Double Reed 70 cover - British Double Reed Society

Transcription

90
No.
www.bdrs.org.uk registered charity number 1080461
Double Reed News
The magazine of the British Double Reed Society
Spring 2010
Convention
2010
Wycombe Abbey School
Buckinghamshire
9th May 2010
“
Words from
our Chairman
Robert Codd
In this Issue...
”
Among the many challenges involved in writing the Chairman’s notes is the sobering
realisation, all the more appropriate after Christmas, that almost three months will
have elapsed by the time you receive them. So, although there is now torrential rain –
St Nicholas, the Green Knight and Noah all rolled into one – when this magazine
reaches you, the weather could well be warm, dry and full of vernal expectation. But I
hope you will have survived the worst excesses of the festive season, climatic and
gastronomic, and are getting ready for the various rites of Spring, one of which is the
Annual General Meeting and Convention, held this year in Wycombe Abbey School
on Sunday, 9th May.
The suggestion came simultaneously from several committee members including
Clive Fairbairn, our Editor, and should prove to be a most attractive and
accommodating venue, beautifully situated in parkland with a lake, and equipped
with at least two fine pianos and an excellent concert hall. There are several reception
areas, certainly large enough to house one of the top attractions of the day, the AGM,
whose attendance numbers were so significantly boosted last year by holding it at
lunchtime, in a space en route to the cafeteria.
Once again we are delighted to welcome the two soloists, who will each be giving a
recital and masterclass. They are British oboist, David Theodore, and the Australian
bassoonist, now living in Vienna, Lorelei Dowling. David will be playing music by a
range of composers including Handel and Lennox Berkeley. Lorelei has a background
in contemporary music and electronics, which you can detect from her highly-charged
emails, positively crackling with exclamation marks.
3 Chairman’s Comments
Robert Codd
4 Editorial
Clive Fairbairn
5 Annual Convention Preview
9 Annual General Meeting
Maxine Moody
10 Reports & News
Geoffrey Bridge, Sydney E Hemsley
Catherine Millar, William Ring
13 Our Oboist Ancestors
James Brown
14 Two Forgotten Bassoon Sonatas
Wouter Verschuren
20 Orpheus Revisited
Melinda Maxwell
23 The Evolving Bassoon(ist)
Stephen Fuller
26 Stronger Oboes in Havana
Aimara Magaña
29 Bassonicus: What if...
Beethoven had been born a woman?
Jefferey Cox
Our two co-Presidents have stated that they would very much like to attend if
possible. Roger is hoping to return to the UK to live – not just because of the
Convention! – and Karl has offered to arrange two of his works for the Mass Play-In at
the end of the day.
32 Slippage:
On my last visit to the Library of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, I was
pleased to see that Double Reed News had been reinstated after an absence of almost
two years. I know that an earlier edition did have a photograph of the Chairman on
the cover but the penalty seemed a little excessive. When I contacted our Mem. Sec.,
Christopher Rosevear, to thank him for facilitating the return, he commented that at
last we would all be able to learn the Welsh for vibrato!
Neil Black, Geoffrey Bridge
Edwin Roxburgh
Finally, in the last edition of DRN, there appeared an article on the Berkshire
Maestros. Numbered amongst them is a bassoon quartet, considered to be so good
that they have been invited to visit China to
promote the cause of the ‘Endangered
Species’. (Will they have to compete with
another endangered species, the giant panda,
for bamboo?) It is hoped that the quartet may
also be able to appear at Wycombe Abbey –
another very good reason for attending. So,
congratulations to the Berkshire Maestros and
many thanks to all who have been involved in
the planning and organising of the forthcoming
Convention. We look forward to seeing
you there.
Reed making’s most benevolent fault
L. Hugh Cooper
36 Reviews
39 Noticeboard
40 Classified
41 Advertising, Membership, etc
And, by the way, I am told that the Welsh for
vibrato is “DIRGRYNIANT”.
Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010
3
The Editor’s Comment
British Double Reed Society
www.bdrs.org.uk
[email protected]
Joint Presidents
Roger Birnstingl, Karl Jenkins
Chairman
Robert Codd
[email protected]
Secretary
Maxine Moody
5 North Avenue,
Stoke Park, Coventry CV2 4DH
0247 665 0322
[email protected]
Treasurer
Geoffrey Bridge
House of Cardean
Meigle, Perthshire PH12 8RB
[email protected]
Committee
Jane Carrington-Porter, Jenny Caws,
Jefferey Cox, Sarah Francis, Christine Griggs
Nicholas Hunka, Anthony McColl
Membership
Dr Christopher Rosevear
[email protected]
Education
[email protected]
Legal Services Co-ordinator
Nigel Salmon
4 Portelet Place, Hedge End
Southampton, Hants SO30 0LZ
BDRS Web Manager
[email protected]
Double Reed News
Clive Fairbairn, Editor
Editorial Office DRN, P.O. Box 713
High Wycombe HP13 5XE
Editorial enquiries only:
Tel/Fax: 01494 520359
[email protected]
Advertising, Membership and other
BDRS/DRN details – see back page
ISSN 1460-5686
4
Mention of the word ‘celebrity’ usually sets my teeth on edge.
