Editor's Note: Mr. Waterhouse kindly sent this brief history of the career of his old teacher, Archie Camden, the pioneer German-system bassoonist of England.
The distinguished English bassoon player and teacher Archie Camden died on Feb. 1 6th, 1979, three weeks before what would have been his ninety-first birthday. Born in 1888, he won at the age of 15 a scholarship offered by Hans Richter, then conductor of the Halle Orchestra of Manchester. Shortly before, Richter had brought two players of the German instrument over from Vienna, and Archie learnt with Otto Schieder, the principal whom he first joined and then replaced in the orchestra in 1914 when many of the foreigners had to leave because of the outbreak of World War I. Camden stayed in Manchester until 1933, when he came down to London to join the BBC Symphony which had recently been formed. The rest of his long career was spent in London, with the BBC until 1946, and subsequently free-lancing. He remained professionally active until his 80th birthday, on the occasion of which he made a notable farewell appearance as soloist.
His playing career of almost 65 years was uniquely long and distinguished. He was the first native player of the German bassoon, using for most of the time a well worn Adler of the early 20's with a manually operated "flipper" whisper-key mounted on the bocal. His virtuosity and musicianship on the instrument set new standards for his time. His pioneer recording of the Mozart concerto in 1927 won an award as the outstanding record of the year, and both this and his witty arrangement of Senaille's Allegro spiritoso on the last side brought both him and the bassoon to the notice of the public at large. Eric Fogg and Gordon Jacob wrote concertos for him.
He taught for many years at the Royal College of Music in London. His witty style, ever-dependable musicianship, and his pleasing if somewhat dry tone (he liked to describe it as "nutty") endeared him to several generations of his colleagues. He published the short book on playing, Bassoon Technique in 1962. (Oxford University Press. ED.)