Reed 1 has a short 4 bar exposed improvisation on Alto in The Smell of Rebellion #18. This book is flute heavy i.e approx 70%
Reed 2 has large exposed improvisation in Telly #13 (beginning of Act 2) on clarinet (approx 35 bars worth). This book has approx 50/35/15% clarinet/bass clarinet/tenor
Reed 2 has a lot of nice exposed bass clarinet lines, often dipping down into the extended range below low Eb. The orchestrator (Christopher Nightingale) makes heavy and effective use of low D and Db. I think when both parts are playing Bb soprano, the 2nd reed book always has the lead. It only has a small amount of tenor, most significantly in “Loud”.
The short but important alto solo in”the Smell of Rebellion” and the extended clarinet solo in “Telly” can be covered by either reed player—the other book is tacit.
If an amateur production is struggling to find doublers, I strongly recommend against putting more than 1 musician on a part. Reed 1 has plenty of flute music to keep a non-doubling flute player busy, but someone who can only play a clarinet and sax would die of boredom on that book. The player covering reed 2 play could cover the alto parts from Reed 1. The small amount of clarinet in Reed 1 and tenor in Reed 2 are not critical.
Added based on information received from Steve Parker.
Also verified by Wayne Leechford.
Does it need a low c bass?
Yes, lowest note D-flat
Thanks Reese. .
Reed 1 has a short 4 bar exposed improvisation on Alto in The Smell of Rebellion #18. This book is flute heavy i.e approx 70%
Reed 2 has large exposed improvisation in Telly #13 (beginning of Act 2) on clarinet (approx 35 bars worth). This book has approx 50/35/15% clarinet/bass clarinet/tenor
My recommendation would be to be mindful of the 2 clarinet orchestration. It is not marked who has lead and it changes on a few tunes.
Very fun show to play.
Reed 2 has a lot of nice exposed bass clarinet lines, often dipping down into the extended range below low Eb. The orchestrator (Christopher Nightingale) makes heavy and effective use of low D and Db. I think when both parts are playing Bb soprano, the 2nd reed book always has the lead. It only has a small amount of tenor, most significantly in “Loud”.
The short but important alto solo in”the Smell of Rebellion” and the extended clarinet solo in “Telly” can be covered by either reed player—the other book is tacit.
If an amateur production is struggling to find doublers, I strongly recommend against putting more than 1 musician on a part. Reed 1 has plenty of flute music to keep a non-doubling flute player busy, but someone who can only play a clarinet and sax would die of boredom on that book. The player covering reed 2 play could cover the alto parts from Reed 1. The small amount of clarinet in Reed 1 and tenor in Reed 2 are not critical.