Maurice Allard: Variations sur un thème de Paganini (24e Caprice) (1986), Editions Billaudot, 14 rue de l'Echiquier. 75010 PARIS. FF20,50.
This work for solo bassoon was written by Maurice Allard for his
protege and successor in l'Orchestre de l'Opera, Gilbert Audin.
It is a set of nine variations on Paganini's famous Caprice, and
it is definitely written for the French bassoon, requiring technical
and lyrical facility right up to high f above the tenor clef.
These places could be altered, however, for performance on the
German bassoon. Generally the work is written very well for the
bassoon, demanding both technical and articulative (double and
triple tonguing) virtuosity from the player. I recommend it highly
for your consideration.
William Bergsma: Four Songs for medium voice, clarinet, bassoon, and piano; Galaxy Music Corporation, New York. Score and parts: $6.50.
I recently had the pleasure of performing these delightful Bergsma
songs, and I found them to be excellent contrasting material for
a recital - surprisingly easy to put together. The first two songs,
This is the Key to the Kingdom, and The Head from the
Well of Life, are the longest and the most serious. The first
features the clarinet with the soloist and the piano, and the
second the bassoon. The bassoon part in the second song is in
the highest range for the first sixteen bars at a slow tempo,
hovering around high b and c above the tenor clef, and is a bit
problematic for control, but is not technically demanding. The
last two songs, Frolic's Song, and Hokey Pokey, Whiskey,
Thum, are very short nonsense songs, using the entire ensemble,
and they contrast well with the first two. The musical style is
modern, but lyrically neoclassical. I recommend them as a change
of pace for your next recital.
Fritz Berens: Sonata for bassoon and piano; Southern Music Company, San Antonio, Texas. $10.00 (ST-519)
This is a brand new three movement work, written in a tonal and lyrical style, and primarily intended for intermediate-to-advanced students. The composer, a former orchestral conductor at Texas Christian University, knows the bassoon well enough to write a work that makes strong, but technically reasonable demands on the instrument. The range is only to b flat above the tenor clef, though there is still enough challenge within the work to keep a good student's interest. The Andante Espressivo second movement could be very beneficial in helping a student develop a lyrical, singing performance style. I recommend this work as a good teaching tool for students and teachers looking for well written new material.
Ivan Erod: Sonate fur Fagott und Klavier (Sonata Milanese),
1984, Ludwig Doblinger K.G., Wien. #05 560. (Ca. 14 min.).
This Sonata is a new major work for the bassoon. It was written
for Milan Turkovic and premiered by him in February, 1985. The
work is in three movements: a Sonata form movement, a slow Passacaglia
form movement, and a presto Rondo form finale. The style is neoclassical,
and, except for the rapid chromatic passage work of the last movement,
is not exceedingly difficult to play. The range moves up to high
d above the tenor clef fairly often, and the highest note, e flat,
is reached only once as the climax of a chromatic run at the end
of the last movement. There is a lot of nice, melodically interesting
passage work for the bassoon in the piece. I recommend it highly
as an interesting new recital piece. I hope to perform it myself.
Hinrich Philip Johnsen (1719-1779): Concerto in F for
two bassoons and piano, edited by James W. Mendenhall; Nova Music,
London, 1984.
This is an excellent edition of a traditional three movement pre-classical
era Concerto, and as such, provides an interesting companion piece
to the Vanhal Concerto in the same key for the same instruments
(published recently by Musica Rara). Technically this work is
more demanding in the passage work than the Vanhal, however, and
would require two advanced performers to pull it off. The instruments
often dovetail one another, so that both parts are virtually equal
in their technical demands. This is also different from the Vanhal,
where the parts, though equal at times, still require more from
the first part than from the second. Like the Vanhal, however,
the Johnsen abounds in passages in parallel thirds or sixths,
which are both a delight to play and to hear as well. The last
movement of the Johnsen also appears to be more satisfying and
conclusive than that of the Vanhal. The editor, Jim Mendenhall,
has done a superior job of providing a careful, clearly marked,
and very readable edition. I don't know if this work will achieve
the success of the Vanhal because of its intricate, somewhat fussy
and repetitious style, but it certainly merits your consideration
for performance, if only because of the scarcity of works for
two bassoons from this era.
Carlos A. Vasquez: Don Antonio para fagot solo; ANCO,
Box 22481, U.P.R. Station, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico 00931.
This is a modern work for solo bassoon written in 1980. The technical
demands are considerable, including rapidly tongued passages,
harmonics, glissandi, and a range to high d above the tenor clef.
The work is not very long, but packs a wallop in a short period
of time. I recommend it to anyone looking for a real technical
challenge.
Ronald Klimko
James Waterson, Concertstück "Souvenir de Donizetti', " for bassoon and piano, Nova Music (London)238.
James Waterson was a nineteenth-century English bandmaster who left us this charming piece of Victoriana with its odd half-German, half-French name. Based on a Donizetti aria, the work is composed of a slow introduction followed by a theme and four variations. Waterson has skillfully written for the bassoon, exploiting both its melancholy, lyrical side as well as its capacity for machine-gun articulation. Highly reminiscent of Jancourt's oeuvre with its short cadenzas and a piacere sections, this medium-length piece would work well on most recitals and is a refreshing departure from the warhorses. James W. Mendenhall of Brandon University has carefully edited this concert piece. Let us hope that he can someday unearth the original band or orchestral accompaniment for which the work was conceived.
Philip Gottling, Honolulu