Jean-Xavier Lefèvre’s Clarinet Method, published at the beginning of the 19th century, contains a number of sonatas that are significant stepping-stones to the more difficult clarinet master works of Mozart and Weber. They are also invaluable first pieces for those studying period performance on the classical clarinet. Lefèvre’s original notation for the instrument has been retained, and the bass lines are transposed down a tone so that the sonatas are playable on the B flat clarinet. The piano accompaniments, whose right-hand parts have been realized from a single, unfigured bass line probably intended for the cello, are stylistic, always complementary to the clarinet line, and satisfying (if occasionally challenging) to play.

 Music example Sonata No. 1 (pdf)
 Music example Sonata No. 2 (pdf)
 Music example Sonata No. 3 (pdf)
 Music example Sonata No. 4 (pdf)
 Music example Sonata No. 5 (pdf)