Jonathan Russell: Bass Clarinet Concerto • Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra - Benjamin Mitchell

[@pieisgood2372]

He made that Bass sound like a Soprano, incredible and outstanding!

[@super20dan]

thats wild -eric dolphy would be proud of his high note chops

[@lamaspacos]

It is not a bass instrument, but much more an alto. The so called 'bass clarinet' has a bass character only when the bore diameter is suficiently wide, which is not this case.

[@thelookingcat]

​@@lamaspacos Alto clarinet though

[@lamaspacos]

@@thelookingcat Exactly.

[@nlama9663]

@@lamaspacos more of a tenor instrument really, it has the same fundamental as a tenor sax only difference is that it can play almost an octave lower

[@richardjchandler]

Jonathan Russell, the composer, wrote a mysterious and evocative Bass Clarinet Concerto. The conductorless Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra admirably performed their parts. The bass clarinetist, Benjamin Mitchell, sensitively and brilliantly played this work, so rich in gorgeous sonorities!

[@jmelkis]

Well put

[@kaleidoscopechamberorchestra]

Thanks very much!

[@jmelkis]

I am blown away. This isn’t some song, or musical gymnastics. This is power. This is a statement.

[@kaleidoscopechamberorchestra]

Thanks very much!

[@littlemisskimmycat78]

Remarkable! I had no idea that bass clarinets could get that high!! I played one in high school and could never reach those super high notes! Mr Mitchell would've had to have been using a strong reed to get through that solo.

[@LowReedExpert1]

Kimberley Wood I affectionately call it the double alt register, basically take you altissimo embouchure and mess with the overtone series till you find your note

[@kenbutler4259]

I was able to play the entire range of the instrument with Vandoren 2 1/2 and a stock LeBlanc mouthpiece

[@lamaspacos]

It is very important the bore diameter of the clarinet in question: large bores provided a bass instrument, while a narrow bore provide an alto or soprano.

[@giganerd896]

I normally use vandoren 3.5 strength reeds and a vandoren BD5 mouthpiece and I can get the full range. Recently tried 2.5 ricos and it was a little harder to do so but not impossible.

[@PatrickBengio]

What? This is incredible! Both the bass clarinet and the orchestral part! Also superb modality

[@kaleidoscopechamberorchestra]

Thanks, so glad you enjoyed it!

[@S.Henry_Crawford]

Dang I play bass clarinet and I love this

[@marizacabral5141]

This is the most marvelous music!!!

[@allansegall4502]

Haunting. Colorful. Fab performance!

[@kaleidoscopechamberorchestra]

Thanks very much!

[@JoeMG14]

Bravo. Lovely piece and well played

[@kaleidoscopechamberorchestra]

Thanks very much!

[@Kiarinadia]

Quel plaisir ce Concerto ! Et quelle classe, les musiciens debout comme des solistes.

[@trombonete]

That sounds terrific! Good job, Ben!

[@1MrZackdaddy]

Everyone sounds just fantastic, but I would like to hear more bass clarinet and a little less orchestra, esp. in the tutti sections. This sounds less like a concerto rather than an orchestra piece with bass clar. obligato. Still, the sonorities were incredibly haunting, esp. with the high bass writing. The ending does seem a little let-down. This piece has a gorgeous cinematic quality. But the paltry audience applause is what stuns me. This piece deserves much better than that. Audiences - can't live with them, can't kill 'em!!

[@alexandersinn3548]

Man if only there could be a bass clarinet orchestra then we would be in for something truly groundbreaking. This just shows the type of colour and texture just one bass clarinet can do 😍 great job Mr Mitchell

[@jonathanrussell6833]

How about this? kzbin.info/www/bejne/fp_CmnZ-o9aNeqM

[@jonathanrussell6833]

There is now! Boston's "Improbable Beasts": kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJndmqZvj96DmpIsi=xJ3sYoSVIQ76n33L

[@13moles]

A moving performance of an eloquent piece!

[@kaleidoscopechamberorchestra]

Thanks very much!

[@ahmadshiddiqi-rv3bg]

piacevole. tenderness of love. Have dolce e amabile moments

[@kaleidoscopechamberorchestra]

Thanks for listening!

[@jmelkis]

Superb

[@jonathanrussell6833]

Sheet music available here: jonrussellmusic.com/works/bass-clarinet-concerto/

[@AnOpera4u]

Thank you for a fine concerto!

[@mrnnhnz]

Never heard the work before. Seemed pretty avante garde in some ways. Quite interesting, and clearly took a lot of skill to play. Well done.

[@kaleidoscopechamberorchestra]

Thanks for listening

[@pranavbatra3161]

Great Performance! What mouthpiece/reed setup is Mr. Mitchell using here?

[@cesteres]

Using floor stand it's very hard to give visual cues to your colleagues. It's hard even with a strap. So it's a bit weird with a soloist essentially following the orchestra. But well played.

[@lamaspacos]

09:25 - 09:35 ❤

[@Donut6975]

It blows my fucking mind how high those notes are. I’m a high school junior in Varsity Band and I can’t go nearly that high

[@giganerd896]

What kind of bass clarinet did you use, what was your setup at the time? I never had any trouble with altissimo when I picked up the bass Sophomore year. I had a Yamaha 4C and Rico 3's on a Yamaha 221 bass before I upgraded junior year to a BD5 and strength 3.5 Vandoren reeds. This year I started playing on an 80's Buffet to low C.

[@snickpickle]

This is a stunning performance. But yes, it's too bad the soloist wasn't miked better; hard to hear in the tutti sections. Just a wonderful piece, and played so well! Thanks for posting this. :-)

[@michaelmueller7962]

May I object to your second point? I am so glad the soloist was not what you call 'miked better' because this here is exactly how the balance and overall sound is in reality. In my opinion too often recordings of concerts with solo instruments are spoiled by unrealistic sound balance, the orchestra sometimes sounds like placed 50m behind the soloist, great orchestra parts and wonderful accompagnement are getting obscured.

[@brynnawhitney4823]

That flute player looked pissed I play bass clarinet I'm curious what mouth piece and reed hes using I use a Size 3 Rico

[@raindancer751]

Her seriousness of expression (aka concentration) looked no different than most of the others in the orchestra. Not sure why you'd want to single her out for it.

[@giganerd896]

I've found that reeds don't matter so much as the mouthpiece and embouchure. The reed, of course, should marry well with the tip opening of the mouthpiece

[@roniricardosystem]

11:16 How do you feel when you hear that part?

[@murilobassoficial9498]

Por que não tem maestro?

[@sinamousavion9371]

Why isn't this work on Spotify?

[@pierski62130]

is it really a "chamber" orchestra ???

[@matthewshatto6787]

But just being a "small" orchestra and playing "smaller works" doesn't qualify it to be a chamber ensemble. Chamber music is played by small orchestras but the defining factor is that it is almost always *and i mean 99.99% of the time* played 1 person per part. So since they list 7 violin I players it should not be described as a chamber ensemble

[@kamilee4123]

Matthew Shatto a chamber orchestra isn't exactly the same as a string quartet. It's just a smaller orchestra. Besides, if they had one string player (probably two at least for violin due to divisi) to a part and the same for winds the winds would probably overpower the strings or at least cause balance issues in rehearsal.

[@Tei_022]

19:26

[@super20dan]

why is everyone playing standing? most unusual

[@raindancer751]

Superb

[@kaleidoscopechamberorchestra]

Thanks for listening!