Introduction
During the last two decades of the eighteenth century, the field of clarinet pedagogy started to blossom and rapidly developed alongside with the publishing of the first comprehensive methods for the instrument. Written by some of the most highly regarded clarinet players and pedagogues of the time, these were extremely detailed documents that discussed an array of key subjects regarding clarinet playing, from posture and reed position to technique development and interpretation. The earliest amongst these important treatises, Méthode Nouvelle et Raisonnée pour La Clarinette, was first printed in 1785 and composed by the Belgian-French clarinetist Amand Vanderhagen.
Throughout his lifetime, Vanderhagen edited and republished his method three times; The first revision, Nouvelle Méthode de Clarinette, was written in 1799. Similarly to the first edition, this treatise also targets the classical five-key clarinet. However, the last edition that Vanderhagen published was dramatically different. Edited and published as late as 1819, the Nouvelle Méthode de Clarinette Moderne à Douze Clés, targets the more advanced twelve-key clarinet. It was written during the golden age of the clarinet, around the time some of the most important clarinet repertoire pieces appeared. The many adjustments done on the clarinet enabled greater technical control and agility, and a more even sound across all the registers. In addition, idiomatic characteristics and musical aesthetics had also changed drastically by that point in time; All these provided fertile and creative grounds for Vanderhagen to improve upon his earlier creation, and write more intricate and relevant exercises, studies, and duos.
Within this time frame of thirty-four years between the first and ultimate publication of Vanderhagen’s method, the clarinet grew from being a relatively rare sight in court orchestras, theatres, and concert halls, to being featured in orchestral, operatic, and chamber music, as well as in virtuosic showpieces and concerti played by renowned traveling virtuosi. In this investigation, I explore the evolution of Vanderhagen’s method throughout his lifetime. In addition, I study the ways in which the instrument’s development and the growth of its technical ability, functional range, stability, and evenness, as well as its increasing popularity, had influenced the writer to change, omit, add, and improve upon his treatise.
During this process, I compare the 1785 method with the later revisions from 1799 and 1819 and examine the manners in which the writer established his own pedagogical views and ideals throughout his career as an active clarinetist and teacher. Utilizing this comparison, I highlight the ways in which the clarinet’s development is being reflected, as well as how style, interpretation, and clarinet culture had changed over the course of over three decades between the first and last editions. This way I demonstrate the connection between the instrument’s development and the formation of a specific pedagogical approach. Through this process, I aim to draw attention to a different thread that focuses on Vanderhagen’s approach to clarinet pedagogy in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century and appreciate the ways in which the instrument’s evolution contributed to the development of the method and practice of teaching.