The way it is applied, not to mention the people thus labelled,
seems often to wrench the word from its real meaning. Yes,
sadly beneath my editor’s bonnet I do have quite a collection
of bees buzzing around, whether to do with bad punctuation,
split infinitives or maltreatment of collective nouns. But I
sometimes enjoy breaking a few of those rules – like starting a
sentence with ‘but’!
Celebrities should be, however, people who quite simply
deserve celebrating. Frequently, it seems to me, that many
so-called celebrities deserve exactly the opposite. I am not
going to risk getting into hot water by mentioning any – after
all this is Double Reed News, not Private Eye. But conversely
I would like to see more celebration of people who warrant
such recognition and are probably not adequately noticed,
even if they are happy to keep out of the limelight.
Here I will mention two; and maybe you would like to write to
the Letters section with your own nominations. James (Jimmy)
Brown has always been a much respected figure on the oboe
scene as player, collector and author. He has, for example,
written many articles for Double Reed News. Despite his house
blowing up around him when he had turned 80 he, and later
the house, recovered and he has now produced a remarkable
work of scholarship documenting 1650 of ‘our oboist
ancestors’ in a book, copies of which he is offering to the
membership (see page 13 and the review on page 36). This
labour of love deserves celebrating.
What about bassoonists? Well, in the Reports & News section
you can read about a bassoon quartet of players, all still at
school, who have been invited to represent the UK at the
International Society for Music Education Conference in
Beijing, China this summer. Quite remarkable in itself because
they are all post-grade 8 (even diploma holders in some cases),
yet they are still only 14-year olds and were until recently the
entire section of the National Children’s Orchestra. And they all
have the same teacher. She must be doing something right!
And what she is doing needs celebrating.
You can show your applause for Catherine Millar and her fine
young quartet by supporting them in their quest for funding for
the trip to China: see page 10. This would be appropriate
celebration!
Clive Fairbairn
STOP PRESS
As well as Edwin Roxburgh’s enthusiastic review in the last
issue of DRN, Melinda Maxwell’s recording of Harrison
Birtwistle’s 26 Orpheus Elegies and three Bach arias was voted
by the critic Hilary Finch as one of her CD recordings of the
year for BBC Radio 3; it was also given a 5 star rating in the
BBC Music Magazine for November 2009. See Melinda’s
article in this issue on page 20.
British Double Reed Society |
Sunday 9th May 2010
Annual Convention
10.00am – 5.00pm
The Music School, Wycombe Abbey School, Abbey Way, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 1PE
Recitals
David Theodore, oboe
Lorelei Dowling, bassoon
Professor of Oboe,
Royal College of Music
Former Principal Oboe,
London Philharmonic
Solo bassoonist,
Klangforum Wien, Austria
Lecturer in Contemporary Studies
at the University of Music and
Dramatic Arts Graz, Austria
Masterclasses by the Guest Artists
Oboe Tutorials (accompanist provided)
Bassoon Tutorials (accompanist provided)
Chamber Music
Graded Workshops
Teachers Forum
Alexander Technique
Mass Play-in
Trade Stands
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
Convention 2010 Preview
Wycombe Abbey is a girls’ independent
boarding school in High Wycombe,
where at least three-quarters of the pupils
study a musical instrument or singing,
many learning two or more. The Acting
Director of Music is BDRS member and
oboist Sarah McClure, who is looking
forward to welcoming the Convention to
Wycombe Abbey for the first time.
The purpose-built Music School
(incorporated in a performing arts centre)
was inaugurated about ten years ago
and often hosts courses by external
organisations, such as the National Youth
Orchestra, during school holidays. It
includes fine teaching facilities and a
200-seater recital hall containing both
Steinway and Bösendorfer grand pianos.
If driving, High Wycombe is close to
J4 on the M40 (but can also be accessed
from J3 or J5). From J4 follow signs for
A404 High Wycombe; having descended
the long hill into the town (at this
moment Wycombe Abbey is on the right)
turn right at the first mini-roundabout. The
big entrance gates are then quickly on the
right but it is advisable to continue to the
next mini-roundabout and perform a
U-turn to make turning into the gates
more easy. Then follow signs.
By train, High Wycombe station is well
served on the Chiltern Railways line from
London Marylebone to Birmingham.
There are usually taxis at the station or
it is an approx. 8 mins walk to the
school. Come out of the station yard
into Crendon Hill and turn left
(downhill); at the main traffic lights walk
straight across and continue to the
roundabouts where you will see the
Abbey straight ahead. Here bear left to
use the pedestrian tunnel which passes
under the roadway; coming out of the
tunnel turn right and up to street level.
Go straight on and the gate is just ahead.
Then follow signs.
5
Wycombe Abbey
Guest Artists
Once again the annual convention offers
a full programme of events. This year
BDRS is presenting one guest artist from
abroad and from Great Britain.
