do you think Baroque music works with Clarinets?

Vivaldi apparently wrote CONCERTOS for them :S APPARENTLY or Chalumenux (sp?) as did Telemann i believe

i have a suite by Corelli which is for clarinet for piano which is a selection of pieces by him as a collection. and performed a gavotte by Telemann with another clarinetist and even a soprano saxophonist with a piano accompanying us, talk about unstylistic!

Surely whether it works on the instrument depends on how well it's been written (or, with Baroque music, usually arranged). I'm not just speaking as a clarinettist here - anyone who's sung Beethoven 9 will appreciate that it's written for strings not voices!!

Vivaldi, Handel and Rameau all wrote for clarinet (or its predecessor, the chalumeau), but the instrument for which they were writing is very different to the instrument that most people play today - far fewer keys, for one thing. What wouldn't have presented a problem on an 18th century clarinet often gives major headaches to anyone with an E13!

Most Baroque music for clarinet tends to be transcriptions; some pieces work on clarinet, some don't. I'm thinking in particular of transcriptions of the Bach cello suites, which seem to ignore the fact that clarinettists need time to breathe! Personally, I'd rather play arrangements or transcriptions than ignore anything written before Mozart.

Has anyone round here ever played an early clarinet? I tried once, and had far more success when I adopted recorder embouchure instead - I produced a sound, for one thing!

I think it depends on the effect you're after, the context, and personal taste. When I was at school, my clarinet teacher arranged one of the Brandenburg Concertos for clarinet choir and it sounded fantastic (it was the one originally written for all strings - I think it's number 6 but this is a long time ago and I've forgotten, so forgive me if I'm wrong). Bach was an innovator in his day and I personally believe that if he were alive now, he'd still be innovating, using clarinets himself, and would probably have enjoyed the arrangement! However, I do understand the need for authenticity in performance too. At university we were encouraged to thoroughly research the history of the pieces we were learning, and to use the correct instruments, ornamentation and performance conventions wherever possible. As long as you keep in mind what you're doing and why, I think it's fine to play music in both its original form, and in modern arrangements. When we did the clarinet arrangement of the Bach, it was on a residential weekend and it was just for a bit of fun. If I were to arrange a concert and I wanted that piece to be included, I'd probably go out of my way to organise the 'correct' version. I'll probably be criticised for saying that I think both practices are commendable in their own way, but if nobody ever transcribed/ arranged things for other instruments, some instruments would have such a limited repertoire, it would be a shame. Lots of saxophone studies, for example, are taken from oboe/ violin pieces, as it's a relatively new instrument and it seems a shame that there's no really old music written specifically for it. I've found it really useful for technique and stylistic awareness to play Baroque music on the clarinet and saxophone - there's so much to be gained in terms of ornamentation and expression for a start - but I do bear in mind that the music wasn't originally intended for them.

In short - I think it's fine to play what you like on your choice on instrument(s) as long as you keep the context and reasons in mind, and are careful not to cause offense, e.g. by forming a 'Baroque' orchestra for formal concerts and including a clarinet/ sax section!!