Music for the Baroque Clarinet

Abstract Music with parts intended specifically for the baroque clarinet began to appear during the second decade of the eighteenth century. The majority of these parts exhibit a style of writing characterized by repeated notes, incomplete arpeggios, fanfare motifs, a limited range, and restricted use of the low register. In works composed after about 1730, other characteristics which take on a greater importance are a lyrical style of melodic writing, scale passages, leaps of an octave or more, and a more frequent use of the low register. The following discussion of manuscript and published music covers the period from about 1712 to 1756, when the baroque clarinet was played by soloists and orchestral musicians.