Double Reed 70 cover - British Double Reed Society

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only had his own baroque bassoon class at the Paris Conservatoire, but also assisted Marc Trenel there with the students of the German system. The ‘50 Years’ in question begin in 1950 with Tansman’s classic Sonatine. This is a beautifully measured performance, with well chosen tempi (the composer’s metronome marks are, I think, a little too quick) and fluid passagework. Thereafter we progress chronologically to Marc’s own Cantus of 2001 [Trevco Music], a bonus year by my calculations. Cantus is an intriguing work for solo bassoon which I am honoured to have played and recorded myself. This is an excellently proportioned work juxtaposing extended melodic lines with dramatic leaps across the entire compass of the instrument. I highly recommend this to students, who from time to time have to play a piece with the ‘extended techniques’ of multiphonics, fluttertonguing, muting and so on. In this vein there is also Phillipe Hersant’s Hopi [Durand], which nowadays makes regular appearances in our music colleges. Marc adds another work by Hersant, the much less well known Duo Sephardim for bassoon and viola [Durand]. This beautiful lyrical duet also deserves more performances. From 1973 and 1999 come two more challenging yet, nevertheless, impressive pieces; one with piano – Ebauches (Sketches) by Ginette Keller (b. 1925) [Editions Transatlantique] – the other is with pre-recorded CD and called D’un geste approvoisé (With a Tamed Gesture) by Jose Luis Campana (b. 1949) [Editions Musicales Européens]. Both stretch instrument and soloist to the extremes of colour and dynamics. The energy and abandon with which these works are presented cannot be praised too highly. Indeed for me there is, throughout the disc, a true sense of the excitement and the presence of a performance. This is especially so in Marc’s characteristic reading of his own Cantus. Compliments, too, to pianist Todd Welbourne and violist Sally Chisholm; also to Pascal Gallois who was responsible, the sleeve notes tell us, for the exotic sounds on Campana’s pre-recorded CD. 50 Years of French Bassoon Music is available from The University of Wisconsin website at http://wisccharge.wisc.edu/music/all.asp By purchasing it you will be making a donation to scholarships offered within the university. Another good reason for buying this excellent disc. Graham Sheen 40 Double Reed News 85 Winter 2008 Concertos, etc by Hummel, Weber, Jacobi Elgar, Berwald and Gershwin Karen Geoghegan, bassoon Chandos CHAN 10477 Karen Geoghegan, with whom most BDRS members will be familiar, was one of the three finalists in BBC2’s Classical Star competition. The first prize, given to pianist Sophie Cashell, was a recording contract. However, as was clear from the judges’ comments, the final decision was by no means unanimous. Shortly after the winner was announced, Chandos offered Karen Geoghegan a richly deserved contract to record her first commercial CD with the Orchestra of Opera North under the baton of Benjamin Wallfisch. Of the six works chosen for this disc, Karen has been able to claim the première recording for both those by Jacobi (in the full version with orchestra) and Gershwin. This CD opens with the Grand Concerto by Hummel, which is the work that projected Karen through to the finals of Classical Star. She approaches it with youthful exuberance and complete command of her instrument. Of the half dozen or so recordings I have of the Hummel I can say with certainty that Karen stamps her own mark on this work very successfully. As anyone who knows the bassoon will attest, the Hummel contains some extraordinarily difficult passages, which Karen takes amply in her stride. In fact we are left with no clue as to how difficult some of the fingerwork actually is. In a couple of places I take issue with her interpretation. The rubato employed in the cadential passage prior to figure ‘F’ of the first movement would have been more effective as an accelerando, rather than losing pace as the cadence approached. I felt also that the cadenza in the second movement was rather over extended and self-conscious. These quibbles apart this is a fine performance which, for one aged 19, is quite remarkable. The Hummel is followed by three other concertos from the classical period, which I will come to later. Next follows the Romance Op.62 by Elgar. This is a very pleasing performance. Elgar departs from the comic and trick-cyclist aspect of bassooning to provide us with a work of some gravity. Here, Karen shows her versatility in adjusting beautifully to the required lyrical style of playing, though I would have preferred even greater contrast between the middle and outer sections. The final work on this CD is David Arnold’s arrangement of Gershwin’s Summertime for bassoon and orchestra. In my opinion this is the best played work of all six. Karen is
