MUSIC REVIEWS - Michael Burns

148
REVIEWS
and this was the approachI took at setting his poems.
Instead of setting the poems based on the text, the
music is a reflection of the emotions that eachpoem
brought to me.
The first movement, "Opening of a Rose",is by
turns contemplative,playful, and dramatic. Thereis a
senseof grandeur that pervadesthis movement.
Movement two, "Reachingthe Rose",beginswith
a nice pastoral English horn solo and duet with the
oboe which fade into a dramatic tune that is both reflectiveand somber.Someplayful momentsinterrupt
momentarily, but quickly return to the dramatic and
melancholystatements.
"The Rose'sCall" is a rip roaring rondo Irish folk
dance that frames both lyrical solos and duets accompanied by gently pulsating chords and a beautifully lyrical choralesection.
The finale, "RosesMovin' In", starts offwith a series of dark and dramatic syncopatedstatementsthat
give way to a brilliant successionof playfully syncopated chords based on a repeated rhythmic motif.
This gives way to one last lovely chorale which leads
to an impressivefinish.
The RoseChronicleswas commissionedby, and is
tion of the main theme is reminiscent of Bach'ssecond Brandenburg Concerto.The middle section introduces two new melodic ideas,the first appearing
in the oboe with accompaniment in the two lower
voices. This is followed by a section with a duet im
the two lower voices accompaniedby the oboe. The
specific accompaniment pattern for both of these
sectionsconsistsof repeated16th notes which reinforce the harmonic changes.An occasionalmeasure
of rest punctuatesthe accompaniment.The constan,t
16th notes have the potential of detracting from the
melody as it comesoffas "busy work" instead of being purely in a supportiverole.
The fourth movement is a challenge for bothr
the oboe and English horn as there are two sections
which lack an adequateplace to breathe.The syncopated theme in the upper two voicesis repeatedor"en
a basic harmonic progression.The bassoon merelv
holds whole notes with the root of the chord in each
measure.
If one is looking for a light piece with catchv
rhythms and melodies, then The Rose Chronicles
would be an appropriatework to balancemore serious compositionsin a performance.
gratefully dedicatedto, The Pear Tree Trio, who premiered the pieceon Iuly 27,2006 at the International
Double Reed Conferenceat Ball StateUniversity in
Muncie, Indiana."
Overall The RoseChroniclesis rather simplistic
and predictable.There is limited developmentof the
melodiesset forth at the beginning of the first three
movementsand is not changedor manipulated at all
M U S IC
REVIEWS
over the courseof thosemovements.In fact, the composer returns to the music already stated at the beginning of thesemovements,using a literal repeatof
the music without any variation. In addition, the texture and use of the instrumentation is basicwith the
bassoonused in a primary accompanying role, the
oboe as the primary melodic voice, and the English
horn alternatingbetweenthe two roles as needed.
The highlight of the piece is the opening of the
secondmovementwith a lovely unaccompaniedmelodic line in the English horn followed by a lyrical
and singing duet with the oboe. Constructed in an
ABA B' form, the middle sectionof the pieceprovides
interestby using groupsof four 16th notesinterjected
between quarters and half notes. The music returns
to a exact repetition of the oboe and English horn
duet from the A Sectionfollowed by a shortenedpassagethat leadsinto the B' section,also a literal repeat
of music from the B Section.
In the third movement, the rhythmic construc-
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MUSIC FROM TREVCO MUSIC
P.O.Box4,Tallevast,
FL 34270
hnp'.I I www.trevcom usic.com)
A P P L T N ,R T C H A R D .
I
Mixed
Metaphors,for Bassoon
and Piano
I
I rco ttze(szo;
Mixed Metaphors was written and premiered rn
2003,and was recently performed at the 2009 IDR"S
convention. The first movement, 'Boundary Condr*
tions,' begins in slow duple meter, which starts ltittr:
mostly quarter notes and quarter note triplets, and
gradually builds in intensity, moving to eighth note
triplets, sixteenth notes, and finally sixteenth note
THE DOUBLEREED
triplets. It then moves into a fast 6/8 meter, using a
lilting eighth note line, which reminds me somewhat
of a tarantella. It then goes into a 314meter, which
has a waltz like feel to it, using a primarily quarter
note melody.The 6/8 sectionthen returns to complete
the movement. The end of the movement transitions
immediately into the next, 'ex nihilo,' which is for
bassoonalone. This is in a moderatelypulsed duple
meter, and sounds somewhat free, with the many
varying rhythms used, covering the entire range of
the instrument. The final movement,'Heat Death,' is
mostly in a fast duple meter. There is a bit of imitation betweenthe two parts, and similar to the introduction of the first movement, gradually builds in
intensity throughout, climaxing with a sectionof arpeggiatedsixteenthnotes.A slow coda,which recalls
some of the music from the first movement, finishes
out the composition. The bassoonrange extendsup
to d #2 and I would give this work a grade of IV. This
would certainly be a contrasting work for you to add
to any recital program.
I ClassicOldies,forFourBassoons
T
Arrangedby TrevorCramer.
3 vols.
I
I TCo 1249,1250,i251 (each 514)
Each of thesevolumes containsthree songs. Volume
one has Smoke Gets in your Eyes,Blue Moon, and
Ma (He'sMaking' Eyesat Me). Volume two contains
Can't Help Lovin' Dat MAn, Make Believe,and Yes!
We have I{o Bananas. And volume three has Ain't
She Sweet,Moonlight Boy, and FascinatingRhythm.
The first bassoonhas the melody throughout, while
the other voicesaccompany,with the bottom part often playing a walking bassline. The rhythms are fairly straightforward, and some of the piecesshould be
swung. The only moderately difficult aspectof these
works is the rangeof the top voices,which sometimes
hover around c2 or d2 for extendedperiods. I would
give thesea grade of III+. Any combination of these
pieceswould be a fun addition to a recital program.
B UR NS,MICHAEL .
Riffs,for Flute,Bassoon,
and Piano.
I
I TCO 13s6(Sr a;
I
I rememberhearing this work's premiere at the 1998
IDRS convention.The intention of this piece is to be
sort of a ' jazz primer' for the classicallytrained musician. All of the solos are written out, but the performers are free to add/embellish to the work if they
like. This work was previously reviewed in manu-
149
script form (DR 23 No. 2, p.26), but now is available
through TrevCo. It is in two movements, aWaltz and
a Shuffle,and both are in compound meter, allowing
the performers to 'swing' more easily.The bassoon
range only extendsto c2 and I would give this piece
a grade of IV-. This is a very fun piece to play and
would be a great addition to any recital.
S H E E N ,G R A H A M .
Goodbye,Mr Galliard,for Baroque(or modern)
Bassoon
with Celloand Harpsichord,
or Modern
Bassoon
and Piano.
TCO 1ss2(Szo;
This work has already been recorded twice: first on
baroque bassoon by Marc Vallon (Les Delices du
BassonBaroque) and on modern bassoon by Graham Sheen (Goodbye Mr Galliard, SFZ Music,
SFZM0109).As you probably guessedfrom the title,
this piece is based on motives from the one of Galliard's bassoonsonatas.It is similar to a Baroqueperiod fantasiaor toccata.It has severalcontrastingsections that sound free (somesectionsare free actually)
or improvised. There are a lot of meter and tempo
changes throughout and the work is quite difficult
rhythmically as well. The earlier sectionshave a lot of
largeinterval leaps,alongwith severalextendedtechniques,including pitch bends,varied vibrato speeds,
and repeatednote accelerandos.The ending portion
is mostly thirty-second notes in a fast eighth note
pulse. The range is not extreme,only going up to al,
but this is a very difficult work on either the Baroque
or modern instrument, so I would give it a gradeof V.
If you are looking for a new challenge,this is perhaps
the piecefor which you havebeen searching.
T I R V I N , WA D E .
T
Tenor Clef
I
I T C Os l o e ( S r a ;
It has been a long time sincea new tutor for learning
tenor clef has come out. Wade Irvin's new method is
basedoff of the Weissenbornstudies,taking several
of those etudes and transposing them up an octave
and placing them in tenor clef. After the first three
notes are introduced, one new note is brought forth
in eachlesson,with accompanyingetudesand scales,
eventuallygoing up to e2.Thereis a sectionof orchestral excerpts(with correctmeasurenumbers)that use
tenor clef at the end of the book. If you havea student
who is having difficulty mastering tenor clef,this new
method should be of help to them.