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98
No.
www.bdrs.org.uk registered charity number 1080461
Double Reed News
The magazine of the British Double Reed Society
Spring 2012
Anthony Robson
Cambridge
Double Reed Day
Guest Soloist
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Words from
our Chairman
Robert Codd
In this Issue...
”
Many years ago, on a satirical television programme, a news-reader, splendidly
attired in dinner-jacket and black bow tie, solemnly declared: ‘We regret to
announce that today there is no news. Nothing has happened. There is not even
any weather to report. Tune in tomorrow for an update.’
Tackling these Notes, I know how he feels. Of course, I too am impeccably
dressed, but there are few earth-shattering conflicts to announce, finances are
healthy, politics finely balanced; though there was, appropriately enough, thick
fog on the way home from the last Committee Meeting. Nevertheless, a lot has
been happening behind the scenes, most of it carried out by the aptly named
‘working parties’. I can claim little credit for any of this. Like Groucho Marx:
‘I have great admiration for work. I can sit and watch it all day.’
The Committee itself has seen several changes. We are sorry that
Jane Carrington-Porter has decided to resign, since she now lives in Devon and
finds the travelling involved too demanding. We thank her for all she has done
and wish her the very best for the future. We are, however, very pleased
to welcome three new members:
1. BARBARA LAKE joined us last summer. So far she has been a bassoon tutor
with the National Children’s Orchestra, taught at St. Paul’s Girls School, at Royal
College of Music’s Junior College for 13 years and at Dulwich College for 18
years. Do you feel she might be qualified to join the Education Committee?
2. ROBERT TILLEY trained as an economist at Keele University (England),
Kiel University (Germany) and has had careers at Chatham House and
the London Business School. With such a grasp of financial matters
we are indeed fortunate to have him with us.
3. Traders play a vital part at all conventions and we are delighted that
IAN CROWTHER has decided to act as their representative on the Committee,
keeping us in touch with current techniques, instruments and equipment, while
providing those of us over 18 with a regular supply of cigarette papers.
Most of the activity behind the scenes has been geared to the forthcoming
Convention. The working party has considered carefully the many comments
from members about this flagship event. The Convention this year will be held on
Sunday, May 6th in the magnificent new building of the Royal Welsh College of
Music and Drama in Cardiff. Much has changed for this institution from the days
when it was housed in Cardiff Castle. Students (and tutors) would frequently
climb onto chairs, in order to get a glimpse of the Castle clock to see how
much longer the lesson had to run! RWCMD has now been transformed, to
incorporate a concert hall, theatre,
exhibition area, studios, cafeteria and bar.
(This last mentioned should be available
during the AGM!)
3 Chairman’s Comments
Robert Codd
4 Editorial
Clive Fairbairn
6 Annual General Meeting
Sarah McClure
7 Annual Convention Preview
9 Reports & News
Roger Birnstingl
11 On the Road to a Rapid Staccato
Andrea Jayne Ridilla
16 Double Reeds Blossom in Cambridge
Trevor Barlow
18 The Fabulous Goossens Guys!
Althea Talbot-Howard
22 Composers’ Forum
Andrew Crossley
24 Bassonicus:
The Devil and all his Works!
Jefferey Cox
26 Brahms Sonata in Eb... for Bassoon!
Robert Codd
30 The Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Rachel Frost and Matthew Wilkie
33 A Fossati Experience
Geoffrey Bridge
36 Reviews
Frances Jones, John Orford,
Christine Pendrill, Hazel Todd
39 Noticeboard
40 Classified
41 Advertising, Membership, etc
Insert: Prevailing Winds
Andrew Crossley
A carefully constructed programme of events
awaits you. It involves such highly
distinguished soloists as John Anderson,
Lyndon Watts and Andrea Zucco, with Karl
Jenkins conducting his own works in the
Mass Play-In. We look forward to welcoming
you to the Convention or, in keeping with
the College’s bilingual constitution,
‘i’ch croesawu chi’n gynnes i’r Gymanfa.’
I think that sums it up.
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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The Editor’s Comment
Clive Fairbairn
British Double Reed Society
www.bdrs.org.uk
[email protected]
Joint Presidents
Roger Birnstingl, Karl Jenkins
Chairman
Robert Codd
[email protected]
Secretary
Sarah McClure
Wycombe Abbey School
High Wycombe HP11 1PE
[email protected]
Treasurer
Geoffrey Bridge
House of Cardean
Meigle, Perthshire PH12 8RB
[email protected]
Committee
Ian Crowther, Sarah Francis
Christine Griggs, Barbara Lake
Robert Tilley, (Ian Finn ex officio)
Membership
[email protected]
Education
[email protected]
Legal Services Co-ordinator
Nigel Salmon
4 Portelet Place, Hedge End
Southampton, Hants SO30 0LZ
A felicitous coincidence occurred during the BBC4 TV broadcast of
one of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe’s Brahms Prom concerts last
summer. The BBC just happened to pick an oboist and a bassoonist
from the orchestra’s membership for its informal interval chat. Could it
be that, out of the whole orchestra, they realised that they would get
the most sensible views, the most erudite comments, the most witty
responses from the elite double reed departments? Of course it was!
Watching the programme inspired me to contact COE and ask the
interviewees, Rachel Frost, second oboe and Matthew Wilkie, first
bassoon, to write about playing in this unique orchestra that has just
celebrated its 30th anniversary.
The Composers’ Forum returns from this issue onwards with a varied
crop of new compositions for 2012 and with an ever-widening
selection of instrumentation – but always including either oboe or
bassoon, and sometimes both. In this issue we include part of a wind
quintet by British-Mexican composer, Andrew Crossley, cleverly titled
(and inspired by the) Prevailing Winds. Don’t forget, we want to
publish your comments about our featured compositions, so do
try the samples out and contact the composers for full copies, too.
They may be students now but they could become the top composers
of the future!
There are devilish details to be found in Jefferey Cox’s current
Bassonicus article, and a fiendish idea from Martin Gatt to turn
a Brahms clarinet sonata into one for bassoon (suitably exorcised for
DRN by Robert Codd)!
Not one but several members of the Goossens family form the subject
of Althea Talbot-Howard’s interesting article and there is much else, as
usual, to be found in the pages of your quarterly society journal –
number 98.
What is it about numbers and anniversaries? Looking ahead,
DRN will reach a venerable 100 with its Summer issue: is this a matter
of celebration or just another edition? Do let me know if you have any
special ideas for that issue and, if you are thinking of writing for either
of the next two, the copy-dates are:
• March 15 (DRN 99)
• June 15 (DRN 100)
BDRS Web Manager
[email protected]
Double Reed News
Clive Fairbairn, Editor
Editorial enquiries only:
01494 520359
[email protected]
Advertising, Membership and other
BDRS/DRN details – see back page
ISSN 1460-5686
4
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
The Editorial P.O. Box address for Double Reed News was withdrawn at the end
of 2011. All communications should, where possible, be now via email or
telephone; if wishing to send material through the post, please contact the
Editor first by telephone or email to procure an appropriate address.
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British Double Reed Society |
Annual General Meeting
(Registered Charity No. 1080461)
Sunday 6th May 2012
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
Castle Grounds, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3ER
The Annual General Meeting for 2012 will be held in the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama on Sunday, 6th May 2012 during the
Double Reed Convention as advertised elsewhere in this issue of Double Reed News. Any member wishing only to attend the meeting
should return the Double Reed Convention application form suitably marked (without paying the entrance fee) to obtain details of the
timing of the meeting.
Agenda
1. Apologies for absence
2. Minutes of the 2011 AGM held at Clarendon Muse, Watford on 8th May 2011
3. Matters arising from the Minutes
4. Presentation of the Annual Report for 2011
5. Presentation of the Treasurer’s Report and Annual Accounts for 2011
6. Appointment of person(s) to undertake the independent examination of the 2012 accounts
7. Election of Officers and Committee members to serve for a period of three years commencing from the close of the meeting
8. Members’ Forum (at the discretion of the Chairman)
Notes
1. Advance copies of these reports will be available before the meeting; please contact the Secretary if you wish to receive
advance copies.
2. Nominations to serve on the Committee for three years must be received by the Secretary at least fourteen days before
the date of the AGM, i.e. by 22nd April 2012. Nomination forms can be obtained from the Secretary by application.
3. The Secretary is Sarah McClure, who can be contacted at Wycombe Abbey School, High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire HP11 1PE or by e-mail at [email protected]
Sarah McClure (Hon. Secretary)
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British Double Reed Society |
Sunday 6th May 2012
Annual Convention
10.00am – 5.00pm
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
Castle Grounds, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3ER
Featured Artists
John Anderson
Lyndon Watts
Principal Oboe, English
Chamber Orchestra
Professor of Oboe, Royal College
of Music, London and
Royal Welsh College of Music &
Drama, Cardiff
Principal Bassoon, Munich
Philharmonic Orchestra
Professor of Bassoon, Berne
University of the Arts,
Switzerland
Andrea Zucco
Meyrick Alexander
Principal Bassoon
Orchestra of the National
Academy of Santa Cecilia,
Rome
Head of Woodwind at the
Royal Welsh College of
Music & Drama,
Cardiff
Other Attractions
Mass play-in conducted by Karl Jenkins
Recitals
Masterclasses
Orchestral Repertoire Class
Reed Adjustment
Graded Ensemble Classes
Teachers’ Forum
Trade Stands
Photo: Nick Guttridge
• Free entry for school and college students
• Information from, and Application Forms returned to:
Convention Secretary, Ian Finn, 165 Hanover Road,
London NW10 3DN
• Trade Enquiries only to:
Geoffrey Bridge, Treasurer BDRS, House of Cardean,
Meigle, Perthshire PH12 8RB
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
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Photo: Nick Guttridge
to Cardiff and South Wales. The M4
provides a direct route between Cardiff,
Heathrow Airport and London, and is
easily accessible from other parts of the
UK.
Travelling west on the M4:
• Leave the motorway at Junction 29,
following the A48(M)/A48
• Follow signs to the A470/City Centre
• The Royal Welsh College of Music
& Drama is situated on the A470 on
the right hand side, opposite the
neo-classical buildings of the Civic
Centre, just before Cardiff Castle
Travelling east on the M4:
• Leave the motorway at Junction 32,
following the A470 towards the
City Centre
• The Royal Welsh College of Music and
Drama is situated on the right hand
side, opposite the neo-classical
buildings of the Civic Centre, just
before Cardiff Castle.
Concert Hall
How to get there
By Public Transport
Cardiff City centre is served by an
extensive public transport network
including mainline and network rail
services and local and regional bus
services.
Rail
The nearest local rail station is at Cathays
on the Valleys Lines network, while
Cardiff Central is the closest mainline
station with frequent services operating
between Cardiff and all major British
cities. A half-hourly service connects
Cardiff with London Paddington Station in
less than two hours. Approximate journey
times to other cities include:
• Bristol (50 mins)
• Birmingham (2 hrs 10 mins)
• Southampton (2 hrs 30 mins)
• Manchester (3 hrs)
• Liverpool (3 hrs)
For timetable and ticket enquiries, visit
the National Rail Enquiries website or
telephone 08457 484950.
8
Bus
Local and regional bus services (Cardiff
Bus 21, 23, 25 and 27) regularly pass the
front door of the College as do a range of
services on the Stagecoach and National
Express network. Buses depart from the
main bus terminus in front of Cardiff
Central train station. Visit the Cardiff Bus
website or telephone 0870 608 2608 for
further details.
On Foot
Situated in the Centre of Cardiff, the
College is close to several public
transport hubs, making it ideal for
reaching on foot. The College is just a
20-minute walk from Cardiff Central
Station, 15 minutes from Cardiff Queen
Street and 5 minutes from Cathays Station.
By Taxi
Taxis from the Cardiff Central train station
will cost approximately £5-£6.
By Car
The M4 motorway, crossing the Severn
Bridge near Bristol, is the major road-link
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
Car Parking
The parking spaces at the College are
restricted to disabled badge-holders only.
However, there are pay-and-display car
parks adjacent to the College on either
side (free after 6pm).
There is further parking available
throughout the Civic Centre, opposite the
College's main entrance on the other side
of North Road, and is operated via a payand-display system (free after 6pm).
There are also a number of multi-storey
car parks in the city centre, 5-10 minutes
walk from the College.
By Air
Cardiff Airport is situated 11 miles
from the city centre. There are regular
scheduled flights from Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Jersey,
Paris, Amsterdam, Geneva, Milan
and other European destinations.
From London's Heathrow and Gatwick
airports, there are frequent, direct coach
services to Cardiff Central Station. Visit
the National Express website for details
or telephone +44 (0)8705 808080.
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Reports and News
JEWM Launchpad Prize: Les Trois Canards
This is the third ensemble we are featuring as a result of being the recipient of a Launchpad Prize awarded
annually through the music conservatoires by June Emerson Wind Music.
Les Trois Canards is made up of three postgraduate
oboe students – Laura Cosgrove, Beatrice Hubble and
Kirsten King – from the Royal Northern College of
Music.
The trio was formed in September 2009 and has
already achieved success, having made it to the final
of the Woodwind Chamber Music Prize in both 2010
and 2011.
The trio has also taken part in masterclasses in both
Manchester and London. In March 2011 it had the
opportunity to provide a whole recital programme as
part of the Monday Lunchtime concert series at the
RNCM.
Les Trois Canards enjoys playing a wide range of
music, from baroque to contemporary, as well as
discovering some of the lesser known works written
for oboe trio. In 2011 they recorded Intercession by
James Macmillan forming part of a new CD of
woodwind works performed by students at the RNCM.
IDRS 41st Annual Conference
The International Double Reed Society will be holding its 2012 Conference from July 7th to 11th in Oxford, Ohio, USA. It will take place
at the Miami University and further details can be found on www.idrs2012.com
Saint Fagott's Eve
was celebrated last November in style, and honoured by Roger Birnstingl and others who wished to
reverse this serious historical omission.
