Available by December, 2022, the following notes accompany my piano reduction of Späth's score.
Andreas Späth (or Spaeth) was born at Rossach near Coburg, Germany on Oct. 9, 1790 and died at Gotha on April 26, 1876. In the Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians by Zwillingsbruder (1893), Späth is described as a “dramatic and church composer” having composed over 250 works. From George Walther the local school music teacher, he received his first musical instruction. Späth studied under Christian Friedrich Gumlich at Coberg and with Philipp J. Riotti in Vienna. In 1810, he was accepted into the Orchestra of the Prince of Coberg, and was for 11 years church organist at Morges, Switzerland. In the Winter of 1831/32 he performed a number of his works at Lausanne. In 1833, Späth became music director at Neuchâtel and later made Hof-Kapellmeister at Coburg. His operas include Ida von Rosenau (1821), Elisa die Müllerin (1833), Der Astrolog (1837), and Omar und Sultana (1842). Späth also composed music for ballets, oratorios, string quartets, and military band.
Späth was a multi-instrumentalist, had intimate knowledge of the clarinet and was associated with fine clarinetists of his day. His fondness for the instrument resulted in many works which have been out of print for all too long. Späth's clarinet contributions appeared after those of Weber, Krommer, Spohr and Crussell and before those of Stark, Cavallini, Klosé and Iwan Müller. His music is of special interest to clarinetists performing early Romantic era repertoire.
According to Pamela Weston's More Clarinet Virtuosi of the Past (1977), Späth's works for clarinet include (in published order): Potpourri op. 39 for two clarinets, Variations op. 69 for clarinet and strings, Variations op. 75 for clarinet and strings, Potpourri op. 77 for 2 clarinets, Divertissement sur une Romance Française op. 91, Potpourri op.98 for 2 clarinets, Symphonie Concertante op. 103 for 2 clarinets and orchestra, Introduction and Variations on a theme of Mozart for clarinet and orchestra op. 104, Potpourri op.105 on themes of Boieldieu & Nicolo, Scène sur deux airs Suisses op. 113, Fantaisie on an Air of Mozart op. 119, Introduction & Variations op. 133 on a Romance from Weber's Preciosa, Alpenlied, op.167 for voice, clarinet and piano, Three Nocturnes for clarinet and piano op. 175, Elégie op.178 for clarinet & orchestra and Three melodies op. 196 for clarinet & piano. Works with no available opus numbers include additional Potpourri's for 2 clarinets, Airs Variés for clarinet & violin with strings, a Concerto and a Concertino. Today, Späth's most performed instrumental work is possibly his Nonette in Eb (1850) for oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, 'cello and contrabass. The work was dedicated to Prince Karl Egon III of Fürstenberg (1820-1892) who hailed from the southern Baden-Württemberg region.
The two clarinet symphonie-concertant or double concerto idea was common in Späth's time and there were many composed before and after his Symphonie Concertante. Those written before Späth's work include those of Carl Stamich: Concerto (1777), Étienne Solere: Symphonie Concertante (1790), François Devienne: Sinfonie Concertante op. 25 (1794), František (Franz) Krommer: Concerto nr. 1 op. 35 (1802) and Concerto nr. 2 op. 91 (1815), Johann Backofen: Concertante op. 10 (1803), Franz Tausch: Concertante op. 10 (1804), and Iwan Müller's Double Concerto op. 26 (1818) and his Duo Concertante op. 23 (1826). With Späth's numerous 2-clarinet Potpourri's (opuses 39, 77 and 98), the composer had ample opportunity to prepare for the two clarinet virtuostic Symphonie-Concertante format.Andreas Späth's ebullient tour de force was completed in 1828 and scored for 2 clarinets and orchestra. Bernhard Schott of Mainz published the work in 1830 and at the suggestion of oboist Anton Foreit (1792-1877), a solo oboe part was included in the set of parts as an alternate to the 1st clarinet part. The premier occurred on April 10, 1836 and featured clarinetists Georges Chrétien Bachmann (1804-1842) and his student, Joseph Blaes (1814-1892). The performance may have taken place at the Temple des Augustins in Brussels. Duration of the work is approximately 28 minutes.
The archives of Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munchen has in its collection the set of parts minus the conductor's score and timpani part; the separate parts restrung together therefor form the basis of this piano reduction. The instrumention: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, trombone, timpani, 1st & 2nd violins, violas, 'celli, contrabasses. These parts, though difficult to read and with errors are available for download on the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) website. The present piano reduction was inspired by the work of clarinetist Rita Karin Meier who in April of 2019 released a CD of Späth's music (MDG 903 2119-6) performing opuses 69, 119, 133, 175, 178 and 196.
During the course of constructing a piano reduction from extracting parts, several errors were discovered in the urtext edition. These errors were limited mostly to the two solo parts and are of two types: phrasing/articulation inconsistencies between solo parts and wrong notes which may have been the result of faulty transposition. This current piano reduction aims to rectify those errors and to breathe new life into this forgotten work.