The Tennessee Bassoon Quartet presented the very first musical offering of the WinstonSalem meeting. The quartet is a finely-honed ensemble consisting of four players from the Knoxville area: James Lassen, Michael Benjamin, James Lotz and Keith McClelland. The program was varied, well-prepared and played with a lot of spirit and good fun.
The opening number was a Fanfare by Jan Dismas Zelenka. David van Vactor's "Andante and Gavotte" is apparently a transcription of a work published as a wind quintet. The incidental music from "Amadeus" featured settings of Mozart's music used in the film. The announcement of the hitherto unknown musicological fact that all of the master's music was originally scored for bassoon quartet was greeted with serious appreciation by the audience.
An arrangement of Paul Desmond's "Take Five" gave an opportunity to hear some really fine jazz playing on a bassoon by James Lassen. Later we heard his dexterity in his own setting of "All Things Considered, A Set of Variations" in which he payed homage to the theme song for the National Public Radio news show music and in his "Music for Three just Fair Bassoons." Keith McClelland announced that the title was not meant to be faint praise for the intended players, but is a statement of the composer's intention that all the parts are equally divided - justly and fairly - amongst the three players. The quartet made a brief foray into trombone arrangements when it played the "Adagio from the Third Symphony" by Saint Saens. Quartet-member Michael Benjamin produced "Two Fugues" for the ensemble which played with careful attention to the contrapuntal detail and with fine balance. Scott Joplin's "Crush Collision March" re-enacted a train wreck. The "special chord" signifying the moment of impact had great poignancy spread amongst four bassoons.
The most astonishing and exciting presentation of the meeting was Charles Veazey's videotape showing his recent research on vibrato in all of the woodwinds. His presentation, entitled "The Observation of the Throat Area of Woodwind Instrumentalists During Performance Using Fibreoptics" showed the results of a fibre-optic laryngoscope being used on woodwind players to view the laryngeal area while playing. It was a vivid (in colour!) demonstration of the activity of the larynx. After seeing this video-tape there is no doubt in the viewer's mind that vibrato activity in woodwind players is laryngeal. Professor Veazey commented that he hoped to expand his work and we should all look forward to seeing further results.
Don Christlieb's life has been centered around chamber music, reed-making and the film studios. He gave a homey, free-ranging talk about his experiences in film studios. His very first paycheck went to retain an engineer who helped him design machines to produce reeds. He now produces 20,000 items per year. Don defined chamber music as "a way to avoid practicing alone" and recounted his experiences playing chamber music for Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg. More of Don's experiences can be found in the interviews by Charles Lipp in other issues of this publication. We saw far too little of Christlieb's fine film on reed-making and hope that it will be shown in its entirety at a future meeting.
Brian Kershner, professor of bassoon at Baylor University, presented a recital with the assistance of David Albee, piano and James Prodan, oboe. Kershner, who stood to play the program, has a clear, lyric tone. Bassoonists were impressed by the quietness of his bassoon keys! His program was well constructed, but balances suffered in the auditorium which favored treble sound.
The Schaffrath Duetto in F Minor opened his concert with its neighbouring allegro movements. Sherwood Shaffer's "Contemplation: Summer Solstice" (1976) for unaccompanied bassoon followed. The "Suite of Six French Songs of the Fifteenth Century" for oboe, bassoon and piano by Chicago Symphony principal bassoonist Willard S. Elliot. Elliot's trio has elaborate contrapuntal elements and is richly colorful. The instrumental balances must be handled carefully, a point which this ensemble did not always observe.
Alan Fox presented a lecture which included his observations on instrument acoustics and a demonstration of some of his instruments. During the demonstration phase, the audience had an opportunity to signify their choice of instrument by a show of hands. A telling observation was that listeners tend to choose instruments which are not chosen by players. Mr. Fox wondered if listeners and players couldn't get together to agree on this point.
The Buried Treasures Ensemble of the State University of New York at Buffalo is unusual and intriguing and provides an excellent model for chamber groups based in universities. After hearing them in Tallahassee the writer looked forward to hearing them again and was not disappointed. The ensemble at Winston-Salem was Ronald Richards, oboe and English horn; Darlene Jusilla, bassoon; Carlo Pinto, piano, and Adrienne Tworek-Gryta, soprano.
The ensemble has made serious commitment to performing old music as well as encouraging the creation of new works. Of great interest to double reed players was Henri Brod's "Trio Espagnol, Op. 5, No. 1", one of eight trios by the famous nineteenth century oboist. Miss Tworek-Gryta was heard in two works for the complete ensemble: "Three Songs of Madness on Poems by Pearl Richards" (1985) by ensemble pianist Carlo Pinto, "Three Songs of Women on Biblical Texts" (1983) by Abraham Cohen (sung in Hebrew) and "Le Retour a la Montagne" with Oboe and Piano by AdolpheCharles Adam. As a final confection we heard "Der Schaefer und die Schaeferin", a fantasie for oboe and bassoon, by H. Muechenberger. In an apologia, Mr. Richards admitted that, perhaps this work could not be played in many serious" concerts, but it almost had to be played for the I.D.R.S.! The work is indeed corny" - a salon piece in the romantic style - but great fun to hear. The audience approved with gusto. Darlene Jusilla's embracing tone was a delight to hear throughout.
On Basil Reeve's aristocrat ically presented evening concert Gareth Newman of London's BBC Concert Orchestra provided sterling support for the continuo line in Johann Philipp Kirnberger's "Sonata in B-flat Major". Reeve's performance of Robert Schumann's "Drei Romanzen" was unforgettable. These works, heard so often played as a substitute for a "sonata" were rendered as three poetic reflections - rare examples of "quiet music" in wind music repertoire. A further treat was hearing pianist Bruce Moss deliver yet another marvelous performance. As "House Pianist" he served with such distinction throughout the meeting he would surely have won "Hero of the Meeting" award had one existed.
It was a very good idea to have the 1985 winner of the Ferdinand Gillet Competition, Christian Davidsson, return to the 1986 meeting to present a recital - and later to appear with orchestra on the last evening of the meeting. Perhaps this can be arranged for all future winners to give members a chance to hear the winners a year later.
Davidsson presented a conservative program including the "Sonata in G Minor" by Vivaldi, the Allegro Moderato movement from Schubert's ... Arpeggione' Sonata", the Sonata in F
Minor by Telemann and Carl Maria von Weber's "Rondo Hungarian". Gerald Corey, playing on a Schreiber bassoon, acted as continuo bassoonist for the baroque works with Bruce Moss presiding at both harpsichord and piano. It was disappointing that Mr. Davidsson did not present an example of bassoon music from his own country. As an encore "Variations on 'Im Tiefen Keller' " was performed with great elan.
Davidsson's tone on his Schreiber bassoon is mellow and smooth. The high register is noteworthy for its lack of "spread". He stands to play and holds his instrument to the right, looking at the music to the left of the instrument. He has a pleasant, if a trifle severe, stage appearance, and exhibits none of the common bassoonist's grimaces or unnecessary nervous habits. Mr. Davidsson's appearance was through the courtesy of Boosey & Hawkes, Buffet Crampon USA, and Schreiber & Sohne, Nauheim, Germany.
The Georgia Woodwind Quartet, consisting of faculty members from the University of Georgia, produced a concert which displayed the versatility of its members. In "Intrada and Quick Step, 1986" for two oboes and two bassoons by ensemble bassoonist William Davis, Ronald Waln (flute), played bassoon and Theodore Jahn (clarinet), played oboe. It was fitting that this work should have its premiere performance at the Winston-Salem meeting. The work shows Mr. Davis' craftsmanship as a composer - a talent he shares with ensemble oboist John Corina.
The woodwind quartets (flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon) rounded out the concert. It was good to hear "Fragments" (1963) by Alvin Etler - a composer to whom wind players owe so much. Villa-Lobos "Quatuor" of 1928 made one wish that more of the composer's output was on a higher order of invention. The program was a fine example of what can be done to alleviate "quintet doldrums" by skillful and imaginative programming.
Marc Apfelstadt gave a well-organized and informative lecture-recital on "Canadian Music for Bassoon" with the aid of pianist Paul Stewart. It was a valuable summary of the repertoire produced for the bassoon by our northern neighbor's composers, including the "Sonatina" by Violet Archer, "Thoughts on an Ancient Japanese Melody" by Eliot Weisgarber, "Anerca I" by Milton Barnes, "Suite" by Richard Johnston and "Newfoundland Suite" by Brian Sexton. Apfelstadt played very well, and was more at home on his instrument than he was for the concert of jazz presented on the first night of the meeting.
The noted English bassoonist William Waterhouse presented a master class and a recital. For bassoonists, this was undoubtedly the event of most interest for the meetingWaterhouse's teaching was sensitive, on a high artistic level and delivered with great good humor.
In seeing Waterhouse play, this writer came to appreciate his (to most bassoonist's eyes) unconventional equipment. He has adapted the crook shape and hand rest for his long arms and tall trunk. He sat, for this concert, on two stacked chairs in order to find a chair seat of the proper height. As he played, it was easy to notice just how relaxed and "right" he looked. He sounded relaxed and right, too!
The program was inventive and revealing. Inventive because Mr. Waterhouse avoids the commonplace in presenting his program and revealing because of the research he does on the works which he freely shares with his listeners. Bruce Moss was again the accompanist without blemish.
The concert began with music by a bassoonist! Philipp Friedrich Boeddecker's "Sonata sopra la Monica" (1651), a set of bass variations under a popular tune of the day. Next Lewis Mercy's "Sonata in A Minor, Op. 3/6" was played with agility and elegance, prompting bassoon listeners to give another look at these English baroque works with their evocation of the old bassoon sound. Three unusual items followed: the allegro movement from Giacchino Rossini's "Concerto da Esperanza" written in Bologna in 1842 - one of three movements for bassoon by the famous opera composer; and two United States premieres of Concours works for the Paris Conservatoire: by Massenet (1882) and Ibert (1921).
The final offering was Gordon Jacob's " Partita for Unaccompanied Bassoon" (1969) which was written for William Waterhouse. Waterhouse told us that the original version of the work contained not a high el at the end but a high F. Indeed the f would match the motif b-natural, c-natural, f-natural found in the movement. He played the original version.
The members of the Sierra Wind Quintet
are all principal players of the Las Vegas Symphony Orchestra
and faculty members at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The
ensemble played two unashamedly contemporary works with vigor,
highly rhythmic playing and careful attention to detail. The players
are: Richard Doule, flute; Andrea Ridilla, oboe; William Power,
clarinet; Yoshiyuki Ishikawa, bassoon; and Kurt Snyder, horn.
Kathleen St. John's " 'Heliotrope' a Suite of Six Dances
for Woodwind Quintet" (1981) was a great pleasure to hear.
Intensely dissonant, but not unyieldingly so, she explores the
extremes of instrumental ranges with excellent effect. The scoring
is audacious and imaginative. The work displays fine craftsmanship,
careful editing of musical ideas and a valid sense of continuity.
St. John, a native Californian, is a pupil of Luciano Berio and
has won an ASCAP Award.
It is good to know that Mel Powell has created another chamber work for winds. His Divertimento (woodwind quartet plus trumpet) is a valuable part of the wind repertoire. His Woodwind Quintet (1985) was commissioned by the Sierra Wind Quintet and first performed by them at the California Institute of the Arts in 1985. The work is apparently a departure from Mr. Powell's previous efforts. The colors were dense with acute rhythmical demands for all players.
This ensemble displayed the finest ensemble sense heard at the meeting and delivered the music on a very high level of professional skill. If the skill and dedication of this ensemble is any indication, we can look forward to a well organized and fascinating meeting in Las Vegas in 1987. Yoshiyuki Ishakawa is the host.
Christopher Layer, a senior at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and a pupil of Homer Pence, performed the two jazz solos for bassoon by Stuart MacKay. He was ably accompanied at the piano by I.D.R.S. President, Cincinnati Orchestra substitute solo bassoonist and Florida State University professor William Winstead. MacKay's works have been published by Jack Spratt.
James Mendenhall, founder and conductor of the Collegium Musicum at the School of Music of Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, allowed listeners an opportunity to hear the antecedents of the bassoon when he played works on the alto curtal (in G), the tenor curtal and the bass curtal. With the alto curtal he was required to play unaccompanied because the pitch of his instrument did not match that of the keyboard in the hall. His program thoughtfully gave publication information for the material heard.
Crawford Hall at the North Carolina School of the Arts was a useful hall with a tendency to help the treble more than the bass. This produced a number of balance problems for bassoonists with pianists - a situation all too typical for recitalizing bassoonists! There were also occasions when the air conditioning was so cold that pitch and condensation problems were inevitable for those performing.
One had the sense, after leaving WinstonSalem, that there was not a lot of contemporary music heard at this year's meeting. On examination of the programs, however, it is clear that there really was a good deal of it presented. What was different, perhaps, is that there were no concerts labeled "new music for double reeds" and this is good, program balance being such an important part of any wind concert programming.
In the pet peeve department this writer heard a lot of "note crushing" from bassoonists. Note crushing is what happens when faster notes (usually 16ths!) follow slower ones and the player tries to play the faster notes even faster than the existing beat. Another pet peeve is sameness of articulation: we bassoonists must strive to vary our articulation more. Note starts should not all be the same throughout a work. Note lengths need to be evaluated with care so that boredom does not set in. And finally dynamics! The dynamic range of the bassoon is admittedly limited when compared, for example, to the horn. Sometimes what passes for forte is merely an increase of buzz in the tone with the result that pitch information is lost due to the increase of noise. Bassoonists must reinforce the apparent change of dynamics with careful attention to articulation, note length and dynamic contrast in order to make the most of the artistic qualities of our marvelous instrument. A final peeve is a small one: a request to those planning future programs that publication information be available on all the works presented at the meeting.