Haven’t you heard of Saint Fagott? Look
in the dictionary of saints and you should
find him. You will learn that he is the
patron saint of bassoonists and might be
termed a 'latter day saint' because he was
only martyred in the eighteenth century
in Provence, by Dagobert le Grand. His
‘crime’ was playing some fifty-two
variations sopra la Monica all in Bb
major. Listening to this the king got so
bored that he ordered the poor dulcianist
to be burned on a pyre of arundo donax.
Thus it was that the first event was held in
London, in the Knights’ Templar pub on the
corner of Chancery Lane and Carey Street,
which proved an ideal venue as there was
no potted music and the non-modernised
decor was entirely suitable. The food is
good, the beer excellent and well kept.
I am ashamed to admit that, even after
some 60 years of bassooning, I had never
heard of this obscure saint. Not so Gavin
Nearly twenty bassoonists turned up,
some of whom were not born when I left
England for Switzerland in 1977, making
McNaughton and Bob Bourton whom we
must thank for finally, some 250 years
later, deciding it was high time to
celebrate this sainted bassoonist.
me feel decidedly grandfatherish. We
were asked by Bob not to talk reeds, a
request which was strictly upheld. For
me, no longer a part of the London
bassoon scene, this was an exceptionally
enjoyable evening out and I was able to
meet many of my old friends.
It was such a success that Bob Bourton
will organise this as an annual event, and
he would like to encourage bassoonists
everywhere to institute their own local
celebrations on the Saint's day, which
falls on the second Monday of November,
a felicitous day for London musicians
there being few concerts.
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On the Road to a Rapid Staccato
When the wind is as free as the breath and the tongue is as light and bouncy as a ping-pong ball,
solo oboist and university professor Andrea Jayne Ridilla claims that the only limitation to inspiring your
audience is your imagination.
the music and the communicative intent
of the performer. Likewise, there are
many roads to achieving a rapid staccato.
The Reed
Easier said than done…
When it comes to speed and rapid
staccato on the oboe, there is a dearth of
published literature to help an oboist who
is struggling with fast single tonguing. Of
all the challenges that the oboe presents,
the artistic use of the tongue at a lively
tempo is one of the most difficult to
master. Universal solutions are unrealistic
because there are many differently styles
and approaches to playing. There is not
one right answer, and both impediments
and successes are different in every case.
Some players are gifted, to whom a fast
tongue comes naturally, but sadly I
was not one of them. For many years,
I was clouded in sheer mystery about
articulation. After years of empirical
research, and teaching students who were
‘detachment-challenged’, I began to
comprehend articulation by taking the
puzzle apart piece by piece.
A clear mental concept is a good startingpoint for solving any technical problem,
but having some technique to back you
up can be a lifesaver. Articulation is not
just a technical device. It is one of the
chief tools of expression – just as
important as phrasing, vibrato and
dynamics – in executing a beautiful
phrase. There are many types of
articulation depending upon the style of
It (almost) goes without saying that the
reed is a key component of a lively,
artistic and rapid staccato. Even though
everyone’s reeds are different, there are
a few universal principles for success
in articulation: for example it is important
to have a good gouge that will not
allow the reed to collapse during rapid
articulation. Also the absence of a burr –
the thin horizontal rail across the tip of
the reed where the air first enters it – is
vital to instant vibration. The burr is like
the door of the reed; removing it ‘opens
the door’ to the wind and makes
articulation easier because the reed can
re-vibrate without muscular force. The
reed must be able to accept the constant
airflow being fed to it. Otherwise it will
inhibit, rather than facilitate, rapid and
resonant articulation.
A halogen high-intensity magnifier desk
lamp is indispensable for noticing reedmaking flaws. The reed must vibrate freely
to articulate with ease. Reeds that vibrate
freely and systematically, according to a
prescribed style, are a pre-requisite for
successful, rapid and resonant staccato.
The Air
Renaissance Moment 1:
Air is the essence of wind playing. Air
creates the sound in both legato and
staccato (detached) playing — the tongue
simply interrupts the tone. Air is power!
An articulation is as much about hearing
the next note as it is about interrupting
the previous one. Who cares how fast
your tongue can move if you don’t hear
the next note? Tone is the most important
element in articulation. Listen for the next
sound, rather than to think about its
interruption and the tongue will follow.
But again, it is not always this easy.
Renaissance Moment 2:
The air must remain constantly at the tip
of the reed in oboe playing – not at the
vocal cords and not at the back of the
oral cavity, but rather at the tip of the
reed!
Normal breathing comes naturally and
without much thought, but a wellsupported breath is necessary in speaking,
singing and wind instrument playing. If
you are a trained singer, you may have an
advantage in playing the oboe when it
comes to tone production. But if not,
you will most likely use your wind
instinctively as you do in speaking.
How we approach the oboe initially
relates often to how we use language.
Certain languages employ a more
constant wind flow at the lips and a more
flexible tongue than others, creating a
definite advantage for articulation. As a
native English speaker, I have not always
felt it natural to maintain constant airflow
at the lips. It is not uncommon for English
speakers to complete a full sentence
without ever taking a breath. In fact,
many sounds in the English language
have their primary place of articulation
near the back of the oral cavity. Despite
the placement of articulation, however,
speaking any language on a full breath
is preferred for refined and elegant
communication.
After having studied French and Italian for
many years, and most recently Spanish, I
realised that the way I use air in speaking in
my native tongue has been handicapping
my articulation on the oboe. Unlike Italian
and Spanish, English is not a language that
is often spoken with a constant flow of air
at the lips (where the opening of the oboe
reed is). English speakers also do not use
the tongue to roll consonants, but a rolling
tongue is a relaxed tongue. (See over for
more on using the tongue.)
Language employs both vowels and
consonants. I have found success in using
variations of language in my articulation.
The Spanish and Italian rolled ‘r’ allows
for tongue flexibility. Using the French
‘t-eux’ / ‘d-eux’ at the onset of articulation
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both of which spell disaster.
Figure 1
Exercise 1:
Feeling Constant Air at the Lips:
Place your index finger at your lips. Take
a breath and sing the syllable ‘Lu,’ or the
French, ‘L-eux’ in semiquavers from 100
to 120 on the metronome. You should feel
air flowing at your fingertip throughout
the entire passage. If not, it may be time
to revisit your fundamentals. Posture, or
body movement, and breath support are
beyond the scope of this article but are
critical for successfully delivering air to
the tip of the reed.
Figure 3
The Tongue
To understand articulation better, it is
particularly helpful to have a vivid
imagination for making connections. Just
as in speaking, colourful oboe playing is
like an artist’s palette, employing a wide
variety of articulations.
Figure 2
rather than the English ‘t-eee’ / ’d-eee’ or
‘too’ / ‘doo’ allows air to flow more freely
to the lips and reed.
To understand airflow more, it may also
be necessary to dig deep into your past
and those fundamentals of oboe playing.
If the air is not a constant at the lips and
the tip of the reed, you may want to
consider changing your way of thinking
about tone production (see my article
To Clamp or not To Clamp, Double
Reed News 86/20, Spring 2009). Any
obstruction or constriction in the
respiratory highway from the lungs to
the reed will inhibit steady airflow to
the tip of the reed. Be sure to review the
muscular actions at the glottis, the space
between the vocal cords (Figure 1).
Closure of this space can act as a valve,
restricting airflow to the reed and
generating unwanted backpressure,
12
To many of us, the tongue is a mystery.
You can study its intrinsic and extrinsic
muscles, but that may not be an efficient
use of your time. On the road to building
a rapid staccato there are a few important
things to know. Firstly, the tongue is not
a tool used to hit the reed or the note
(Figure 2). Erase from your memory terms
like ‘attacking the note’ or ‘tonguing the
note’. These terms tend to draw mental
pictures of tension and force that are
subconscious and difficult to dispel.
A more helpful mental image for artistic
articulation is ‘releasing the tone’
(Figure 3).
The tongue should be as relaxed as
possible, from the tip to the root in
the throat. It is not necessary to tighten
the tongue to articulate; instead, it’s
just the opposite. It is necessary to relax
the tongue to articulate. Keeping the
tongue relaxed will assure that only a
small part of it will move during
articulation.
Learning how to relax the tongue is easy
if you study your favourite dog. When a
dog is happy and relaxed, his tongue
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
Figure 4
hangs all the way out of his mouth as he
pants. Allow your tongue to imitate the
dog’s tongue (Figure 4).
Exercise 2:
Relaxing the Tongue:
Place the reed on your lower lip. Extend
your tongue halfway down the top blade
of the reed, just like the dog in Figure 4.
Breathe in and play. Your tongue will
rebound from the reed, allowing for a
clear beginning to the note as the air
vibrates the reed. Remember this feeling
of a relaxed tongue. Muscle memory will
become one of your greatest assets in
successful articulation.
Strive to keep your tongue as relaxed
as possible throughout the entire phrase
whether in fast or slow tempos. Keeping
the tongue relaxed is important at the
first articulation of the phrase, as well
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loudspeaker?... ’Be careful of the moving
sidewalk; you are approaching the
moving sidewalk; watch your step on the
moving sidewalk’ (Figure 5). Think of the
air as a moving sidewalk in your oral
cavity. Even when you exit the moving
sidewalk, it continues to move. This is like
the air in the oral cavity; it is always in
motion towards the embouchure.
Figure 5
as for articulated notes during a phrase.
It becomes more difficult to relax at
quicker tempos, nevertheless don’t
give up!
Backpressure
Renaissance Moment 3:
Backpressure can be your friend (yes,
really!) if it is directly behind the reed
and if the tip of your reed is in lip tissue.
If you ask an oboist if backpressure is a
positive or a negative in oboe playing, the
answer is almost sure to be a resounding
‘Negative!’ But this isn’t necessarily true.
In fact, properly placed backpressure sets
the stage for the tongue’s ‘rebound stroke’
discussed below. But first, let’s look at
how to generate, and place, backpressure
for maximum effect.
Creating backpressure begins with flow.
As mentioned earlier, air must flow
constantly from the lungs to the tip of the
reed throughout the musical phrase.
A wonderful image for keeping air
flowing in the oral cavity is the analogy
of the moving sidewalk at the airport.
Remember hearing the mantra on the
A cone-shaped embouchure is ideal for
creating backpressure at the tip of the
reed. The size of the embouchure is a
direct consequence of the size of the oral
cavity and vice versa. Therefore it makes
sense to approach embouchure from
the perspective of the oral cavity. The
geometric shape of your oral cavity plays
an important role in how air is delivered
to the reed. If it is in the shape of an ice
cream cone, with the tip of the cone at
the embouchure, airflow will inevitably
become concentrated at the tip of the
reed. All of the flow cannot enter the
reed at once because the reed and
embouchure are too small. The
backpressure becomes like a miniature
spinning baseball right behind the
reed. The amount of backpressure is
determined by the speed of the flow that
replenishes the ‘ball’ after air enters the
reed. For faster wind speed at the reed,
increase the flow of air from your lungs
into the ‘ball’ of backpressure. Air spins
off of this ‘ball’ to vibrate the reed.
Become aware of, and respect the
existing backpressure – allow it to
exist and don’t fight it.
To understand airspeed in relation to the
imaginary ‘ball’ of backpressure, consider
the Bernoulli Principle, a theorem of fluid
dynamics developed by Daniel Bernoulli
(1700-1782) a contemporary of J.S. Bach.
According to the Bernoulli Principle, air
travelling over a curved surface moves
faster than air travelling on a straight
surface. Imagine the air molecules at your
soft palate bouncing down to the back of
your imaginary baseball and curving over
it to vibrate the tip of the reed. The curve
helps to speed up the air. Faster-moving
air produces a tone with more complex
overtones. Conceptualising the wind from
behind the baseball of backpressure,
curving over into the reed renders the
embouchure flexible. The result is a
focused tone without force. Almost
magically, you will be able to execute
more facile register and dynamic changes
with newfound airspeed and flexibility.
Oboists can now become as agile and
athletic as clarinettists!
A Caveat:
If the chin is stretched and flat in playing,
the oral cavity will be rectangular. It will
be difficult to use the backpressure to its
best advantage in this case. Playing with a
flat chin makes it difficult to keep the tip
of the reed in lip tissue. Experiment with
oral cavity shapes to maximise efficiency
in tone production.
The Rebound Stroke
Articulation, both in speaking and in
oboe playing is a ricochet, or rebound,
away from sound. In speaking,
articulations manifest themselves in
the form of consonants, followed by
elongated vowel sounds. Therefore,
consonants ricochet from vowel sounds.
In oboe playing, articulations, whether
accented or subtle, are interruptions of
the wind by the tongue as it ricochets
away from the air and reed.
Tongue movements may be up and down,
or forward and backwards during
articulation. What is important is the light
rebound motion of the tongue that allows
the backpressure to re-vibrate the reed.
Only a tiny part of the tongue should
touch the reed, so as not to impair the
reed’s instant re-vibration. Examine your
tongue with all of its tiny dots and imagine
that only one of those dots will rebound
away from the reed in an articulation.
Your Imagination: let’s pretend
Success in articulation is ultimately about
sensation. We are going to use our
imagination to learn to feel articulation
objectively away from the oboe. Pretend
you are a drummer. You are going to
master a stroke that is central to a fine
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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Figure 6 (Rossini’s Overture to La Scala di Seta)
and well-rounded percussionist’s
technique and apply it to the tongue!
Remember our mini-baseball? For this
exercise, let it metamorphose into a
mini-snare drum in your imagination –
and you are the drummer!
The stroke you are going to master is a
relaxed Rebound Stroke. (You may need to
take a few drum lessons to get the total
experience!) If possible, borrow a
drumstick, hold it loosely in your hand
(have a drummer show you how) and
bounce it on a drumhead. Because of the
elasticity of the drumhead, the stick will
rebound as long as you don't use any
tension or pressure to stop it. Keep your
forearm and wrist relaxed. The more you
squeeze the stick, the more tension that's
produced in the forearm. More tension
results in slower strokes. The tension on the
head will determine the rate of rebound,
not the muscular tension in your arm.
