If you’ve got this far, you’ve probably looked at and listened to some bass clarinet repertoire. Much of it can be very tricky, but hopefully by the end of this course all of the below will be approachable for you!

 

Solo Bass Clarinet Repertoire (+ with backing track)

. Ruth Gipps: Prelude for bass clarinet Solo (1959). This is one of my all time favourite pieces. It’s absolutely beautiful, musically challenging and needs good control of altissimo. This might be slightly too advanced, but could be a good challenge!

. Pierre-Max Dubois: Voltage Suite. A classic suite for bass clarinet. There are 5 movements in Voltage (some more interesting than others!), but each challenging in their own way.

  • Gianfranco Gioia: Mirrors, for Bass Clarinet and Electronics (2009). Learning to play with electronics/backing track can be quite frustrating at first. If you’re looking for a slightly more straightforward piece to play with electronic backing, then here’s one for you! It’s really fun and the backing track takes you on a real journey. Some fiddly arpeggio passages and a few altissimo notes - but nothing too difficult!

  • Wayne Siegel: Jackdaw for Bass Clarinet and Computer (1995). If you’re comfortable playing with backing track, and want a challenge - give this piece a go. It’s an iconic piece from the bass clarinet solo repertoire. Lots of big leaps here, voicing and tongue position are very important!

  • Jorge Montilla: Introduction and Joropo (2007). A fun, free piece! This piece works on centred low-notes, leaps, articulation and fast finger passages. There is option super-high altissimo at the end if you want to challenge yourself further.

  • Bach Cello Suites. There are two options for playing these - you can either play from the bass clef versions on Sibelius (if you want to brush up on your bass clef playing, which can be useful for bass clarinet!) or you can purchase the transposed versions published in treble clef. These are a staple of my practise so I’d highly recommend getting hold of these!

 
 

Bass Clarinet & Piano

. Eugene Bozza: Ballade for bass clarinet and piano (1999). A crowd pleaser! Fun and cheeky. Needs a flexible tone with clear articulation. Some fiddly finger passages but no altissimo.

. Dirk Brossé: La Soledad (1992). A powerful piece, some use of altissimo. This piece needs to you really ‘sing’ in the higher clarion register. It has a pretty steady tempo throughout, giving you time to focus on the projection of those higher notes.

. Johannes Brahms: Cello Sonata in E Minor, movement 1 (1862-65). If you’re looking for something slightly more traditional, this is a brilliant piece. There are a few tricky altissimo bits, but you could always stick them down the octave if necessary. The hardest thing about playing this piece is the stamina needed!

. Jeffrey Agrell: Raven’s Blues. The tricky part of this piece are the rhythms. There are some chromatic patterns, and a few scattered high notes. You’ll like this piece if you’re into funky atonal music. There’s a performance on YouTube involving the addition of a drum kit - you could have some fun with this piece!


  • Francois Rasse: Lied (1921). One of the older pieces of bass clarinet solo repertoire. Something to note - this piece is written in bass clef (so great if you want to brush up on your bass clef reading!). It doesn’t go that high, clarion F is the highest note. A nice slow, expressive piece of bass clarinet repertoire. A nice piece if you’re craving something more delicate and romantic in style.

  • Francis Coiteux: Balade en Toscane. No altissimo and fairly traditionally classical sounding. It’s not my favourite piece in the world, but works well in a programme to balance out more contemporary work.

  • Ernst Krenek: School Music, Sonatine (1938/39). I'm yet to play this piece - I discovered it last year when my masters teacher recommended it to me. It looks really fun and playful, and very achievable! Nothing goes too high or too wildly fast. I currently can’t find any recordings, so perhaps I’ll have to make one…

 
 

Other Instrumental combinations

. David Bennett-Thomas: Moment for Bass Clarinet & Bass Flute (2007). I love everything David has ever written for bass clarinet (although a lot of it is very complex/challenging). This is a beautiful piece, needs a good level of intonation control. No altissimo, mostly kept in the bottom register - although some fast, fiddly finger passages and complex rhythms.

. Sebastián Tozzola - 7 Pasos: for 2 Bass Clarinets (2014). Some difficult altissimo, but worth the challenge! This is one of my ALL TIME favourite pieces to play. There’s funky driving rhythms, alongside soaring lyrical melodies. There’s an improvisation section too.

  • Mark Mellits: Black - for 2 Bass Clarinets (2008). As by far the most popular bass clarinet, if you haven’t come across this yet - STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND CHECK IT OUT. It’s super fun whilst being slightly mind-numbing to play. It’s all fairly low, and you need lots of stamina!

  • Piet Ketting: Trio-Sonata for Bass Clarinet, Flute and Piano. This piece is highly unusual and beautiful. My trio - New Woods Collective - gave the UK premiere of this a few years ago.

  • Stamitz: 6 Duos for Violin and Violoncello, arr. for oboe & bass clarinet by Catherine Underhill. I’m bias here - my fabulous Hacha Duo partner Catherine Underhill arranged this duo for us to play. The bass clarinet part is really fun and well written - a great piece to bulk out a recital programme!

 

A piece of advice: don’t be afraid to steal repertoire from other instruments!

Some of my favourite pieces to play on bass clarinet have been stolen (arranged) from the flute & cello! We have to remind ourselves that we are a relatively new instrument still - and compared to other instruments, the repertoire available to us is still limited.

 
 

Where to buy bass clarinet music from:

Other great resources for finding repertoire: