Venise by Nicole Philiba: published by Billaudot; U.S. Agent, Theodore Presser Company.
The Philiba work is subtitled Six Easy Pieces for Bassoon and Piano, and aptly so. There are no rhythmic problems at all; other than over rests there are no intervals larger than a fifth; the lines are basically conjunct; range is from great D to A-flat. Yet with all these restrictions, the six pieces constitute a pleasant addition to the repertoire of the young bassoonist. They allow ample scope for expressive playing, and with the absence of technical worries, the performer should be able to give more thought to making music.
The piano part, while not advanced, is more demanding than the solo part. An advanced late junior high school student should be able to master it.
Venise would be a likely solo for the student performing for the first time in a state solo and ensemble competition.
Partita by Marcel Bitsch: published by Leduc; U.S. Agent, Theodore Presser Co.
The Partita is dedicated to Maurice Allard, and written for the Conservatory Competitions. As is customary in this series, the music is most demanding, requiring a brilliant technic, total dynamic control, and facility in the extreme ranges.
The work has four movements: Prelude, Arietta, Notturno and Fughetta, with the last three all joined together. The tempo relations between the movements are those of the church sonata, i.e., slow-fast, slow-fast.
Partita is well written for the bassoon, and the piano part, though not easy, is remarkable for careful attention to dynamics and for the care evidenced to support and enhance the solo instrument. For the bassoonist seeking challenging new music for recitals, Partita should definitely be studied.
Sonatine by Serge Lancen: published by Billaudot; U.S. Agent, Theodore Presser Company.
The Sonatine was written for the 1983 Conservatory Competition. It has four movements: Prelude and Fuge, Scherzo, Largo, Finale.
The first movement is the most demanding of the four. The Prelude is quite rhapsodic in character, and requires a most facile technic. Double tonguing is indicated, although the given metronome marking would allow the passages to be rather easily single-tongued. It moves through an open cadence to the Fugue, which is the most challenging section. Throughout most of the fugue the performer is clearly expected to give the illusion of two lines. The composer has written very few dynamic indication, which does give the performer the freedom to devise dynamics likely to achieve a polyphonic effect.
The remaining three movements are more conventional. The Scherzo is fast, but the patterns in it are rather easy.
The Largo is very short, serving essentially as a short contrast between the Scherzo and the Allegro Molto of the Finale.
The range throughout the Sonatine avoids the extreme high register so often found in the Competition selections. This is not to say that the high register is not used, far from it! But no movement goes above D2, and the high register passages tend to be conjunct.
The Sonatine definitely belongs in the library of the serious recitalist. It is very difficult, but it has musical value.