Exercise 3:
To perfect your Rebound Stroke, practise
working up to 8 bounces with each stroke
of your stick. Breaking down semiquaver
patterns into a descending pattern, with the
largest number being the heaviest and 1
being the lightest, use a full wrist motion
on every stroke. Start with two bounces per
stroke, then three, then four, etc as shown
below. Remember to let the drumhead do
the work of rebounding the stick back up.
Stay as relaxed as possible at all times!
2-1… 3-2-1… 4-3-2-1… 5-4-3-2-1…
14
6-5-4-3-2-1… 7-6-5-4-3-2-1…
8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
Exercise 4:
Transferring this to the tongue is easy:
practise articulating with the tongue
bouncing off the roof of your mouth,
using the syllables ‘ta-da.’ Begin with
2 notes until you reach a group of 8:
2-1… 3-2-1… 4-3-2-1… 5-4-3-2-1…
6-5-4-3-2-1… 7-6-5-4-3-2-1…
8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
Accent the first note of each group
and allow your tongue to rebound on
subsequent numbers. You will notice that
the tongue hits the roof of your mouth at
a slightly different place at each number,
and at a slightly different place on the
tongue. Each articulation/note has a
different gesture, preventing the tongue
muscle from reaching the point of
exhaustion.
Now add the oboe and reed. Remember
that the air continues to move towards
the tip of the reed. The backpressure is
maintained and concentrated behind the
tip of the reed. This backpressure is the
drumhead. The airspeed is the tension on
the head. Remember also that the tension
on a drumhead determines the rate of
rebound.
While keeping your tongue relaxed, allow
it to bounce off the backpressure, which
will feel taut like a drumhead. Only a
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
very small part of your tongue will hit the
reed. The faster the articulation, the faster
the wind speed must become. Don’t
force, but rather allow flow. The tongue
will not tire because each gesture of
articulation is slightly different. You are
tonguing ‘on the wind’ and at the same
time the backpressure re-vibrates the reed
to produce the next sound.
The numbers are not related to volume,
but rather weight and gesture; therefore
this technique may be used within a
crescendo or diminuendo passage
without interrupting the music.
A good piece of music with which to
practise this technique is Rossini‘s
Overture to La Scala di Seta (Figure 6).
Gain speed by monitoring your practice
with a metronome.
Be sure to practise the rebound
articulation technique daily. The sensation
is as important as the intellectual
comprehension and it is easy to lose. Stay
on the narrow road and you will see that
with patience, practice and perseverance
you too can achieve a rapid and resonant
staccato!
Andrea Jayne Ridilla would like to
invite members of BDRS to the 2012
International Double Reed Society
Conference, of which she is co-host, to
be held at Miami University from July 7th
to 11th, where Andrea is Professor of
Oboe. Everyone is welcome!
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Telephone: 01727 846055
Order Hotline: 01727 848495
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Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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Double Reeds Blossom in Cambridge
As Spring approaches, it will again soon be time for the ACE Foundation’s Double Reed Day, with
baroque specialists Anthony Robson (oboe) and Philip Turbett (bassoon). Last Spring it was the turn for the
bassoons only; Trevor Barlow took the photographs and reports now for DRN.
given the chance to prepare movements
from Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto which
they were then able to work through with
Philip in a masterclass.
44 Bassoons at ACE Music Day
On a quiet Sunday last April, if you had
chanced upon the music department of
Sawston Village College, Cambridgeshire,
you would have been met by a
remarkable site: a forest of bassoons, over
40 in total, including 4 contrabassoons.
Players of all ages and abilities gathered
to take part in a day of playing,
rehearsing and advice. The bassoon is
often an instrument that gets overlooked
or bundled together with other
instruments, so last Spring the ACE
Foundation with Philip Turbett and
Graham Dolby sought to rectify this by
running a music day solely for this noble
instrument.
There were younger participants who had
‘never seen so many bassoons!’ and
others who within the first few hours
remarked, ‘Today is great;
I’ve learnt so much already!’
and by the end of the day,
‘Quite an experience; I have
had a fantastic day’.
Specialising in period orchestral playing,
he has acquired a wide collection of
bassoons allowing him to offer authentic
performances of music from all eras; it
was a delight to have him share his
knowledge and passion with the group.
Under the skilled guidance of Philip and
local tutors, the participants made their
way through a huge range of repertoire
for small groups and full ensemble,
including The Flight of the Bumblebee
and bespoke arrangements by Jon Halton.
It’s quite something to hear The Flight of
the Bumblebee on 20 bassoons! (A
recording can be found on the ACE
Foundation Facebook page.) As well as
playing, participants were treated to an
informative talk and demonstration of
historic instruments from Philip and
Wood Wind & Reed’s Daniel Bangham.
More advanced participants were also
The Day was expertly led by
Phillip and local course
director Graham Dolby.
Phillip has been a bassoonist
with the Orchestra of the Age
of the Enlightenment, the
English Baroque Soloists, the
Academy of Ancient Music
and the London Mozart
Players. He is Professor of
Bassoon at Trinity Laban
Conservatoire, London.
16
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
Participants enjoyed listening to
demonstration concerts and a Wood,
Wind & Reed trade stand was on hand
so they could talk to experts about
instruments and accessories. The day was
interspersed with welcome refreshment
breaks (including homemade flap-jack)
and all participants had a chance to try
out a contrabassoon. Despite many
having only seen the music on the day,
the groups gratifyingly got through a huge
range of music, which was warmly
received by family and friends at an
informal presentation of everyone’s hard
work at the end of the day.
The ACE Foundation
The ACE Foundation is an established
educational charity which, over the last
couple of years, has been running a
collection of one day music courses in
Cambridge. ACE has an excellent record
of well organised and presented Music
and Arts events and its ambition is to
provide opportunities for all ages and
abilities to learn from and, most
importantly, work with professional
musicians and artists of the highest
calibre; this bassoon day was no
exception.
Philip Turbett
ACE Music events bring
together a diverse range
of players that share an
enthusiasm for creating,
listening and learning about
music. Each course is led by
a well renowned and
respected senior tutor, who
inspires and coaches all the
participants. The days are
usually open to musicians
of all ages, abilities and
experience who have a
chance to work in smaller,
grade-determined groups and
together as a large ensemble.
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One player, when commenting on an ACE
Foundation music day, proclaimed it was,
‘The greatest day of my life!’.
The ACE Foundation is a Cambridgebased educational charity founded in
1958 with the object of encouraging and
developing cultural understanding. It
provides and supports projects, courses
and summer schools, locally and
internationally and has a pioneering role
in adult and continuing education. In
addition to UK courses, the Foundation
provides a host of educational activities,
from worldwide study tours to financial
support for a variety of educational
projects around the globe. Many are
music projects such as the Mathieson
Music Trust in India.
ACE Cultural Tours
The ACE Foundation wholly owns ACE
Cultural Tours, which provides tours that
educate and entertain in equal measure,
blending cultural sightseeing with
privileged visits and explanatory talks.
For further information on these tours
visit www.aceculturaltours.co.uk
Bury Farm
The ACE Foundation hopes to hold its
future courses at Bury Farm, Stapleford,
near Cambridge, where it is transforming
the already stunning site into a study
centre for art, music and culture. The plan
includes two performance/exhibition
areas as well as smaller classrooms,
workshops and community spaces. The
first phase is currently under construction
and will provide a permanent home and
office accommodation for the Foundation
and the Cultural Tours.
The day is sure to have all the warmth
and enjoyment of the previous year’s
Bassoon Day. There will be ensembles of
differing abilities and instrumentation plus
the opportunity to share in the enjoyment
of all playing in the Royal Fireworks
Music by Handel, complete with horns,
trumpets and timpani.
Cambridge Woodwind Trust
Space has also been found in the stable
block to host the workshop of musical
instrument maker, Daniel Bangham, who
lives locally but has an international
reputation for authentic clarinets. Daniel
is currently setting up a new charity, the
Cambridge Woodwind Trust, to train
future generations in the art and craft of
instrument making. He is an expert in
adapting musical instruments for disabled
players and Bury Farm will be the hub of
both of these activities.
Photo: Megan Russell
DRN98-2.qxp
Cambridge Double Reed Day 2012
For now the foundation continues to host
its courses in other local venues and they
have a great range of music art and
literature courses available for 2012.
ACE Foundation hopes you will be keen
to attend the Cambridge Double Reed
Day with Anthony Robson which is to
be held at St Faith’s School on 13th May,
from 9.30am
to 6.00pm,
including a
presentation
for friends and
family at 5.00.
Daniel Bangham (L) with Philip Turbett
All oboe and
bassoon
players from
grade 3 to
diploma are
invited to join
Anthony as he
hosts a very
special day of
double reed
music-making.
Anthony Robson
Anthony will present a demonstration
concert, talk about historical instruments
and will be joined by top professional and
local musicians including Philip Turbett.
Daniel Bangham will talk about his
experience with the BBC television
programme Scrapheap Orchestra, bringing
with him the oboes and bassoons that he
made from scrap materials (featured in the
Winter issue of Double Reed News) for
the Human Planet Prom at the Royal
Albert Hall last Summer.
To book a place on the double reed day
please go to
www.acefoundation.org.uk/courses/music
or call 01223 839399.
For a full list of art, music and literature
courses see
www.acefoundation.org.uk/courses
or to request a booklet of events
please email [email protected]
or book online at
www.acefoundation.org.uk/courses/music
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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The Fabulous Goossens Guys!
Oboist Althea Talbot-Howard reflects on the brilliant careers of Eugène and Léon Goossens that have inspired the
choice of some of her recital repertoire for 2012.
central figures in a period of exponential
growth in the musical life of Britain.
A Brief History of the
Goossens Family
Sir Eugène Goossens, KBE
(1893-1962)
Conductor, Composer, Pianist
and Violinist
Léon Goossens, CBE
(1897-1988)
Solo oboist
Sir Eugène Goossens was the elder
brother of renowned oboist Léon
Goossens and, perhaps surprisingly to
modern audiences, even more celebrated
than his sibling. Although 2012 marks the
fiftieth anniversary of the family's annus
horribilis – namely the death of Sir
Eugène and the serious car accident
of Léon – it nonetheless presents an
opportunity to look back with admiration
at two wonderful musicians who were
18
The Goossens family originated in Bruges,
Belgium. The second son of a master
silversmith, Eugène Goossens (b. 1845) –
grandfather to Sir Eugène and Léon – was
discovered in childhood to have had a
beautiful singing voice, and eventually
went to the Brussels Conservatoire to train
as a violinist. He subsequently married
the dancer, Célane van Dieghem
(Madame Sidonie), and emigrated to
London in the early 1870s and he
eventually gained the post of Principal
Conductor with the Carl Rosa Opera
Company. Their son, Eugène Goossens II
(b. 1867), succeeded him in this post and
married one of the company contraltos,
Annie Cook.
Eugène II and Annie Cook seem to have
been extremely well-matched in a
number of ways, not least in that Annie's
grandfather had worked as a silversmith
in the City before his family trade also
changed to music. Eugène II and Annie
had five living children, all of whom were
trained from a young age to become
professional musicians. Eugène III
(b. 1893, later Sir Eugène) was the eldest
child, followed by Marie, Adolphe, Léon
(b. 1897) and Sidonie. Adolphe died in
action at the Battle of the Somme in
1916, but all the other children survived
to adulthood and became highly
respected members of the music
profession.
The Secret of their Success
The phenomenal success of the third
Goossens generation would seem to be
attributable to several factors. Firstly, there
was the dynastic impulse. As in the case
of violinist and conductor Maxim
Vengerov, the presence of musicallyaccomplished parents and grandparents
meant that a musical career became an
obvious choice, and the opportunity was
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
there to start young and work diligently,
under strong and knowledgeable parental
supervision. Secondly, there was the
immigrant dynamic: that drive which was
essential for all ambitious immigrant
families making their way without the
social-security blanket available today.
It was this drive which led Eugène II to
impose the strict discipline on all his
children that made music practice nonnegotiable. Each child had to be fully
prepared to earn his or her own living
and parental expectations were high for
boys and girls alike.
This leads to the third point. The wellestablished tradition of professional
female performers in both the Goossens
and Cook families was yet another factor
which permitted this third generation to
flourish so abundantly. From the early
nineteenth century onwards, respectable
women could have public stage careers.
Bearing in mind the example of their
mother and grandmothers – for Annie's
mother, Harriet Payne, was also a
celebrated opera singer – the professional
success of Marie and Sidonie Goossens
becomes less surprising. They led the
way as female professional harpists and
enjoyed long and glittering orchestral and
solo careers. Marie played for nineteen
years with the LSO, whilst Sidonie was a
founder-member of the BBCSO, and only
retired her post of Principal Harp in 1981
after a remarkable fifty years in office!
Setting the Record Straight
about Captain Cook
Much as one hates to pour cold water
over a family myth (if such an image
is allowable), Annie Cook Goossens’
belief1,2 that she was a fifth-generation
descendant of Captain James Cook seems
to be unfounded. It would be marvellous
to think that Léon Goossens had the
blood of Britain's greatest explorer and
navigator running through his veins, but
it is not possible. Of Captain Cook's six
children, only the eldest, James, reached
his majority, and he died unmarried, at
sea, at the age of 31.
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Sir Eugène Goossens
– Conductor
Like his father and grandfather, Sir Eugène
Goossens was an accomplished conductor
and violinist and also a pianist. However,
his love for the violin did not match theirs.
Whilst struggling through Viotti's twentythird concerto at the conservatoire in
Bruges, to which he was sent during his
teens, a bust of Schumann that was in the
room fell to the floor and shattered.
Goossens took this as an omen, and after
a short stint as a violinist in Sir Henry
Wood's Queen's Hall Orchestra, moved
into conducting as soon as he could,
encouraged by Sir Thomas Beecham.
Beecham's patronage meant that
whereas Eugène's forebears spent their
careers principally as conductors of the
Carl Rosa Opera Company, he achieved
international acclamation as a symphonic
as well as operatic conductor. His success
was sealed when he conducted the first
British concert performance of The Rite of
Spring in 1921, in the presence of both
Stravinsky and Diaghilev. Goossens' guest
conductorships included the Queen's
Hall Orchestra, the BBCSO and the
New York Philharmonic. He enjoyed
long-standing principal conductorships
in Cincinnati and Sydney, and was the
driving force behind the construction of
the Sydney Opera House at Bennelong
Point, overlooking the harbour.
Goossens was a great exponent
of contemporary music, and his
championing of Stravinsky's work went
far beyond the premiere of The Rite of
Spring. Other living composers whose
work he presented and recorded included
Vaughan Williams, Holst, Walton and
Delius; Sibelius, Ravel and other
composers of Les Six; Respighi; and the
American composers Copland, William
Grant Still, Walter Piston and William
Schuman. Goossens was renowned for his
economy of movement and decorum
on the podium. This sometimes led to
accusations of emotional coldness, but
many contemporaries speak of the
understated emotional intensity of his
performances. He inherited from his
father and grandfather great precision in
the understanding and preparation of
scores, and this stood him in good stead
as the recording industry expanded in the
first half of the last century. In addition to
preparing meticulously the most complex
modern works, he demanded such
precision from his orchestras that
standards in the recording-studio rose
across the board. He recorded more than
240 works and collaborated with some
of the greatest soloists of the twentieth
century including Fritz Kreisler, Jascha
Heifetz and Dame Nellie Melba.
Sir Eugène Goossens
– Composer
Sir Eugène's big innovation to the family
tradition was to achieve a degree of
recognition as a composer. Unlike Gustav
Mahler though, who possessed a similar
portfolio of talents and who built up his
conducting career purely in order to
facilitate his composing, Goossens' sheer
ability as a conductor, combined with
the strength of the paternal tradition,
mitigated against real development as a
composer. Early in his career, again like
Mahler, Goossens would force himself to
write after he had finished performing.
This gruelling schedule became much
more difficult later on, however, owing to
increased professional responsibilities and
declining health. The bulk of his output
therefore dates from the thirty-year period
of 1911-41 and stands at about seventy
works.
His harmonic language bears some
similarity with Ravel's. He had great
technical skill and his orchestration was
first-class. His oeuvre is varied, ranging
from chamber music written for his
siblings (including works for that wellestablished combination of oboe/cor
anglais and two harps!) to symphonies
and operas. Judging by the strength of the
concerto he wrote for Léon, it is a great
pity that he was not able to focus more
on composition.
Léon Goossens
– Father of Modern Oboe Playing
This member of the Goossens family
needs little introduction to oboists. It was
Léon who put the oboe 'on the map' as a
solo instrument at the beginning of the
twentieth century. It was also he who
developed a revolutionary new concept
of tone quality which formed the
foundation of the modern oboe sound.
Goossens, under his father's inspiration,
began lessons at the age of ten with
Charles Reynolds, Principal Oboe of the
Hallé Orchestra, whilst the family was
still resident in Liverpool. When the
family moved back to London in 1912,
Léon studied with the Principal of the
LSO, William Malsch. His main source
of inspiration, however, was Henri de
Busscher, then Principal Oboe of Sir
Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orchestra.
Léon greatly admired the mellowness of
de Busscher's sound and listened to him
avidly from the audience whenever
possible. In 1915, de Busscher decided to
take up the Principal position with the
Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Sir Henry
granted Léon an audition for the post of
Principal in the Queen's Hall Orchestra.
Goossens duly won the audition, joined
Eugène in the orchestra and never looked
back. He quickly developed a national,
then international reputation first as an
orchestral player, then as a soloist.
Léon’s stratospheric career development
was due to a number of factors. Firstly, he
was technically and musically by far the
best player in the country. All his years
of diligent childhood practice paid
dividends when he entered professional
life. Secondly, his beautiful sound came
as a revelation to listeners who had
hitherto been fed a diet of raucous oboe
noise. Thirdly, he coincided not only with
the development of the recording industry
in Britain, but also with the growth of
public service broadcasting, via the BBC.
This gave him enormous public exposure
in an era with almost no competing
media. His discography begins in 1923
with a 78rpm recording, and continues
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abundantly with 78s until his first
Long-Playing record (33 1/3 rpm) in
1938. Thereafter it is a mixture of 78s
and LPs, cassettes and 45 rpms,
becoming less frequent however after
the 1950s. His last solo release was an
LP of Eugène's Islamite Dance and other
repertoire in 1977.
As stated above, Léon Goossens’
professional career as an oboist began in
1915 with the Queen's Hall Orchestra.
By the late 1920s, he had developed such
a strong solo profile that he felt the time
was right to travel to the USA to make his
début there. One of the challenges that
Goossens faced was a serious shortage of
solo repertoire. It is a useful exercise just
to spend a few moments imagining what
it was like to be Goossens in the 1920s,
and to reflect on all the pieces in our
repertoire that were yet to be written or
discovered. Goossens had been subsisting
on a diet of Bach and Handel; the
Mozart Oboe Quartet; minor French
and Italian works; and offerings from
composer friends such as Arthur Bliss
and Sir Arnold Bax. It was time for him
to have a really decent concerto of his
own, and Eugène was determined to
write him one.
Sir Eugène Goossens
– Concerto in One Movement
(1927)
W.A. Mozart arr. W. Salomon/
L.Goossens
– Sonata in F for oboe & piano
Concerto in One Movement Op.45
Sir Eugène Goossens began writing the
Concerto in One Movement in 1927,
aiming to have it ready for Léon's début
concert at the Guild Theatre in New York
in January 1928. Goossens was a
meticulous composer and the piece
was not completed to his satisfaction,
so its premier was postponed until the
following year. Instead, Eugène
accompanied Léon in a sonata by an
20
American composer, and Léon also
played the Mozart and Bliss quartets with
members of an American string quartet.
His performance was greatly acclaimed.
In 1929 the Concerto itself was finished,
but the orchestration remained
incomplete. Eugène therefore wrote his
own piano reduction, and again travelled
to America with Léon to give the first
performance of the work in a recital at
the Jordan Hall in Boston. By the time
the Proms season came round in 1930,
Eugène had finished the orchestration.
Unfortunately his American commitments
at Cincinnati meant that he was not
available to conduct the premier. Instead
it was conducted by Sir Henry Wood and
the piece was extremely well received in
the press.
The Concerto is generally regarded as
one of Eugène's best pieces. Its writing
demonstrates exquisite craftsmanship. The
long gestation of the work has proved a
blessing for two reasons: firstly, because
musically and technically it stands the
test of time; and secondly because it
means that there are two versions of the
piece (one with piano, the other with
orchestra) which are equally valid.
The piano reduction is Goossens' own
composition and as an accomplished
pianist he was able to write an idiomatic
and musically satisfying part.
Virtuosic and expressive, the Concerto in
One Movement is designed to stretch the
soloist's capabilities to the limit. Written
in the somewhat unusual key of G#/Ab
minor, the piece contains frequently
shifting harmonies and a wonderful
transparency of texture. It opens with a
moderately fast pastoral motif. This motif
is developed and returns sporadically
throughout the piece, but becomes
progressively subverted by the dramatic
interjection of more forceful and
aggressive musical ideas. In the central
slow section, a pastoral calm is to some
extent re-established, but is then followed
by a long and virtuosic accompanied
cadenza. In the orchestral version, the
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
oboe is supported by a tam-tam. The
concerto concludes with a short but
dazzling finale.
Eugène Goossens used to joke that he
based the cadenza on his memories of the
technical exercises Léon used to practise
as a child. In later years, however, he was
less amused and started to resent the
work's success, owing to its persistent
scheduling by concert promoters for the
brothers' joint appearances. Similarly,
Léon eventually became somewhat
disenchanted with its technical difficulty:
he took to simplifying much of the
cadenza in his later performances. These
facts notwithstanding, Eugène's proximity
to the great oboist is clear from the
idiomatic and assured nature of the oboe
writing. It is arguably the most significant
concerto to be written since the Kalliwoda
Concertino in 1844, and is one of the
most technically challenging tonal works
in the oboe repertoire.
W.A. Mozart – Quartet in F for oboe &
strings/Sonata in F for oboe and piano
Mozart's quartet is such a well-known
piece that it is not necessary to say a
great deal about it. As far as Léon
Goossens was concerned, it was the
piece with which he really made his
name as a soloist, and he made not one,
but two recordings of it. The first was in
1926, the second in 1933 and both are
currently available on CD (see below). He
received some outstanding reviews of his
performances. In 1947 he participated in
the preparation of an excellent recital
version of the work which was published
by Booseys. W. Salomon arranged the
three string parts into a convincing piano
part and Goossens revised the oboe part.
Presumably he added many of the
dynamics found in this edition: if so, they
demonstrate his excellent phrasing and
musicianship.
Postscript: 1962
In 1962, the Goossens family suffered
two serious blows within eleven days.
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On 13th June Sir Eugène died, and on
24th June Léon was the innocent party in
a serious car accident in north London,
suffering career-threatening injuries.
Eugène's health had always been delicate.
He was born with a damaged heart valve
and the condition affected him to varying
degrees throughout his life. His position
as Principal Conductor of the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra had come to a
sudden and unpleasant end in 1956, and
thereafter Goossens found himself back in
London, having to re-establish his career
on a freelance basis after nearly thirty
years of residence abroad.
These were difficult final years for him,
and his health rapidly declined. Léon had
returned to England from a holiday in
Malta in order to attend Eugène's funeral,
and was driving home one evening when
he suffered a head-on collision with
another vehicle. His injuries were severe,
and his mouth damaged almost beyond
repair. He had to have over 150 stitches
in his mouth alone, and much
reconstructive surgery and physical
therapy before he could play again.
He was sixty-five years of age and could
have decided simply to stop playing,
yet he was determined to continue
performing. He painstakingly developed
a new embouchure, was back in the
recording studio within two years, and
continued his performing career until the
mid-1970s.
Live in Recital
First concert: London,
March 15th, 2012
Althea Talbot-Howard
oboe and cor anglais
Dominic Saunders, piano
Goossens: Concerto in One Movement
Mozart: Sonata in F major
(also Brahms Rhapsody op.79/2 for
solo piano and Reicha Scène)
Visit www.altheatalbot-howard.com
for dates and venues.
Further Listening
Eugène Goossens Concerto in One
Movement (orchestral version)
Ruth Bolister – English Oboe Concertos,
ASV, 2003
Eugène Goossens Concerto in One
Movement (recital version)
Emily Pailthorpe – Though Lovers be Lost,
Oboe Classics CC2008, 2003
Selected Recordings of
Léon Goossens
Rare Goossens – includes Marcello,
Scarlatti, Colin; the Bax Oboe Quintet
and several encore pieces. Archive
recordings from the period 1931–1947.
Oboe Classics CC2005, 2002.
The Oboe 1903-1953 – Double CD of
historic oboe recordings by various artists.
Includes Goossens' 1926 recording of the
Mozart Oboe Quartet. Compiler: Geoffrey
Burgess. Oboe Classics CC2012, 2005.
Léon Goossens: A Centenary Tribute –
includes L. Goossens' 1933 recording of
the Mozart Oboe Quartet, E. Goossens'
Concerto, Schumann's Three Romances
et al. Pearl, 1996.
Further Reading
Léon Goossens & Edwin Roxburgh –
Oboe, Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides,
1977
Carole Rosen – The Goossens: A Musical
Century, André Deutsch, 1993
Barry Wynne – Music in the Wind: The
Story of Léon Goossens. Souvenir Press,
1967
The Gramophone Archives – August
1949, May 1964 and June 1967 are some
of the issues featuring reviews of LG
(including his performance of the
Concerto in One Movement) and an
extended publicity feature on EG.
www.gramophone.net
Footnotes
1. Rosen, pp. 6
2. Gramophone, June 1947.
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Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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Composers’ Forum:
This Forum makes its return with several new pieces lined up for 2012.
Each Forum-featured piece is by a
composer studying at a conservatoire or
university music faculty, and varied in
instrumentation and style. Only the first
4 pages are printed here as a ‘taster’
of the complete work. Readers are
encouraged to try out the ‘taster’ and
then to contact the composer for a full
copy, which is usually available by
email. Composers may or may not make
a charge for the full copy.
Importantly, whether playing just the
taster or the full work, comments will be
appreciated that can be published in
following issues, hence the ‘Forum’.
BDRS will also consider including a
performance of one or more of the
compositions thus published in DRN
during its Annual Conventions where
possible. In the 2011 Convention,
Matthew Clark’s The Dove on Distant
Oaks was played by bassoon guest
soloist, Meyrick Alexander, in his recital.
In this issue we publish the opening
pages of the first movement of Prevailing
Winds by Andrew Crossley.
Prevailing Winds
introduced by its composer,
Andrew Crossley
I composed Prevailing Winds in school
as a first serious attempt at combining
classical structure with the modal and
alternative scales that interest me most. It
is structured as a three-movement work,
named after the wind patterns that occur
in different parts of the earth. The first
movement, Westerlies, is a lengthy
movement in sonata form, which has as
its foundation the seven modes of the
melodic minor scale. Westerlies are
the strongest of the prevailing winds
and, along with trade winds, they
enabled a trade route for ships crossing
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. As such,
the movement has a strong sense of
direction and forward momentum,
pausing only in the development section
for a moment of tonal clarity in what
appears to be the ‘eye of the storm’,
so to speak.
The second movement, Polar Easterlies,
is derived from the octatonic scale. The
movement begins with a slightly shifting
ostinato, and starts developing a
polyphonic texture while exploring
various timbral textures. Polar Easterlies
are dry and cold prevailing winds that
blow from polar regions toward lowerpressure areas. They are often weak
and irregular, so in this movement the
opposite happens, with rare bursts of
energy in the middle section, contrasted
by the deceivingly static texture of the
outer sections.
