MH3 Assignment 1: Finding a Topic Patrick Vaughan 1172104

Preliminary project title: Early Australian Solo Repertoire for the Bass Clarinet

For my project I hope to explore the solo bass clarinet repertoire. More specifically, I intend to focus
on the earliest of these solo works written by Australian composers from 1970 to 2000, when the bass clar-
inet seems to first appear as a solo instrument in Australia. The time period I have selected spans three
decades as the compositional genre I have chosen to research is somewhat limited in scope.
I feel that this topic is significant because it will provide context to an oft-forgotten section of the
bass clarinet’s history and role as a solo instrument. The appearance of the bass clarinet as a staple of the or-
chestral wind section during the late Romantic period is arguably universally recognised, and its subsequent,
albeit more modest role within chamber music of the the early twentieth century onwards, while not widely
familiar per se, can at least be generally understood (works such as Arnold Schonberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and
Paul Hindemith’s Septet come to mind). Both of these contexts, however, rely on the presence of the bass
clarinet in conjunction with other instruments. It is only when the bass clarinet is considered in isolation that
we are suspended in a kind of ‘‘musical Dark Ages’’ where knowledge of the instrument’s history is scant,
or at least not easily available, particularly within the realm of music in Australia.
Some questions I hope to ask in order the learn more about my topic include: How was the bass clar-
inet used as a solo instrument by Australian composers? How did it gain popularity being used in this way?
What influences or compositional devices are present in these early works? Are there similarities between
these works and other contemporary works for solo soprano clarinet, or is the bass clarinet necessitate a dif-
ferent compositional approach?

Bibliography

Australian Music Centre. ‘‘Search: Works for Solo Bass Clarinet.’’ Accessed March 20, 2022.
https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/search?
type=work&sort=alphaTitleSort&wf[ish]=2011

Pleskun, Stephen. Chronological History of Australian Composers and Their Compositions: Researched,
complied and edited by Stephen Pleskun. Australia: Xlibirs Corporation, 2012

Rice, Albert R.. From the Clarinet d'Amour to the Contra Bass : A History of Large Size Clarinets,
1740-1860. New York: Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook
Central.

Shackleton, Nicholas. "Bass clarinet." Grove Music Online. 2001; Accessed 19 Mar. 2022.
https:// www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/
9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000002236.

Sparnaay, Harry. The Bass Clarinet: A Personal History. Translated by Annelie de Man and Paul
Roe. Barcelona: Periferia Sheet Music, 2012.