clearly at home with this piece. She is able to convey with utmost clarity and feeling the atmosphere of sultry summer days. A truly great performance! Returning to the remaining three classical works: Berwald’s Concert Piece is a lovely work and is played well, but I was less convinced by the Andante e Rondo Ungarese Op.35 of Weber and the Introduction and Polonaise Op.9 by Jacobi. Both works I know well and they work well as concertos, however they need greater dramatic treatment. In the Weber one has to convey something of the exotic. He wrote this work at a time when Hungary was feared and whose culture seemed strangely exotic to the West. Consequently Weber employs many devices to express a sense of the bizarre. An example being his use of 2 1 ⁄2-octave leaps; though the bassoon can effect this with relative ease it surely pays to maintain the illusion of having achieved a feat of extreme difficulty? Similarly for the Jacobi: this opens with a passionate operatic recitative and proceeds to the Polonaise, which mocks the over-serious opening. The Polonaise gains momentum to a breath-taking finish with the più allegro, which I felt was far too slow. Nonetheless, I suspect most listeners will not know this once-popular work (which used to grace the back pages of the Otto Langey Tutor) and will find it both attractive, and its Polonaise theme memorable. In all, this is a marvellous start with which to launch one’s career. Karen should be congratulated on her achievement. I can truly say that I look forward to following her progression as she develops as a soloist and matures her style. MUSIC REVIEW Richard Moore Time Pieces for Bassoon, Volumes 1 & 2 by Ian Denley ABRSM Publishing www.abrsmpublishing.com Time Pieces comprises an anthology, mostly arrangements, of short pieces for beginners and intermediate students of the bassoon. Specifically, volume 1 is aimed at those who are working at Associated Board grades 1 to 3, while volume 2 provides material suited to those aspiring to grades 4, 5 and 6. Usefully, volume 1 may also be used by youngsters who are starting out on the mini-bassoon (in G) as the piano part, suitably transposed, may be requested for free from the publisher or downloaded from their website. The sequence of works in each volume is rather carefully selected to show a progression of musical styles from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries, to introduce children to a broad spectrum of composers – many familiar, others less so – from Bach, Mozart and Brahms, to Vaughan- Williams, Maxwell Davies and McCabe, to acquaint youngsters with some of the core classical repertoire; and to provide a vehicle for developing expressiveness and musicianship. In selecting these 37 short pieces, Ian Denley has sought to provide inspirational material for young players, which is eminently performable and at the same time provides a vehicle for more general musical education. Knowing Denley personally since 1974, I can vouch for his very special qualities as a musician and his concomitant success as a teacher of woodwind instruments. He believes, as I do, that music is nothing if it does not communicate. So, in choosing pieces that are lyrical and varied in period and style he has given us a rich resource to incorporate into our instrumental teaching regimes. I particularly like, and support, his use of lyrical material as I believe this is inspiring for youngsters to play and, importantly, it connects instrumental playing with the human voice. For the experienced player there is something here too. Occasionally one demonstrates an unfamiliar instrument or needs to reacquaint oneself with an instrument infrequently played. I found Time Pieces a very useful resource for selecting a short piece to play on the French bassoon, which is not my usual performance instrument. Oboists, who occasionally make the cross-over to bassoon, or bassoonists who dabble infrequently with the contrabassoon or baroque bassoon might similarly find these pieces an effective and useful resource to have at hand. I can thoroughly recommend them. CONCERT REVIEW The Oboe Band 25th September 2008 St. George’s Hanover Square London Richard Moore This was a fabulous performance from the unique ensemble, The Oboe Band. Formed in 2005, they have carved out a niche in the early music world, being the only Double Reed News 85 Winter 2008 41
Page 1: No.85 Double Reed News www.bdrs.org
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Page 6 and 7: of my miserable existing reeds and
Page 8 and 9: in Tokyo, Madrid, London, Helsinki,
Page 10 and 11: Reports and News Continuing my show
Page 12 and 13: John Waite, 15 years: The Day start
Page 14 and 15: Arias with Obbligato Bassoon: My in
Page 16 and 17: pp109-116. (Both arias have wonderf
Page 18 and 19: (Wonderful ensemble obbligato writi
Page 20 and 21: Oboes is a 5-movement work which us
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Page 26 and 27: Facsimilies by Fuzeau These three v
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Page 32 and 33: quacks, but one only hears its bril
Page 34 and 35: Bassonicus Ludwig Van, marathon man
Page 36 and 37: Under Foreign Skies Reeds can be an
Page 38 and 39: determination inherited from her fa
Page 42 and 43: professional ensemble of their kind
Page 44 and 45: Classified Bassoon and Contra Servi
Page 46 and 47: Index to Advertisers Britannia Musi
Page 48: Fox Bassoons Oboes and Cor Anglais

Double Reed 70 cover - British Double Reed Society

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