As a followup to my studies on the French bassoon in Paris with the "Maitre", Maurice Allard, in 1983-84, 1 was fortunate to return to France this summer for further study at the Festival d'Ete in Nice with Gilbert Audin. It was a golden opportunity to work directly with one of the brightest stars of the new generation of "bassonists", as well as hear some of the talented young students in his class. As solo bassoonist with the Orchestre de l'Opera in Paris, Audin has not only filled the position vacated by Allard's retirement in 1983, but he is also the current President of Les Amis du Basson Francais.
It was not without a certain
amount of trepidation that I decided to become a "student"
again (something about trying to teach an old dog new tricks)
and to take my rotation in the class, playing not only for Audin's
critical ears but those of his oh-so-young and talented students
as well. What I found, to my relief, was a wonderful sense of
warmth and cameraderic among both teacher and pupils in the class
that created a productive atmosphere for all.
Except for myself, all the other students were French. They were: Gilles Claraz, 19, from St. Pierre d'Trube, a student of Montoc and Adoff; Jean-Pierre Gayet, 17, from Bavans, a student of Hennequin; Yvan Laboure, 19, from St. Etienne, also a student of Hennequin; Marie Meyer, 18, from Richwiller, a student of Debelvalet; Agnes Moyencourt, 16, from Reze, a student of Thecoret; and Aude Schuehmacher, 2 1, from Barbazan-Debat, a student of Perret. Gilles and Marie were preparing for the prestigious Concour for the bassoon class of Maurice Allard at the Conservatoire Nationale Superieure de la Musique in Paris, which was scheduled for September 24th of this year. The repertoire for this year was to select two works to perform from the following list: (For those of you who think symphony auditions can be difficult!) A. Jolivet, Concerto (2me Partie); I. Gotkovsky, Variationes Concertantes (Var. I, 111, V); H. Tomasi, Concerto (II and III); A. Tisne, Soliloque; or A. Bernaud, Hallucinations. And that's just the first round. The survivors of that competition are given a month to learn a new work and re-audition for the final selection of two or three for the class. The payoff, of course, is free instruction from Allard himself and a chance in a few years to try for the coveted Premiere Prix from the CNSM.
Gilles and Marie were both accomplished players already, but under Audin's careful and patient guidance, as well as his unfailing attention to every detail of their performance, they, as well as all of us, continued to improve steadily over the three weeks. The work for all of us was intensive but ultimately very rewarding. Audin would often play for us, either to demonstrate a concept he wanted to get across, or perhaps to show us "how the music goes. " It was a joy to hear him play - his tone always had that beautiful "ring" to it that I love so much in the French bassoon, and his technique and rhythm were unflaggingly accurate and precise to the most minute detail. (For those of you who are not familiar with his recording of the Concerto by jean Francaix, I strongly recommend it to you as an example of his wonderful style!) When I told him of the potential plans to have the I.D.R.S. Conference in Manchester, England, in August, 1989, 1 also expressed a hope that he could perform for us at that time. I promise the bassoon readership to continue to work toward that goal in the future.
My individual work with Mr. Audin was highly productive. He gave me many valuable insights into reedmaking for the Buffet as well as a lot of practical suggestions for solving intricate technical problems on the instrument via specialized fingerings and articulations to best fit the musical occasion. His observations were often highly insightful, such as his contention that one practices with a metronome more to improve one's artistic interpretation (within the tempo, that is) than to merely improve one's rhythm and rhythmic sense. It was a great privilege and honor to learn so much from him in such a short period of time.
On my way to Nice I had stopped in Paris to visit some old friends and to confirm some of the sad rumors that I had heard about the French bassoon continuing to lose ground to the fagott, even in France. Under the pressure of conductors who were exhorting the bassonists to switch to the German instrument, (probably because it is easier to control - especially in the low register), many players of the basson had, indeed, switched in recent years. Some of them, like Michel Denize, were playing both instruments. But most had turned their backs on the basson and embraced the fagott completely. And so when I went to Nice I was genuinely worried about the future of the instrument. I'm less worried now. As long as Gilbert Audin and Sylvain Lhiussier, and the other great artists of the French bassoon continue to play; as long as they and the Maitre Maurice Allard continue to pass down the great tradition of their art and style to the next generation, the likes of which I was privileged to hear in Nice; then I know now that it's going to take a lot more than a few disgruntled conductors to bring the great tradition of the French bassoon to an end!
