New Classical Tracks: What's old is new again

Charles Neidich - Mozart 1791 (Bremen Radio Hall Records)

You could say clarinetist Charles Neidich is a bit like Indiana Jones. Similar to the fedora-wearing archeologist of the big screen, Charles has spent much of his career trying to capture elusive, historical items. It's all because Charles is fascinated by authentic performances of older works, something that he thinks can best be achieved using historical instruments. Charles celebrates a few from the extended clarinet family on his latest recording, titled Mozart 1791.

Charles says when he plays old music on period instruments, he feels like he's unearthed something brand new. "Playing period instruments gives me information not only about how the composers utilized the instruments but also about phrasing, because the old instruments will lead you in a certain way," he explains. "What is wonderful is to realize that composers such as Mozart — and Mozart was probably the greatest in terms of knowing the tendencies of the instruments — so when he wrote for the clarinet, he knew which notes came out, which notes he should emphasize in a phrase and which notes were covered in the old instruments, etc. And that can lead you in wonderful directions in terms of expression."

The title of this recording, Mozart 1791, refers to Mozart's Concerto for Basset clarinet and Orchestra in A major, which premiered in 1791. Mozart composed it for his good friend, Anton Stadler. On this piece, Charles Neidich plays a very special instrument. "And it's an instrument which we knew existed but we didn't know what it looked like until maybe 15 years ago or so, when a drawing on a program was found in Riga, in Latvia, for a concert of Anton Stadler," Charles says.

"It looks like a large pipe in a certain sense," he continues. "But there are some interesting qualities to the instrument. First of all, it has this unusual bell which creates a very warm low register. Secondly, the shape of it involves the bell facing not outward as it would in a saxophone or bass clarinet … but inwards. When that drawing was first discovered, people thought it was wrong. But when the instrument was made, and when I tried it … I found that if the bell is pointed inward, the instrument is very stable and I can manage it very well. If it's pointed outward, the balance becomes unwieldy. So of course the drawing was correct.

"The concerto is the last complete work which Mozart wrote. It's a remarkable piece. And it uses the clarinet or I should say the basset clarinet in a way which was never used before. In a much more complex and virtuosic way. It features, for instance, what I'm very sure is the first melody for the clarinet in the low register, for instance."

Mozart's Concerto for Basset clarinet and orchestra had its premiere in Prague. Around that same time, another rather unusual concerto for three basset horns was written by the Czech composer, Jiri Druzecky. I asked Charles if including this work on the recording was intentional or serendipitous? "Well, it was — you could say in a certain way — a coincidence which we then made intentional," Charles explains, "because the concerto for three basset horns is a curiosity which has never been recorded and maybe never performed particularly. And the fact that that was actually a Bohemian instrument which was more popular in the area of Bohemia kind of connected it to the Mozart concerto. There's an interesting detail in the concerto. In the first movement, after the development is over, it goes into a wild section in F-sharp minor. And that section turns out to be a Bohemian hat dance, a folk dance from Bohemia which Mozart and Stadler obviously knew about."

The three basset-horn players featured on this concerto are from the Ensemble Clarimonia. Charles says they were vital to this entire project in a couple of ways. "The founder, Jochen Seggelke, who is not only a fine clarinetist and basset horn player, but he's also a wonderful instrument maker - he made the copies of the old instruments which we played on. And he made the basset clarinet I played in the Mozart concerto. And it was Bernard who discovered the Druzecky...or, uncovered the Druzecky concerto."

Mozart 1791 with clarinetist Charles Neidich is new recording with a very old sound, that you'll discover has modern appeal.

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