In the third and final movement,
Cyclone, there is a return to the modality
of the first movement, although not
nearly as rigidly, also experimenting with
the continuous shifts between the major
and minor iterations of the same key.
A cyclone is a circular wind pattern
characterised by inward spiralling winds
that rotate depending on the hemisphere
they are in. In this movement the
spiralling of the cyclone is pictured both
in cycles of build-ups and releases of
energy, and in the melodic patterns and
cross-rhythms that make up its texture.
Andrew Crossley (b.1990) is a BritishMexican composer. He grew up in
Cuernavaca, near Mexico City, where he
received training in violin and piano.
After enrolling at the Morelos Centre
for the Arts in 2009, he began private
composition lessons with important
22
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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Mexican composer Arturo Márquez, who
has guided him in writing various works
for chamber and vocal ensembles.
In 2011, he was accepted into the
undergraduate composition programme
at the Royal College of Music in London,
where he is currently studying
composition with Alison Kay.
Andrew's music seeks to mix his
classical-music upbringing with his
lifelong love of popular and traditional
music, particularly that of Latin America.
As a violinist and pianist, he has had
extensive experience in chamber and
orchestral groups, as well as participating
as a chorister in vocal ensembles across
Mexico and in London and Oxford.
He has taken part in courses and
masterclasses with composers such
as Mariana Villanueva, Victor Rasgado
and Julio Estrada in Mexico, and
Mark-Anthony Turnage in London.
His music has been performed in various
venues in Mexico and London including,
in November 2011, a new work for the
Taylor Wessing Photographic Exhibition
at the National Portrait Gallery.
Andrew will be very pleased to supply
full copies of his Prevailing Winds:
please contact him direct at
[email protected]
Oboe - Oboe d'amore - Cor anglais Reeds
www.billerbeckoboereeds.co.uk
Tel. 01343 835430
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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Bassonicus:
The Devil and all his Works!
by Jefferey Cox
Just imagine how it must have sounded to
the monks! Their reaction seems to have
been akin to discovering a rupture in the
earth’s crust providing a glimpse of redhot lava in its depths! This was a glimpse
of hell and no-one wanted to go that
way! They called what they had seen
‘Diabolus in Musica’ – the Devil in
musical form.
Music has never been shy of supping with
the Devil and, far from using a long
spoon, it has tucked in with relish! It has
even awarded the Devil the musical
equivalent of the Mark of the Beast – the
tritone – which the medieval church tried
to ban from music but instead created a
harmonic forbidden fruit which
composers could not resist!
As you will know, the church has never
been entirely sure whether to welcome
music as an aid to worship or reject it as
a distraction; whether to embrace it
as an earthly representation of celestial
harmony, or to banish it as being too
earthy to accompany holy writ and
encourage holy thoughts. Fortunately
(apart from periodic lapses into
Puritanism) the positive view has
predominated and we now have a rich
legacy of fine church music in all manner
of forms, which has made a host of
converts to the cause of so-called ‘early
music’ and – in the case of Hildegard von
Bingen – a fortune for NAXOS!
Plainsong developed from chanting
unisono to chanting in fourths and fifths,
and the early parallel movement of the
parts blossomed into the interweaving
of melodic lines (an early form of
counterpoint). Distinctive schools of
24
chanting came into being – the one at
Solesmes being probably the best known
– and with them the sense that the
conservatism of the church in matters
musical might not be in its best interest.
After all, the ability to perform plainsong
implied dedication, discipline and
training, all concepts which went with
the idea that monasteries were focuses
of faith on earth. Clearly, monastic
establishments stood to benefit from this
reputation, and there would have to be
exceptional reasons for killing the goose
which was laying such golden eggs.
But while the interval was officially
outlawed from church music, and was
hardly self-recommending in musical
terms anyway, this particular genie was
not going to return meekly to its bottle.
It kept reappearing – not least because
religion and philosophy found
themselves having to grapple with issues
raised by interpretations of Good and
Evil and what constituted ‘The Good
Life’. Debating such issues was and is
more the domain of letters rather than
music, but not exclusively so. Wagner’s
music is steeped in the philosophical
ideas of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer;
Liszt took holy orders in later life, and
religiosity is a factor in many of his late
works when he appears to leave tonality
behind and reach out for something
almost inexpressible; Schumann (never
the most stable of personalities) seemed
to come close to the edge during the
time he was working on his music
drama Faust.
“
Their reaction seems to have been akin to
discovering a rupture in the earth’s crust providing
a glimpse of red-hot lava in its depths!
But the musicians were not given entirely
free range, and it was the tritone which
proved a bridge too far. The tritone is the
interval formed between the fourth and
seventh notes in what we would call a
major scale (in medieval times we would
be dealing in modes rather than scales); a
succession of three full tones. In the key
of C this would be the interval F to B.
The sound created by playing these
notes together is distinctly vinegary,
even though our ears have become
accustomed to some pretty spiky music.
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
”
It was indeed the late Romantic
composers who took the lead in
expressing the emotional experience of
evil, and guess what they used to capture
that essence – our old friend the tritone!
Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre requires the
orchestral leader to come on stage with
two violins: the normal instrument and
one whose two upper strings have been
tuned to the interval of a tritone (A-Eb).
The player is required to scratch out the
interval several times on this violin before
reverting to the normal instrument and
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launching the orchestra on a mad dance,
chasing its tail in ever decreasing circles!
And then there is that perennial favourite
for concerts around Hallowe’en –
Mussorgsky’s Night on a Bare Mountain.
The glissandi in the opening bars span the
interval, which flavours the whole piece
and gives it tension and menace.
Bassoonists have an example all to
themselves in Dukas’ Sorcerer’s
Apprentice. That perky solo depicting the
bucket and brush setting out on their work
has the tritone concealed within it, and the
music acquires more and more tritone
flavour as the spell gets out of control and
threatens to engulf the apprentice.
While the tritone has established itself as
integral to the musical vocabulary of evil,
it is not of course the only device. For
other methods we can turn to that arch
orchestrator, Berlioz. Orchestral colour is
here of the essence and Berlioz was
always looking to push the envelope.
Movements 4 and 5 of the Symphonie
Fantastique are more or less entirely
devoted to the depiction of evil, the Devil’s
cohorts, and the sheer emotional and
spiritual terror of the composer, whose
nightmares leave him exhausted and –
as I perceive it – permanently scarred.
How does he achieve this? An unusual
combination of heavy brass (including two
tubas!); the addition of the high E flat
clarinet (to add shrillness); much use of the
large bass drum; instructing the strings to
play col legno (using the wooden side of
the bow to create a noise like the clicking
of skeletons); and no fewer than four
bassoons! The writing includes rapid
arpeggios for the bassoons, which convey
most effectively the picture of witches
cavorting round their victim and taunting
him!
“
There were howls
of abuse and riots in the
auditorium and on the
streets outside... music
was never to be
the same again
”
It might have seemed impossible to go
one better than Berlioz’s tone painting,
but cometh the hour, cometh the man,
and in 1913 Stravinsky unleashed The
Rite of Spring on an unsuspecting public.
There were howls of abuse and riots in
the auditorium and on the streets outside
but, once again, the genie could not be
put back in the bottle and music was
never to be the same again. As you may
point out, the Rite was not about the
struggle of Good and Evil but about
Man in a hostile world confronted by
elemental forces and seeking to
propitiate them. It was the work’s blatant
a-morality which was responsible for at
least some of the audience’s disquiet –
that and the perceived barbarity of the
sounds issuing from the orchestra pit.
Some ten years later, in 1924, Stravinsky
revisited this territory, this time in a
collaboration with C F Ramuz (of All
Quiet on the Western Front fame), and
wrote L’Histoire du Soldat. This is a
classic tale of the Devil persuading a
simple soldier to part with a violin
(apparently worth very little but which
we, the audience, are invited to believe
represents his soul) in exchange for a
book which brings vast wealth (but
threatens to destroy him). The Devil
seems to have everything his own way
until he needs to learn the violin and has
to ask the soldier to help him. The
problem is that whenever the Devil tries
to play, only one chord emerges – and no
prizes for guessing which one!
Stravinsky’s work is scored for six
instruments and percussion, plus four
characters – one of whom does not
speak! It was intended as a kind of
morality play which could be packed in a
van and taken on tour round the country,
but which in point of fact did not happen
and it was rarely performed. It had to wait
until 1964 before Stravinsky recorded it.
Diabolus in Musica! It trips nicely off the
tongue, and no doubt the Devil will be
hoping that the twent-first century will
encourage composers to find new uses
for his signature tune!
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Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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Brahms Sonata in Eb... for Bassoon!
For years clarintettists and viola players have laid claim to this great work. Now Robert Codd reviews a new
edition1 arranged for bassoon and piano by distinguished bassoonist Martin Gatt.
Brahms gave Muehlfeld a
set of six, engraved, silver
teaspoons. (Do you think
bassoon playing could inspire
such a generous gift? Wooden
spoons, perhaps?) The two
sonatas were first performed
in 1894 at the Palace of
Berchtesgaden with Brahms
himself playing the piano part.
When Johann Denner of
Nuremberg drilled three
holes in the throat of the old
chalumeau – a kind of triple
tracheotomy – he created,
almost overnight, one
of the most successful of all
woodwind instruments. This
was probably circa 1690
and quite late in terms of
instrumental evolution, but
the new-born clarinet has
more than made up for it in
terms of repertoire and
popularity.
All instruments can boast a
‘special relationship’ between
great composers and eminent
players, but that enjoyed
by the clarinet is quite
remarkable. Johann Stamitz
wrote a very attractive
concerto for it, whereas his
son, Carl, produced no fewer
than eleven, all performed, to
great acclaim we are told, by
the brand-new players of the
Mannheim Orchestra. The
close ties between Mozart
and Anton Staedler are well
documented, while Weber
and Heinrich Baermann toured
extensively together, performing works
for clarinet and piano as fast as Weber
could write them and Baermann could
play them; pretty fast in both cases!
The virtuoso violinist, Ludwig Spohr,
produced four increasingly demanding
concertos for Johann Hermstedt to
perform; apparently, as Spohr came up
with yet more fiendishly technical
problems, Hermstedt found ways of
dealing with them, usually by adding
more keys. The result is writing of
violinistic brilliance and complexity.
By the time we encounter the musicality
and sensitivity of Richard Muehlfeld,
which so impressed Brahms, the clarinet
was a complete and thoroughly versatile
instrument, with a fully chromatic range
26
With demands for a wide
range of expressive subtleties,
including the sotto voce and
mezzo voce instructions
familiar to orchestral players
in the symphonies, the
requirement to play the most
chromatic of passages with
facility and success, and the
absolute equality of clarinet
and piano, Brahms created
two sonatas that fit the forces
perfectly.
of well over three octaves and dynamic
possibilities which can only be dreamt of
by double-reed players, as they stare
despairingly at boxes of cane and turn
increasingly to the muting charms of foam
rubber, handkerchiefs and old socks.
The story goes that Brahms, having retired
from composition, chanced to hear
Muehlfeld giving a recital of works by
Mozart, Weber and Spohr and was so
overwhelmed by the expressive power of
the playing that he felt compelled to write
something for him. Two sonatas, a trio with
viola and piano and a quintet for clarinet
and strings were the result, possibly
some of the finest chamber works ever
conceived for woodwind. A great
friendship sprung up between the two
men. To express his gratitude for having
been spurred on to compose once again,
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
At this point I have to make a
confession. Much of my early
life was spent playing the
instrument that so impressed
Brahms, though not quite like
Muehlfeld,
I am sure! So,
Martin Gatt
there was only one thing for
it, to blow away the spiders, jump-start
the ancient reed (single, I admit) and
rediscover just how well written these
pieces are, even for a player of limited
capabilities. Although certainly
challenging, they feel as is they could
never be played by anything else.
However, Brahms himself also made
arrangements of these sonatas for the
viola. Never, at any time have I been
brave enough to tackle that instrument,
so it was time to contact a viola-playing
friend, avoiding any mention of polar
bears, cold snaps or the Arctic Circle.
[It seems that these jokes are universal;
meeting colleagues in the Dresden
Stattskapelle years ago, when one of our
players introduced himself as ‘Bratsche’,
they all pulled their collars up and started
shivering!]
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metronome marking of quaver = 120 is
clearly a typographical error (printed in
both the solo and accompanist's copies);
even I could manage the semiquavers at
that speed! (It should be crotchet = 120.)
‘Viola players are grateful for any
repertoire they can get. They will claim
these sonatas were written for their
instrument in the first place,’ says the
distinguished player and teacher, Jim
Walker. ‘Of course, it’s a joke, but I think
it was Joachim who persuaded Brahms to
make the transcriptions. He was very fond
of the instrument. He admired the warm,
rich tone – forget all the jokes – as shown
in the Alto Rhapsody, the symphonies,
and the Serenade in A Minor where there
are no violins, the highest string voices
being the violas.
‘This sonata fits the viola well, though
Brahms was quite conservative in his
approach and often transposed down an
octave those passages that go very high on
the clarinet. Lionel Tertis, who rewrote most
viola pieces, restored them to the pitch
they should be, and they sound terrific. The
dilemma for players nowadays is whether
to play the Tertis version, or the Brahms!’
“
The fascinating
thing is that the piece
plays itself
”
We come now to the third protagonist in
this debate, the bassoon. What does our
instrument have to offer? Certainly a wide
range – well over three octaves (and
lethal up to 100 yards). But, whereas
the clarinet, with its odd-numbered
harmonics, can leap nearly four octaves
to very high C with relative ease, the
bassoon, German at least, needs special
crooks, reeds and a following wind to
manage much above top E flat. The
dynamic range is limited too. ‘Sotto
voce’, ‘mezzo voce’, ‘pp possible’, the
‘pppp’ of Verdi operas and the ‘pppppp’
of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker are all pretty
academic; ‘not quite as loud as usual’ is a
fair compromise! At the other end of the
spectrum, a colleague, when asked by a
conductor if there was any difference at
all between forte and fortissimo on the
bassoon, thought for a moment and then
replied, ‘Yes, a purple face.’
