Music Finland Core

* Title

Additional title

Description

The clarinet playing of Kari Kriikku was again a source of inspiration for this new clarinet concerto. It has the three movements of a traditional concerto, but the familiar elements are loaded with surprises. The first movement could be described as a contest steeped in Romantic tradition, as a duel between soloist and orchestra in which the virtuosic gestures or sequences on the clarinet are immediately slashed down by the orchestra.The work begins with a dramatic gesture and the introduction (Introduzione) sets the elevating mood in which the fiery main section (Allegro con fuoco) charges into action. The solo cadenza at the end of the movement is written out: it continues the technically challenging figurations with sequences that lend the soloist's oppportunity to show off a somewhat playful tone.The second movement (Hidden Songs) presents a bunch of songs that have been left to mature in cellars of the mind. The slow movement from the Mozart clarinet concerto may be discerned lurking in the background, but there are no historical allusions - the themes are ones that have, as it were, lain dormant in the private and collective memory. The singing themes are neither varied nor developed in the conventional sense of the words; instead, they are paraded before the listener one by one, assuming new guises in a flash.The fourth movement is titled Khasene, which is Yiddish and means wedding. The quick, cinematic cuts become denser in the finale. For Hakola, the whole richness of the clarinet's expressive potential culminates in the music of Eastern Europe - not only of the Jews but also of the gypsies and Balkan peoples. The listener will, however, search in vain for traces of ethnic music, since all the motifs are drawn from the composer's own imagination and associations: "I threw myself into the stream and sought my own Horas and Sirbas."© Antti Hyvärinen, June 2001translation by © Susan SinisaloAvanti! Summer Sounds (programme note for the premiere of the work)Kari Kriikun klarinetismi on toiminut inspiraationlähteenä myös uudessa klarinettikonsertossa. Teoksessa on perinteisen konserton kolme osaa, mutta tuttuihin elementteihin on ladattu myös paljon yllätysmomentteja. Ensimmäistä osaa voisi luonnehtia romanttisen perinteen kyllästämäksi taisteluksi, solistin ja orkesterin vuorovedoksi, jossa klarinetin virtuoosiset eleet tai sekvenssit saavat tuota pikaa vastineen orkesterilta.Teos käynnistyy dramaattisella eleellä ja johdanto (Introduzione) pohjustaa kohottavan tunnelman, josta tulinen päätaite (Allegro con fuoco) syöskyy suoraan liikkeeseen. Osan lopun soolokadenssi on uloskirjoitettu: teknisesti haastavia figuraatioita jatketaan siinä sekvensseillä, jotka antavat taiturinäytökselle myös leikillistä sävyä.Toinen osa (Hidden Songs, "Kätketyt laulut") esittelee joukon lauluja, jotka ovat mielen kellareissa oikein säilöttyinä kypsyneet nautittaviksi. Mozartin klarinettikonserton hidas osa haahuilee taustalla, mutta mitään historiallisia viitteitä ei anneta - kyse on teemoista, jotka ovat ikään kuin uinuneet sekä yksityisen että kollektiivisen muistin kätköissä. Laulavat teemat eivät juuri muunnu tai kehity; ne levittäytyvät vuorollaan nähtäväksi ja vaihtavat hetkessä hahmoaan toiseksi.Neljännen osan otsikkona on Khasene, joka on jiddishiä ja tarkoittaa häitä. Finaalissa tiivistyvät konserton nopeat, elokuvamaiset leikkaukset. Hakolalle klarinetin ilmaisumahdollisuuksien koko rikkaus on huipentunut itäeurooppalaisessa musiikissa, eikä ainoastaan juutalaisten, vaan mustalaisten ja balkanilaisten kansojen musiikissa. Minkäänlaista autenttista etnistä musiikkia teoksesta ei löydy; kaikki aiheet perustuvat säveltäjänä omiin mielikuviin ja assosiaatioiohin: "Olen heittäytynyt virtaan ja keksinyt omat horat ja sirbat."© Antti Hyvärinen, 6/2001Avanti!n XVI Suvisoitto (teoskommentti konserton kantaesitykseen)

Year of composing

Arranger

Movements

Availability

Abbreviation	Instrument
Woodwind
acl	alto clarinet
afl	alto flute
arec	alto recorder
asax	alto saxophone
barsax	baritone saxophone
barhn	baritone horn
bcl	bass clarinet
bfl	bass flute
bob	bass oboe
bsax	bass saxophone
bsn	bassoon
cbsn	contrabassoon
cl	clarinet
ehn	English horn
fl	flute
hn	French horn
ob	oboe
pic	piccolo
rec	recorder
sax	saxophone
srec	soprano recorder
ssax	soprano saxophone
trec	tenor recorder
tsax	tenor saxophone
Brass
ahn	alto horn
atrb	altotrombone
barhn	baritone horn
btrb	bass trombone
cornet	cornet
euph	euphonium
fhn	flugelhorn
hn	French horn
tba	tuuba
thn	tenor horn
trb	trombone
trp	trumpet
Percussion
dr	drums
glock	glockenspiel
mar	marimba
perc	percussion
timp	timpani
vibr	vibraphone
xyl	xylophone
Strings
db	double bass
gamba	viola da gamba
str	strings
vla	viola
vlc	cello
vln	violin
Other
acc	accordion
cel	celesta
cemb	harpsichord
chords	chords
elbas	electric bass
elg	electric guitar
elorg	electric organ
elpno	electric piano
guit	guitar
harm	harmonium
hca	harmonica
hp	harp
instr	instrument
kantele	kantele
keyb	keyboard
live electr	live electronics
mand	mandolin
mel	melody
org	organ
pno	piano
synth	synthesizer
tape	tape
Vocal
alto	alto
baryt	baritone
basso	bass voice
ch	choir
chc	childrens choir
chf	female choir
chm	male choir
chx	mixed choir
cten	countertenor
mezzo	mezzo-soprano
sopr	soprano
speaker	speaker
ten	tenor
voc	vocal

Symphony orchestra
2222 4331 11 1, str = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, one other percussionist, harp and strings
Wind band
2252 3 423 21212 3 = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 5 clarinets, 2 bassoons - 3 saxophones - 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones - 2 cornets, alto horn, 2 tenor horns, baritone horn, 2 tubas - 3 percussionists
Big band
221 4 4, pno, guit, db, dr = 2 alto saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, baritone saxophone, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, piano, guitar, double bass, drums
Additional codes
+	fl+pic = flutist doubles on piccolo
/	pno/org = can be played on either piano or organ
lib	ad libitum
obl	obligato
str	str: 65432 = specified number of string players
str min	str min: 65432 = at least 65432
str max	str max: 65432 = not more than 65432
solo	vln solo = violin is the solo instrument in a work not obviously for solo violin

Clarinet Concerto