return, with roles reversed.
After a short pause (both players break
off) the al/a breve theme returns, greatly
altered and in B minor, with a virtuoso
passage on clarinet and then on guitar.
Sonata in A Minor, a waltz from Mvt. 3
This is the shore development se •
Ctlo n
The recapitulation brings us the th ·
. . ree
mam themes, all m A major. The cod
more dramatic, brings back the slow a,
introduction, this time over guitar
tremolos and rasgueados.
~is movement shows a Beethovenian
conflict between an energetic theme and
more lyrical sections that bring back the
character of the introduction.
The second movement, in D minor
is again a theme and variations. Tue '
24-measure theme is taken from
Schumann's Album for die Jugend (Album
for the Young), Op. 68, No. 9, "Folk
Song." This choice, like that of Schubert's
An die Laute, is not an accident. In
Schumann's piece, the piano is treated
like a guitar with its many arpeggiated
chords. Rebay adds only a few notes co
the guitar to get more sound. He keeps
the original key, D minor, which calls for
the B-flat clarinet. The theme is ternary in
structure, with two opposing characters: a
humorous phrase with staccato and dotted
rhythms, framed by two lyrical phrases
in equal rhythm played sotto voce. In the
first variation the theme is taken up by
the guitar, while the clarinet works hard
on mordents and off-beats, and then on
gruppettos and trills. This variation is a
nice finger twister.
The second variation offers more
variety of rhythms and textures while the
third - based on the central part of the
theme - goes to the parallel major key in
triple meter, with Sicilian rhythm; the firsc
part of the theme completes this section.
The third movement, a Scherzo,
brings back the key of A minor and the
JUNE .2016

Ferdinand Re bay
A clarinet. C/ariner and gui
rar share
uous moto
rhenw ic morifs in a contin
nor es, which
pe,p, 710 of sraccaro quarrer
ro rhe sch erzo, and
give J grear lighrne ss
ed for.
me ' umorous cone rhar Reltzbaychaask r srarrs in
e allowing Trio is a wa
n 1jor. By contrasr, iri
s more lyrical,
e sem pre poco rubato.
fnnpe mo/to c11nt116i/e
s in the firsr pare
1)ie dariner ~redo~inate s
lfthe waltz, Ill which , moornrdeamntsent, and
Re bay
ros
hemelody wirh grupet e is shared
cciacaturas. The second
par
me nts.
erween the rwo insrru
, is in sonata
1he Finale, in A major
1rm; and none of rhe ma
rer ial of rhe
anyrhing ro
~dopment secrion has
e firsr rheme
' wirh rhe expositio n. Th
ann cheme)
ro/k-like (as is rhe Sch um
pan ied melody,
:J in three pares: accom
leads naturally
rar solo, and duer. This
1 second secrion in
rhe dominanr,
jority of rhese
ated. Like rhe The recording of rhe ma
more flowing and syncop /li and Massimo
one is in rhrec pares pieces by Luigi Magisrre
previous sccrio n, this ce, despire some
for me rs. As he ofren Laura is a valuable referen
and fearures borh per rhe A-minor
nex r secrion alrerarions in rhe rexr of
do es, rhe composer in rhe e comments. The
play allegro con sonara and some inaccurar
warns rhe performer ro is exceprionaJ
moto, but nor fasr. This
6/8 secrion is quality of rhc performance
se who wane ro
unsrablc bur mainly in
C-sharp minor and inspirarional. For rho
guirar. A secrion re publish ed
wirh a bagpipe pedal on play rhese works, some we
back rhe main nd, bur rhey are
in docred rhyrhm s bri ngs by Philomele in Swirz.er/a
major. The momenr. ❖
rheme, which remain s in A difficulr ro obrain ar rhe
s in rhe main key
second rheme rerurn
iants, bu r iri s mo sdy rhe
with some var AB OU T THE WRITE
R
in rripler rhyd1ms,
accompanying osrinaro A graduate from the
more conclusive
giving ir a srronger and Comervatoire de
ngs us one /asr
cha racrer. The coda bri musique du Quebec
very soorhing end.
rheme rhar leads us ro a and the Guildhall
School ofMusic
wo rks and Drama, Jean-
In conclusion, chese six Guy Boisvert also
illusrrare ro varying deg
rees rhe main
's music: ligh r holds 11 doctorate
cha rac rerisrics of Rebay
sity per se; in contemporary
rexrure; absence of virtuo
formers; a wid e Univmiti de
equality of rhe rwo per music performance from the
ing humor; t in contemporary
emotional palcrre includ MontriaL His keen interes
tions of ronaliries mission numerous
modularions or juxrap
osi music has led him to com
influence of ian composers.
ar rhe interval of a rhi rd; rhc
works from famed Canad
ch ro Wagner; ophone at the
rhe German school fro
m Ba
He teaches clarinet and sax
forms, especially
and a tasre for classical University de Moncton.
die Viennese waltz .

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