After such a lengthy preamble and,
armed with all this information, how
does the bassoon cope in Martin Gatt’s
arrangement? The fascinating thing is that
the piece plays itself. From the very first
note, in a good key and in a warm, solid
register, it suits the instrument exactly.
1 Allegro amabile
The bassoon can certainly capture the
elegant and spacious phrasing of the
original, with its wide slurs and feeling of
lyrical expansiveness, with virtually no
change. There is a moment (bar 10) when
things seem different and you realise that
the bravura – ascending semiquaver and
quintuplet passage – which clarinettists
throw off with such aplomb, has been
replaced by triplets. Nevertheless, the
drama of the passage is maintained and
the triplets feel as if they had always
been there.
There is much skillful octave adjustment
in this movement, just as Brahms himself
must have made in the viola version, the
shape of the original being retained, but
without any sense of strain that visiting
extreme registers might provoke. This
music is always amabile, without any hint
of nervoso or frenetico. However, the
The sotto voce (bar 22 onwards), which is
perhaps a blend of soft vibrato and gentle
intensity, is given to the clarinet in the
upper ‘chalumeau’ register. For the
bassoon it is right in the middle register,
where it is possible to achieve much the
same effect. The pianissimo which follows
(bar 26) and the dolce shortly afterwards,
involve ‘sympathetic’ notes, while the fp
minims of bar 65 onwards, low and belllike on the clarinet, are given to the
bottom D of the bassoon – a good choice
since this note is soft and not too cutting.
In the wide-ranging mezzo-staccato
triplets (bar 77 onwards), top Cs and a
D are encountered, but they can be
negotiated quite easily without any
feeling of altitude sickness.
My only quibble in this part of the
movement is at bar 102 where, in the
original, there is a great effect: a molto
cresc followed immediately by the
recapitulation’s subito p. The bassoon
could do this just as well, but instead has
a diminuendo, which seems rather tame.
(Or could this be another error?)
At the very end, where the music
unwinds and becomes even more
expansive, the clarinet covers two and
a half octaves; by doubling back, the
bassoon uses a mere two octaves but
the same effect of space and repose is
cleverly retained. There is a change of
phrasing in bar 171 which works quite
well, though I think the last pairing of
quavers should be slur and dot rather
than the other way round.
2 Appassionato, ma non
troppo Allegro
This powerful dance-like movement
begins in F minor, a key that is naturally
dark and intense on the clarinet. I am not
sure that bassoonists feel the same way
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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about its resultant transposition into E flat
minor, though it works well and is
excellent practice for front and back G
flats and A flats! The sudden swells of bar
17 onwards, a slightly sea-sick effect, fall
on strong notes on the bassoon, so it
happens anyway, without having to try
too hard!
The trio section plunges into D flat major
for the clarinet. Anyone familiar with
passages in Brahms’ Third Symphony will
know what a warm glow this key can
produce. Rather than write the bassoon in
C flat – 7 flats – Martin Gatt has wisely
opted for B major’s 5 sharps. The effect is
extraordinary; although the music should
sound the same, it feels completely
different – light, transparent, even brittle.
The psychological effect of key, and
whether you are playing F sharps or G
flats is very strange2 and made me think
of a passage in the symphonic poem
v
The Noonday Witch by Dvorák, where
bass clarinet and bassoon play ‘officially’
in unison, although one is written in C
sharp minor and the other in E flat minor.
The effect is uncanny and produces
considerable tension – not just about
tuning!
The opening dance-like music then
returns and from bar 206 onwards makes
a long descending line, diminuendo al
niente, quite instinctive on the clarinet
but presenting a serious challenge to the
bassoon. Martin Gatt has kept the same
shape as the original, with its two-and-ahalf octave range, giving the sense of
sliding down into the depths. There is
only one thing for it: find a reed that
works and hang on. This is a great
movement, musically and technically and
one to give your best pupils, just as they
think they have sussed that sight-reading
business!
3 Andante con moto
The third movement is a set of variations,
28
a form at which Brahms excelled. These
are not the mechanical repetitions that
you might find with some composers, but
individually conceived impressions of the
theme, in which the colour and character
of the component instruments can be
exploited.
The theme itself – calm, reflective, yet
confident – suits the bassoon well,
though the hushed piano restatements
of middle E flat might pose a challenge.
(You cannot use that invaluable
instruction ‘tacet’, so it will have to
be a muting fingering!)
“
The theme itself
– calm, reflective, yet
confident – suits the
bassoon well
”
The first variation makes a feature of
the low ‘chalumeau’ of the clarinet,
especially the bottom E bell note.
The bassoon version sits comfortably
in the middle register, though the
semiquaver triplets still capture the
range and space of the original.
By way of contrast, the demisemiquavers of the following variation
make a feature of the ‘clarino’ part of
the clarinet. Difficult to negotiate, and
covering a full three-octave range, this
is perhaps the most specifically
clarinet-like section of the whole
sonata. Again, by carefully adjusting
octaves, Martin has picked his way
through this thorny texture, so that even
the top C can be incorporated with
comparative ease.
The last variation of this section, one of
the composer’s hushed and timeless
‘reveries’, calls for whispered notes
from the clarinet. Bassoons don’t do
‘whispering’; but at least the notes
chosen here give instrument and player
a fighting chance.
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
The final section – Allegro non troppo –
serves both as an extra variation and as a
coda. This turbulent writing, despite the
piu tranquillo marking in the middle,
calls for Plan Z – practice – whether on
clarinet or bassoon, though it fits the
latter well and leads to an exultant and
triumphant conclusion. (Does the
bassoon ever do anything else?)
Reading this account through, I realise
that it is quite long enough already! It has
been concerned almost exclusively with
the ‘solo’ voice, whereas the piano part, a
good 50% of the work, has hardly been
mentioned at all. With the exception of a
small modification in bars 109–111 of the
second movement, the piano part appears
exactly as Brahms wrote it. Most of it
seems to work successfully, though
textures are quite full at times, no doubt
calculated to offset a partner occupying a
higher tessitura. Just as in the Hurlstone
Sonata and similar pieces from that
period, great care must be taken not to
submerge the bassoon in its middle
register; unless, of course, you feel it is
called for!
All in all, I hope you are left with the
impression of a fine work, appearing in a
well calculated, thorough and painstaking
arrangement. The lay-out is clear and
practical, with the one exception of the
turn between pages 5/6 (though you can
probably remember the notes over the
page!) and the print is large. This work
could easily become part of the
repertoire, and a really interesting event –
of appeal to all anoraks – would be to
perform both clarinet and bassoon
versions together. The piece could
certainly take it and, who knows, one
might even end up with a silver spoon.
Footnotes
1. Pub. Spartan Press, £10.95
2. Jeffery Cox wrote on this subject in his
‘Bassonicus’ column in DRN96/P.28 –
The Secret Lives of Keys.
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Double Reed Sections:
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Oboist Rachel Frost’s dream was always to play oboe in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe: bassoonist
Matthew Wilkie commutes from Sydney to occupy the principal chair. In our occasional series about orchestral
double-reed sections, they describe the attractions of working in the COE as it concludes celebrations of its
30th anniversary.
As its website proclaims, the Chamber
Orchestra of Europe was founded in
1981 by a group of young musicians
graduating from the European Union
Youth Orchestra. It was the orchestra’s
ambition to continue working together
at the highest possible professional level
and, of that original group, eighteen
remain in the current core membership
of around sixty. The members of COE,
selected by the Orchestra itself, pursue
parallel careers as international soloists,
Leaders and Principals of nationallybased orchestras, as members of eminent
chamber groups and as tutors and
professors of music.
Acknowledged as ‘the finest chamber
orchestra in the world’ (BBC2 Television),
the COE provides ‘an excellent
illustration of how Europeans can come
together artistically to create a strong
European ethos. It is the players’ wealth
of cultural backgrounds and shared love
of music-making which remain at the
heart of their inspired performances’.
Rachel Frost
I first heard the Chamber Orchestra of
Europe at a concert in the Barbican
30
Centre, London. I had just returned to
England after studying in Germany. I was
incredibly moved by the orchestra‘s
quality and vitality, the beautiful silken
string colours and Dougie Boyd‘s electric
presence as First Oboe. In that moment it
became my dream to play with this
orchestra… which, as a job suddenly
became free a year later, actually came
true.
One of the wonderful things about COE
is the huge musical, cultural and social
exchange. It is an enormous privilege to
play chamber music with some of the
best musicians living in and around
Europe. Each individual brings their own
musical ideas and background and almost
all of us have also studied outside our
own countries. There is a huge respect for
one another and, of course, after so much
time on tour together, a huge warmth.
This is reflected in the music-making.
Over 30 years we have developed many
relationships with conductors, soloists
and European cities (and their concert
venues). We have incorporated different
conducting styles and musical knowledge
into our own individual style. It is a
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
natural, ongoing, creative process.
In the early days we had the wonderful
luxury of working a lot with Claudio
Abbado; a man with such a superb
conducting technique and deep musical
understanding that very few words were
needed. The orchestra has great beauty in
his hands, whether it dances with zest and
light in Rossini operas (often performed in
Ferrara or Pesaro) or resonates with the
power and deep intimacy of Schubert
symphonies (performed in Salzburg).
Another enormous privilege has been our
collaboration over many years with
Nikolaus Harnoncourt. The orchestra
plays at his summer festival (Styriarte) in
Graz every year. A hugely learned man
with extraordinary fantasy and an
absolutely unique style of conducting.
The orchestra parts are meticulously
marked with his own interpretative
language creating a musical collage, full
of transparency. One hears many melodic
and harmonic motifs that often get lost.
His exploding energy lifts the orchestra
into another sphere. Our recordings of
the Beethoven symphonies with him
illustrate this beautifully, each painting a
different picture.
Today we work a lot with Bernard
Haitink, regularly playing concerts with
him in the wonderful Luzern concert hall:
a very fine, hugely experienced man and
musician. He has a wonderful conducting
technique, hears everything and never
wastes words. It is a relationship full
of mutual love and respect. It was
undoubtedly one of the high points in the
COE calendar to play Brahms’ 3rd and
4th Symphonies under his baton at The
Proms this year (televised by the BBC).
We are also developing new relationships
with young conductors. We very much
love our concerts together with Yannick
Nézet-Séguin; a hugely passionate, very
charismatic man, whose warmth and
energy takes every player with him.
Music making at it‘s best!
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As for soloists, there are obviously too
many to name. András Schiff is a genius
pianist and a dear friend of the orchestra.
He has such an extreme talent and is so
unbelievably relaxed! He also has a great
generosity, always inviting the whole
orchestra for a wonderful dinner on each
tour. We have had a lot of fun, whether it
be in the Fado bar in Lisbon until 3.00 in
the morning, in China town in New York,
or Hungarian specialities in Budapest!
Another long-standing relationship has
been with Pierre-Laurent Aimard. He is
an extremely nice man, a great player and
also wonderful at talking to audiences
about contemporary repertoire – as well
as Mozart! – at the more conservative
concert venues.
As a double-reed player (oboe and cor
anglais) I have had the privilege of sitting
next to some of Europe‘s greatest oboe
players. Dougie Boyd and I played 11
years together, recording the Zelenka trio
sonatas, Strauss wind pieces with Holliger
(for Phillips), and we have played
numerous wind octet tours around the
world as well as in the orchestra. Dougie
is a dear friend and an amazing player:
we have had to pack suitcases by
candlelight in Lima due to electricity
shortages; we have played in Quito in the
Andes where the extraordinary altitude
gives oboe reeds a new character; we
have hurtled at great speed in mini-vans
in Bogota with the suitcases piled high on
the roof rack – not a city where you like
to stroll alone!
Dougie has a brilliant sense of humour
and was an enormously supportive
colleague. He was a hugely influential
founder member of the orchestra
and now also has a very successful
conducting career. François Leleux,
our current Principal Oboe, is equally
lovable. He is a legend on the oboe:
an extremely talented, passionate
Frenchman. Many solo pieces have been
written for him and he has a huge solo
career. He has also designed a new oboe
model together with Marigaux, the
famous French oboe maker.
In the last few years the setting up of a
COE Academy has enabled extremely
talented students from around Europe to
come for a week on tour with us (at no
cost). They receive lessons from the
relevant principal player, sit and listen to
rehearsals and gain an in-sight into the
orchestra‘s music-making process. We
also try to combine children‘s concerts in
several venues: the audiences and the
musicians of the future!
Next year I look forward to no end of
projects (thanks to our Manager, Simon
Fletcher, and his team). We will play
Thomas Adès’ music under his baton in
the Gulbenkian Hall in Lisbon, and
continue our Beethoven cycle with
Haitink in the Concertgebouw in
Amsterdam and in the Salle Pleyel in
Paris. We have a wonderful tour to be
directed by András Schiff, Harnoncourt‘s
festival where we combine with a choir
v
for Dvorák’s Stabat Mater, the Mostly
Mozart Festival in New York with Yannick
Nézet-Séguin; the list goes on. Our new
web-site www.COEurope.org enables
anybody who‘s interested to dip into
our calendar. We hope the future will
continue in this manner.
Matthew Wilkie
I have been a member of the Chamber
Orchestra of Europe for the past 25 years
and I hope I can continue for many more.
It’s hard to express what a huge influence
the COE has had on my musical life, and
how much I have learnt from the great
François Leleux and Rachel Frost
Matthew Wilkie
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players in this orchestra and the
conductors we have worked with;
but I will try.
People often ask what is so special about
the COE, and it’s hard to pinpoint, but it is
something about the way we feel and play
music together – very much like a good
string quartet where the players have
known each other for many years and no
longer need to discuss points of phrasing
or lengths of notes. It just happens!
This has probably developed over many
years through our work with interesting
conductors and pedagogues like Sandor
Vegh, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Roger
Norrington and Claudio Abbado, to name
but a few, and also our careful and
often agonisingly slow selection of new
members. Somehow we have managed
to use ideas and concepts from these
conductors to develop our own style, but
at the same time we remain open to fresh
interpretations when we work with
someone new. This is why, although we
do not earn much, we are able to attract
guest players from great orchestras such
as the Berlin Philharmonic and the
London Symphony Orchestra who are
interested in sharing this musical
experience.
