Album insights
The bassoon, often referred to as the "voice", has a profound resemblance to the human voice that composers have long admired. Despite this, the world of bassoon remains somewhat obscure, both due to its deep woodwind nature and its struggle to establish itself as a solo instrument in the music scene. For many, the bassoon lingers in a distant corner of consciousness - a remote voice from the depths of the orchestra occasionally rising to significant moments, offering a tantalizing peek into its expressive range. ||PARAGRAPH_START||The diverse musical selection on this CD doesn't aim to cover all facets of the bassoon comprehensively. Instead, it focuses on specific themes. Including a variety of folk songs, not commonly associated with the bassoon, reflects both personal musical preferences and the instrument's historical role in City Waites groups, predecessors of the modern bassoon, performing folk dances and melodies since medieval times. These delightful melodies find ideal expression in the modern bassoon's expressive sound. The lyrical qualities of the instrument, especially its beautiful tenor range, inspired the inclusion of Faure and Ravel pieces, originally intended for wordless voice. Elgar's Romance epitomizes pieces specifically tailored for the bassoon. The instrument's unmistakable humor shines through Victorian pieces like Fred Godfrey's Lucy Long and Gilbert Vinter's charming composition The Playful Pachyderm.
This CD is dedicated to the late founder of Hyperion Records Ltd, Ted Perry. In 1981, a time when solo bassoon recordings were rare, Ted, for his newly formed label Hyperion, not only embraced my French and English program featuring obscure works but also insisted on using a bizarre piece title as the album name, resulting in a cover design featuring a large green dinosaur with a bassoon for a tail standing on a floating piano keyboard. This audacious move, coupled with Ted's foresight, enthusiasm, determination, and musical sensibility, laid the foundation for one of the finest CD companies, leaving an invaluable mark on the musical world.
I also extend thanks to several individuals for their valuable contributions to this CD, including Graham Melville-Mason, Richard Moore, Karel Spelina, and Jiri Formacek in Prague for insights on Fucik's "Der alte Brummbär"; Matthew Hall from UMP and Michel Crichton from Alphonse Leduc for details on Faure's "Pièce"; Philip Scowcroft for information on the Godfrey family and J. Ord Hume. My gratitude goes out to numerous friends and colleagues who in various ways supported or contributed to this recording - especially Catriona McKay, who skillfully squeezed in the recording session (and two harp flights) between two international concert tours within an impossibly short timeframe.