Although Australian born and bred, I lived
in Europe for 23 years, where I had
studied (with Klaus Thunemann) and
worked and made lots of friends. I found
it difficult returning to Australia in 2000
to join the Sydney Symphony Orchestra,
but I was lucky enough to be able to
arrange my schedule so that I could
continue playing with the COE.
This of course involves doing that
gruelling return journey to Europe 5 times
a year! Anyone who has flown Frankfurt
to Sydney once will know what I mean.
Over the years I have found that I have
got used to it and don’t suffer much jetlag. My trick is to get off the plane and go
straight to work and forget what time it is
in the other city. Most of my colleagues
think I am mad, but once I am in Europe
sitting in the first COE rehearsal then I
know why I do it.
One of the problems with this sort of
travel is, of course, reeds! I do my best to
try and prepare some reeds before I leave.
I make plenty and then choose 3 or 4
which I think have potential, but I don’t
finish them completely. I just play them in
a little bit. Usually this works quite well
and I can finish them during the first
couple of days’ rehearsals in Europe.
Paul Carrington
Woodwind Instrument Repair Specialist
Pease Hill Cottage
Town End Lane
Flintham
Newark
Nottinghamshire
NG23 5LT
Tel: (01636) 525397
Email: [email protected]
32
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
Sometimes, especially when I go from a
Sydney summer to a European winter, the
reeds are completely different and don’t
work at all. Then it’s panic stations and
2 days of stress! Once, I left Sydney in a
heat wave of +38C and when I walked
out of the door at Frankfurt Airport it
was -15C!
Coda: In Sydney, I love working in the
Sydney Symphony and living in this
magnificent city. We rehearse and
perform in the famous Sydney Opera
House and sometimes at lunchtime I go
and sit in the Botanic Gardens where you
get a fantastic view of the Opera House
and Sydney Harbour. The orchestra has a
great working atmosphere and everyone
is very committed, in more ways than
one. In fact there are lots of married
couples in the orchestra, also in the wind
section. Our principal oboe, Diana
Doherty, is married to the cor anglais
player, Alexandre Oguey who is Swiss,
and my wife, Noriko Shimada, plays
contrabassoon in our section.
Playing in the SSO and COE keeps me
very busy and I am constantly making
reeds; but I also feel very lucky to be
able to be part of these two great
orchestras.
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A Fossati Experience
Geoffrey Bridge has for a number of years wanted to try out the Fossati range of oboes:
he at last got his wish at the end of 2011.
Apart from a very quick blow at one
of the British Double Reed Society’s
Conventions I have never had any
experience with this maker’s instruments.
Thanks to the enthusiasm of Johan
Bricout, their Director of Sales, for a
review in DRN, three oboes arrived
recently for me to keep for a few weeks’
trial. The models sent for review were:
Fossati MB oboe
Fossati Soliste V oboe
Tiery E40 – the top of the range
student oboe
The Company
Gérard Fossati, who had formerly worked
for the Rigoutat Company, founded the
company in 1983. The manufacturing
base was set up in Montargis, a city 110
kilometers south of Paris, in the heart of
the region known as the Gâtinais. There
is also a subsidiary workshop and
saleroom in Paris near to the National
Conservatoire of Music. At the outset in
1983, Gérard was enthusiastic to use the
latest Computer Assisted Design (CAD)
technology in developing the design of
his oboes. He was also keen to work with
oboists throughout the world to develop
ideas from many different playing styles.
The Company prospered and sold a range
of oboes, d’amores and cors anglais
throughout the world in what is a highly
competitive market. In 2009 Gérard
Fossati retired and the company was
bought back by four employees. Daniele
Lefevre who is now the President,
Stéphane Guillaume the head technician,
M. Emery and M. Braun.
Developing the Design
Since the buy-out, in order to improve the
professional range Stéphane Guillaume
sought opinions and play-testing from
players such as Michel Benet from
L’Orchestre de Paris, Tomoharu Yoshida
from NHK in Tokyo and Hitoshi Wakui
from the WDR Radio orchestra in Cologne.
Two different designs of professional oboe
are now in production, the new Soliste V,
and the MB oboe that replaces the limited
edition Anniversaire oboe in the catalogue.
The Soliste Traditionnel model has also
been discontinued.
The two designs are equal in status but
have a different feel to the way they blow.
Instead of designing an oboe to produce a
specific sound, the aim with these designs
is to produce a different feel to the way
each oboe blows, whilst still meeting
the tonal requirements of the modern
orchestral and solo player. It was therefore
very interesting to have these instruments
in my possession for a while to discover
how well these aims had been achieved.
The Oboes
The first thing that strikes one nowadays,
with all the best modern manufacturers of
professional oboes, is the excellent way
their instruments are presented. The cases
are well made and fit the instruments
snugly, they are attractive and practical
and almost all use a cover, often
sheepskin-lined, to add further protection.
Fossati are no exception in this and use
the typical ‘French-style’ case with furlined cover. They also transport their
oboes with each joint secure in a plastic
bag and recommend that, in the early
days of blowing-in, the joints are replaced
in these after playing to allow for a more
gradual cool down period. This takes me
back to the first Rigoutat I bought, that
had its top joint wrapped in a piece of
bright orange/silver plastic survival
blanket that I was asked to use for the first
three months of blowing-in! This caused
much merriment in the wind sections I
was in at the time.
My immediate impression with these
instruments was that they are a high
quality product. The finish is exemplary
with Palladium plating on both the
professional models, and silver-plating on
the student model. Palladium plating
resists tarnish much better than silver for
some players. The key-work is well made
and has quite a delicate feel as the
dimensions of some keys, in particular
the left hand little finger cluster, are
slightly smaller than other makers’ oboes.
The springing is very light and well
balanced and the heights of adjacent
plates and keys nicely judged. This shows
that the finishing of the instruments is
carefully carried out. This stage is so
important and some manufacturers in the
past have fallen short of perfection in
their haste to meet a high demand. This
final manufacturing stage takes time,
knowledge, patience and skill.
The three oboes were equipped with a
thumb plate mechanism that showed
thoughtful design in that the plate sloped
very gently toward the first octave key.
The third octave key is carefully shaped
and easily accessible from the thumb
plate. Importantly it does not hamper the
action of the thumb by becoming
inadvertently involved! It has an
adjustment screw built in.
One Trill Key System
Gérard Fossati had instigated several
innovations in his time with the company;
amongst these was a single hole for the
C/D, C/C# trills known as the One-trill
system. In recent tests with many oboists
– not all Fossati players – Head of Design
Stéphane Guillaume made two prototypes
with the same bore, one with the Onetrill key system and the other with the
standard Two-key system. Oboists
preferred the former.
After acoustic research, it appears that the
extra volume of the two holes cut into the
bore affected playing flexibility with
regard to reed types. The single hole is a
preventive measure, minimising the risk
of cracking, but it makes the oboe with its
narrow bore less flexible. D’amores and
cors anglais with their bigger bores retain
the single hole but the current oboe range
has reverted to the double trill hole with
a wider distance between them as in
Rigoutat designs (see accompanying
photos).
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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Left Hand Reversed Adjustment –
Another Innovation
The G and A plates of the left hand close
the Bb and C keys by direct action. This
allows for an adjustment screw on the G
key stop that enables the intonation of the
A to be adjusted. The more traditional
arrangement has the lever pushing
upwards on a bar and this can result in a
sloppy key action. See the accompanying
photographs comparing the Fossati system
with a traditional Buffet Greenline.
more wood around the reed well. The
resultant tone quality is heavier than the
Soliste V and has more resistance in the
blowing. The high notes were not as
easily ‘pinged’ out, that is until I became
accustomed to the way the oboe blew.
I was extremely impressed by the ease of
playing in the lower register. The tone
holes of both instruments’ bottom three
notes are quite large compared to other
oboes I own (which may or may not be a
factor) and the sound is open and
Fossati system of direct acting C key
Fossati MB (Michel Benet) Oboe
The MB oboe was the first of the three that
I played. For all the initial play-tests I used
a standard shallow U-scraped reed with a
medium width shape – an RC 13 straight
shape from Roseau Chantant – fitted to a
Reeds ‘n Stuff shaping machine. The staple
I used was a new interchangeable design
from Chiarugi that fits a Lorée mandrel and
has four different lengths of tube that can
be unscrewed to give staple
lengths of 45, 46, 47 and 48mm.
This was useful for maintaining
pitch using the same reed if I had
to compensate for any pitch
differences between oboe models
(see photograph).
I think it perhaps useful to
describe how the two
professional oboes feel by
comparing them like for like.
The MB is marginally the heavier
oboe. The walls appear to be slightly
thicker and the bell is heavier than the
Soliste V bell by about 8 grams. The upper
part of the top joint is shaped to give
34
resonant despite needing good support.
Controlling this instrument is easy and
the slight resistance to blowing gives
confidence that the sound will not break
up and become sharp and ragged.
Both oboes are very smooth over the
break between the middle C and D.
A good test being the first notes of the
second movement of Bach Double
Concerto in the D minor version with the
Soliste V
This instrument has the normal reed-well
shape and features gold pillars, reed
socket and tenon banding cosmetically to
enhance its appearance. Both instruments
incidentally have metal-lined tenons,
which really helps the security of the
linkage mechanism between top and
bottom joints. The alignment of these is
accurately adjusted and again testament
to the fine finishing these instruments
have been given prior to delivery.
Traditional design C key closure
I found that this oboe played very easily
and I was anxious that it was not just too
easy for comfort. So often this type of
easy-blown oboe has flying Fs and
unstable second octave As, but has easy
harmonics, multi-phonics and extreme
high notes. Often this is a result of a worn
bore!
This one was very well behaved. The high
notes were clean and free sounding
without any suggestion of under
harmonics. This means that the
venting has been well thought
through. The first finger left hand
plate, sporting a round venting
hole and not the more common
diamond shape, had the middle
range of D, D# and C# playing
without any problem.
The Philly D worked well on
both these oboes but I have
Chiarugi interchangeable staples
never been totally convinced that
drop to low E after the D being critical.
this makes life easier. Oboes without it
These oboes passed with flying colours,
play G to top D just as easily or with just
the low E being safe, rounded and
as much difficulty – so much depends on
resonant.
the reed!
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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Fossati MB top joint
Fossati MB Bell
Fossati offer an almost complete standard
Gillet system with fewer adjustment
screws than the professional models.
the professional range; a really well
buffed jewel finish reminiscent of the
Lorée brand.
I experimented with some different reed
types from wide shapes, such as RC15, to
the old and quite narrow Michel 7.2 and
a very narrow Hörtnagel shape. I also
tried reeds made on different staples and
the oboes reacted well to these changes.
The bigger volume staples tended to
make the middle B and C a little sharper
than the slightly smaller Lorée style.
The inherent sound quality is bright and
easily produced but, on listening to
recordings that I made, it is plain that
there is not quite the sophistication in its
presentation as the professional models. To
make the best sound would need a slightly
different reed set-up with perhaps a little
more resistance. There is a certain ‘glow’
in the sound but brashness creeps in with
my usual reeds. The ease of blowing, the
lightness in weight and the full system
make this a strong contender amongst the
excellent intermediate oboes available.
Tiery E40
Conclusions
There is a family resemblance in the
sound with all makers and Fossati is no
exception. I would place the sound in
the makers’ spectrum about mid-way
between the brighter Lorées through to
the darker Marigaux M2. Considering the
professional models the sound is vibrant
yet full and warm, most particularly with
the MB model. The Soliste V is a little
more open and free blowing and was
much like my Rigoutat in its tonal
envelope. The projection of them both
is excellent and they can make big
controllable sounds and still be decent!
This oboe is the top of the range student
oboe and sells for a very competitive
price. This model has a thumb plate
installed and a third octave key neatly
placed to its left and out of the way.
I was delighted to have these oboes in my
company over the Christmas period and
was able to give them a good play test. I
was very impressed by the high quality of
finish of these instruments, particularly of
Double Reed News
The scale on both oboes is even with very
good tonal stability throughout the range.
No flying Fs, stable top As, the extreme
notes up to highest A as easy as on any
oboe I own, and easier than some. The
Soliste model being preferred with my
reed set up for the latter.
Advertise in
Double Reed News
from
£40.00
Classifieds: £5.00
Please see page 41 for more details
My thanks go to Johan Bricout for this
opportunity to try these oboes and I was
very reluctant to pack them up and see
them leave the premises. I had my
favourite but it would be churlish to
name ‘her’.
Wonderful Winds
Double Reed Arrangements by Anna Cooper
A unique collection of expertly arranged oboe trios and
flexible double reed ensemble music to inspire
and delight players from beginners to professionals
Shop online @
www.wonderfulwinds.com
e-mail: [email protected]
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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Reviews
The cor anglais is probably best known for playing long,
slow, mournful melodies, usually in operas, films, etc when
someone is dying or has just died! However, on this CD,
Alison pushes the boundaries of technique and shows that
the cor can also be an agile and jolly instrument. She leaps
around in every register with consummate ease, displaying
clear and effortless articulation. Luchetti's Rock Song No.3,
coming as it does between the gentle Rubbra Duo and
Bozza's charming Divertissement, really highlights the
difference between what is 'expected' from the cor anglais
and the virtuoso pyrotechnics of which, in the right hands,
it is capable.
CD REVIEW
cor!
Various composers
Alison Teale, cor anglais
Elizabeth Burley, piano
Oboe Classics CC2023
www.oboeclassics.com
Photo: David Hare
I must also mention Elizabeth Burley's piano playing,
both as accompanist and duo partner. In particular, her
expressive and beautifully sonorous performance of the
Ravel Piano Concerto, which created such a perfect
introduction for the cor anglais solo.
'Cor!' indeed! This is a bravura
tour de force of cor anglais
playing. Alison has chosen a
wonderfully eclectic selection
of pieces for this compilation,
all of which show the
instrument in very different
moods. In a mixture of original
works and arrangements, Alison
demonstrates an awe-inspiring command of the instrument
and an obvious joy in playing it. From the frenzied passion
of the Ritual Fire Dance to the exquisite tranquillity of
Messiaen's Vocalise, she calls on a prodigiously wide
range of tone colours and dynamics. One could almost
think the two pieces were played on different instruments!
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Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
It seems churlish to mention anything negative about this
disc, but I did feel that the cor was sometimes rather too
close-miked, so that the breathing was a bit intrusive. By
contrast, the piano could have had more presence as it
seemed a little distant in comparison. That said, however,
these are most accomplished performances of an
extraordinary variety of music, and the two players seem
equally at home with every style. From the baroque sonata
of Valentine to David Gordon's astonishing Bebop Tango
and just about everything in between, there is surely
something here to suit everyone's taste.
In her highly personal sleeve notes, Alison states that her
mission is to expand the repertoire of the cor anglais and to
encourage more people to explore its hidden qualities. I'd
say she's achieved her aim in 'cor!'
Christine Pendrill
MUSIC REVIEWS
Sonatina
by Paul Carr
pub. Goodmusic Publishing GM039
£6.00
This three-movement piece has the overall feeling of an
improvisation by a West End theatre composer and as Paul
has spent much of his life in the theatre and writing for
television and film, this is not surprising.
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The first movement, entitled ‘Running with Dogs’, was
inspired by a walk with his dogs in December on a
deserted beach in Mallorca where he now lives. The front
cover features one of his own abstract paintings of the
same name, which I find particularly attractive. In 6/4, it
has a rolling accompaniment in D major that is pleasant
enough, though rather repetitive for my taste; but maybe
that is part of its charm. The highest note in this movement
is a tenor F# – not the best note on any bassoon – so this
would be a good exercise in finding the most reliable
fingering for the gentle melodic feel. The lowest is a bottom
B so as an educational exercise this movement would have
its uses.
The slow movement, ‘Poetic, somewhat sad’, is in Ab
major, a very suitable key for this ‘lamenting song’ as Paul
calls it, and it is exactly that. This movement goes slightly
higher (up to an Ab) but no lower that the Eb below middle
C on which it ends with a pianissimo pause. Unfortunately
this is another weak note on the bassoon but equally a
good opportunity to learn how to cope with this rather
common situation. There is a generally pleasant feel to the
whole movement.
The last movement, ‘Short Impromptu Dance’, is a quick
swung 4/4 in A minor with a few obvious modulations,
ending in G major. Although rather repetitive, this would
be a good opportunity to develop the swing style with the
written dotted rhythms and triplets. It employs a range from
top G to bottom D.
Overall, with its generally playable piano part, I feel that it
is what it set out to be, a straight-forward, light piece which
has several useful features for a teacher and which many
younger players would find attractive to perform.
John Orford
Le Basson de Gustavo
by Pascal Proust
pub. Editions Combre
£11.99
This is an attractive little piece written in the style of a
tango. There is a solo bassoon introduction marked
calme et langoureux before entering the piece proper. The
relatively easy piano part makes great use of chords of the
seventh and would be manageable by an average player
such as myself. The bassoon part stays very much in the
middle register, going only as low as an E and no higher
than a tenor F. It presents a very simple but effective tune
and is rhythmically uncomplicated; overall about grade 4
I would suggest.
As a lighter piece of music it would be a very useful
addition to the repertoire, making it ideal for a family
get-together or school concert.
John Orford
Andante and Theme with Variations
by Gioachino Rossini
for flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon
Bärenreiter BA 10542
£16.00
Few composers have written for a quartet comprising flute,
clarinet, horn and bassoon, although it is a pleasing
combination of sounds that can both blend and contrast
with ease. It can provide full sonorous four-part harmony,
or delicate touches of colour and texture, at will. Some
players may already be familiar with Rossini’s six quartets
for this combination, published many decades ago by
Schott: a delightful collection of multi-movement works
that are typically tuneful and of the high quality to be
expected of a composer of such standing.
Bärenreiter has recently produced this urtext edition
of another of Rossini’s works written for the same
instrumentation. It is provided with an interesting preface
which sets the general historical scene. This edition is
based on an original source found in the Bibliothèque
Nationale in Paris, although the editor, Philip Gossett,
explains that the inscribed date of 1812, which appears on
the title page, is probably not correct. In fact little is known
of the circumstances of the work’s composition.
The work opens with operatic aplomb. The Andante
movement is built up with wisps of melody shared between
the clarinet and the flute, punctuated by dramatic chords.
The central section is a substantial arioso for the bassoon;
this is then extended and brought to conclusion by the
clarinet. Thus we get to know all the main characters in this
little drama.
The Theme is an eight-bar statement followed by an
eight-bar response; the response bars (9 to 16) are then
repeated. This format is retained for each of the ensuing six
variations. For the theme, the flute and the clarinet share
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the decorative melody. Variation 1 features the bassoon in
flamboyant mood while in the second, the horn, so often
given triplet movement to represent the gallop of hunting
horses, takes the audience on a merry chase. The third
variation puts the clarinet through its virtuosic paces, using
the full range from low F to high A. (The original, as shown
in the score, is written for C clarinet, thus the extreme
notes are low E to high G.) Variation 4 is a solemn minor
section, with the bassoon again taking the lead role; in
variation 5 the flute skips gaily off in the major again with
cascades of triplets.
quite fast semiquavers to negotiate. The whole work lasts
6 minutes.
For variation 6 the interest is shared between all the voices
and builds to a coda section of substantial and delightful
operatic self-importance. It is a work which will surely
entertain players and audiences alike.
Le Bel Hautbois Dormant
for oboe and piano
by Francis Coiteux
pub. Editions Combre
€13.20
The oboe part is written comfortably in the middle register
and is fun to play without being very demanding –
probably about grade 6 standard. The edition is clear and
well produced with helpful information and the editors
have added dynamics and articulation marks.
Hazel Todd
Frances Jones
Andante and Allegro
for solo oboe and string trio
by Edward Elgar
pub. Acuta Music
Score and parts £12.00
A new quartet for oboe and strings by Elgar has to be
an exciting prospect for all oboists, and these charming
miniatures will not disappoint. They are thought to
have been written for performance at the Worcester Glee
Club in 1878, the manuscript being entitled Xmas Music.
The scoring is for the usual violin, viola and cello with oboe.
The Andante is a simple melody in G major on the oboe,
with a string accompaniment consisting of a continuous
line of pp semiquavers in the violin, and sustained
harmony in the lower parts. The Allegro is a lively ternary
form movement in G minor with a more lyrical middle
section. It begins with a unison ritornello for the strings, the
parts being more equal than in the Andante and the writing
more contrapuntal. The oboe has some brief passages of
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Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
Another very short piece, this is in three sections and lasts
4 minutes. The movements – representing episodes in the
Sleeping Beauty tale – are entitled Le sommeil, Le reveil
and La joie. Francis Coiteux is a teacher and composer
currently working at the Conservatoire National
de Troyes.
Le sommeil is a lyrical melody reminiscent of Ravel’s
Mother Goose. This leads straight into Le reveil – only 8
bars long – which is very similar in style and content, but
with a livelier character. La joie is, as one would expect,
a lively bouncy movement.
The style throughout is chromatic and written without a
key signature, but it is not difficult to play – again perhaps
grade 6-7, and gives plenty of opportunity for colourful
imaginative playing. I would suggest it as a useful piece
for A level recitals.
This is a good, well-produced, informative edition if
rather pricey for the short duration of the work.
Hazel Todd
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Notices
Monday 5th March, Royal Academy of Music, Marylebone
Road, London NW1 5HT: 10.30am–1.30pm and
3.30pm–6.30pm in the Henry Wood Room, a masterclass
with Jonathan Kelly, Visiting Professor at the Academy,
Principal Oboe of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Free, no tickets required. More information is available on
the Academy website at www.ram.ac.uk/events
11th – 14th April at Abbotsholme School, Staffordshire:
Flutewise presents Woodwind United, a fully residential
course for all woodwind players aged 8 to 18 years,
from beginners to post-grade 8 standard.
For more details and booking please see
www.flutewise.com/events
Benslow Music Courses
9th – 11th March: The Camden Wind Ensemble Course,
with Simon de Souza and a team of the nation’s finest coaches of
flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn. Participants should be
experienced sight-readers.
20th – 22nd April: Janet Myatt’s Introduction to
Wind Chamber Music
Janet Myatt introduces players, who might come as individuals
or as newly established ensembles, to one-to-a-part playing in
groups of similar abilities, roughly grade 3 standard with
reasonable sight-reading ability.
18th – 20th May: Janet Myatt’s New Winds
This friendly course is for beginners of up to grade 3 standard
with little or no experience of playing in ensembles.
25th – 27th May: Oboe Extravaganza
with Andrew Knights and Ian Clarke (piano). Andrew Knights,
author of The Oboist’s Practice Companion, helps participants
with everything from reeds to practice routines and
warm-ups. There will be ensemble sessions and
opportunities to work with pianist.
All courses take place at Benslow Music, Hitchin, Hertfordshire
SG4 9RB [email protected]
01462 459446 www.benslowmusic.org
13th May ACE Foundation: Cambridge Double
Reed Day with Anthony Robson at St Faith’s
School, Trumpington Road, Cambridge CB2 8AG
from 9.30am to 6.00pm, including a presentation
for friends and family at 5.00. All oboe and
bassoon players from grade 3 to diploma are
invited. There will be ensembles of differing
abilities and instrumentation plus the opportunity
of playing in the Royal Fireworks Music by Handel,
complete with horns, trumpets and timpani.
Go to www.acefoundation.org.uk/courses/music
or call 01223 839399.
4th – 11th August 2012 at Malvern College:
Malvern Winds Course for players of diploma standard,
and advanced and intermediate levels, with a
minimum standard of grade 6. Players will be
organised into set-repertoire graded groups, and
music sent out in advance for personal practice.
These pre-formed groups will receive tuition
throughout the week, and some of the music will
feature in an end-of-week concert. Further details
from www.cuillinsoundmusic.co.uk/CuillinSound/
Malvern_Summer_Course
Oboist and bassoonist wanted!
The friendly and adventurous Tudor Orchestra,
which rehearses on Monday evenings in North
Finchley, has a vacancy for an experienced
regular first oboist and second bassoonist.
For more information please see
www.tudororchestra.org.uk. Our next concert
is on 24th March. Enquiries to Owen Leech:
020 8347 0489, 07717 846216 or
[email protected]
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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Classified
Bassoon and Contra Servicing and Repairs. Also all other woodwinds.
Ian White. Tel: 01865 873709 (Oxford).
Bassoonists! Free your hands and neck and use a spike.
Tel: 01206 382567.
Gouge and Profiler Blades Re-sharpened. Prompt service.
New Oboe Reed Gougers available. New Michel Oboe Profiler Blades.
Tony Spicer. Tel: 01903 892098 Email: [email protected]
‘Jumbo’ large bodied S5 Howarth Oboe (#4031) from mid-90's for sale.
In excellent condition just overhauled. Used on recordings and concerts but not over-used.
£3,600 ono. Contact: [email protected]
For LIGHT-HEARTED and enjoyable help with all oboe-related and performance challenges,
contact Sien Vallis-Davies. Information, recordings, media music, reed advice,
oboists’ comments, films, etc: www.OpenAcademy.info
Howarth S20 Oboe for sale. 5 years old. Recently serviced, in very good condition. £1,500.
Contact Susan Kippax on 01244 335650 or [email protected]
Billerbeck Oboe – Oboe d’amore – Cor Anglais Reeds
www.billerbeckoboereeds.co.uk Tel: 01343 835430.
Howarth S6 professional oboe, 3 years old, excellent condition £4,500.
[email protected]
Adler 1357 Bassoon for sale, South East London, ‘played in’ but little used.
Beautiful condition, with standard case and additional soft rucksack-style case,
all accessories and extra reeds. £3,500 or very near offer.
Contact [email protected] Tel: 020 8692 8081 or 07905 274577.
40
Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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Advertising
in the Double Reed News
Copy deadlines:
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email: [email protected]
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Fees will be payable in Sterling only.
Membership Enquiries:
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discretion wihout stating a reason, nor does it accept responsibility for omissions, clerical errors, or the
statements made by advertisers, although every effort is made to check the bona fides of advertisers and
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Double Reed News 98 l Spring 2012
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Index to Advertisers
Billerbeck Reeds..........................................................................................................................23
Britannia Reeds ...........................................................................................................................15
Paul Carrington ...........................................................................................................................32
David Cowdy ..............................................................................................................................29
Da Vinci Oboes ...........................................................................................................................10
Forton Music ...............................................................................................................................32
Fox UK..............................................................................................................Outside back cover
Pete Haseler/Gregson Knives .......................................................................................................21
Howarth London ..................................................................................................Inside front cover
K.Ge Reeds ...................................................................................................................................5
F. Lorée ................................................................................................................Inside back cover
Andrew May ...............................................................................................................................29
Medir SL......................................................................................................................................29
Oboereedsdirect..........................................................................................................................25
Püchner/Jonathan Small/Graham Salvage/T. W. Howarth.............................................................15
Jessica Rance...............................................................................................................................29
Torda Reeds.................................................................................................................................21
Wonderful Winds ........................................................................................................................35
Woodford Reeds..........................................................................................................................25
Woodwind & Co. ........................................................................................................................29
42
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a
Depuis 1881
HAUTBOIS
OBOE
HAUTBOIS D’AMOUR • COR ANGLAIS • HAUTBOIS BARYTON • HAUTBOIS PICCOLO
DE GOURDON. 48 rue de Rome 75008 PARIS France
Tél. : +33 (0)1 44 70 79 55 Fax : +33 (0)1 44 70 00 40
E-mail : [email protected] www.loree-paris.com
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