Lorelei Dowling, bassoonist and
contrabassoonist, is a world-renowned
contemporary specialist. Since winning
her first position in the Sydney Symphony
Orchestra aged 24, she has appeared with
many esteemed ensembles such as the
Mozarteum Orchestra, Australian Opera
and Ballet Orchestra, Ensemble Moderne,
Esbjerg Ensemble, musikFabrik and
Lausanne Chamber Orchestra.
She was the first bassoonist to play the
Jolivet Bassoon Concerto with a major
Australian Orchestra and has appeared at
numerous festivals around the world
including the Salzburger Festpiele,
Schlesgwig-Holstein, and Gidon Kremer’s
6
Wycombe Abbey Music School
House, Covent Garden and the London
Philharmonic, where he was Principal for
twenty years until recently.
David enjoys a wide range of musicmaking from chamber music to solo
playing. He has made many recordings
including the Mozart Oboe Concerto
and the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto
with the London Symphony Orchestra. He
also spends time recording the music for
various films and television programmes.
Film credits include Lord of the Rings,
Harry Potter and The Reader; television
work has included Miss Marple, Life
and Emerdale.
David Theodore has the rare distinction
of being a Fellow of both the Royal
Academy of Music and Guildhall School
of Music and Drama. He is a Professor of
Oboe at the Royal College of Music and
plays on a Howarth oboe.
Lockenhaus Festival where she recorded
the Nina Rota Nonetto. Lorelei has given
lecture-recitals all over the world, most
notably at the Manhattan School of
Music, Moscow Conservatorium, Venice
Biennale, Porto School of Music (Portugal),
Paris Conservatoire, and for the IDRS
conferences in Ithaca and Wisconsin.
this instrument in solo, chamber and
orchestral repertoire.
Since 1994 she has been the solo
bassoonist in Klangforum Wien (Austria),
and with this ensemble has recorded
more than 20 CDs and made numerous
radio recordings. She has worked with
such conductors as Simone Young, John
Adams, Stefan Ashbury, Robin Ticciato,
Sylvain Cambreling, Matthias Pintscher,
Sian Edwards and Wayne Marshall. Since
September 2009 she has held the position
of lecturer for bassoon/contrabassoon in
the postgraduate course for Contemporary
Studies at the University of Music and
Dramatic Arts Graz, Austria.
David Theodore studied the oboe at the
Royal Academy of Music in London and,
at the age of twenty, was appointed
Principal in the BBC Welsh Orchestra.
He later moved
to the BBC
Symphony
Orchestra also
as Principal,
specialising in
contemporary
music under its
then Music
Director,
Pierre Boulez.
Since then he
has held other
London positions,
including in the
Orchestra of the
Royal Opera
Lorelei has pioneered usage of the
Kontraforte in contemporary music,
playing it exclusively and extensively and
promoting its inclusion in ensembles of
all sizes. She has collaborated with
composers to maximise the potential of
She is currently working with composers
such as Mark André, Oscar Bianchi,
Bernhard Gander, James Clarke and Elena
Katz-Chernin to expand the contemporary
bassoon repertoire.
They are as usual joined by a team
of tutorial, workshop and session leaders.
Karl Jenkins, BDRS Oboe President,
has kindly agreed to make special
arrangements of two of his compositions
for use in the Mass Play-In.
Trade stands are always a highlight of the
Convention and, with a warm welcome
from Wycombe Abbey School, this
should make a very special day for all
Double Reeders.
7
8
British Double Reed Society |
Annual General Meeting
(Registered Charity No. 1080461)
Sunday 9th May 2010
The Music School, Wycombe Abbey School, Abbey Way, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP11 1PE
The Annual General Meeting for 2010 will be held in the Music School at Wycombe Abbey School on Sunday, 9th May 2010 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 2009 AGM held at Northampton Music School on 3rd May 2009
3. Matters arising from the Minutes
4. Presentation of the Annual Report for 2009
5. Presentation of the Treasurer’s Report and Annual Accounts for 2009
6. Appointment of person(s) to undertake the independent examination of the 2010 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 25th April 2010. Nomination forms can be obtained from the Secretary by application.
3. Jefferey Cox, Jenny Caws and Maxine Moody are due to retire by rotation in 2010.
4. The Secretary is Maxine Moody, who can be contacted at 5 North Avenue, Stoke Park, Coventry, CV2 4DH (024 7665 0322)
or by e-mail at [email protected]
9
Reports and News
Results of the 9th International Oboe Competition
in Karuizawa, Japan
from Geoffrey Bridge
Philippe Tondre, the young oboist who won the 2009 Fox-Gillet
Competition at the IDRS Conference in Birmingham last July, and
who played the Vaughan Williams Oboe Concerto in the final
concert with the New Mozart Orchestra under Clive Fairbairn,
has had another major success. He took 2nd prize in the SONY
Competition in Karuizawa, Japan.
The full results are as follows:
1st prize
2nd prize
Ivan Podyomov, Russia & Viola Wilmsen, Germany
Philippe Tondre, France
No third prize given
The ‘Acer Saccharum’ Bassoon Quartet to
play in China this Summer
by Catherine Millar
and arrangements
all the time. (If you
would like to
know what music
works for us just
use the email
address given
below.)
They have had an
exciting time as a
quartet during the
last year. They were
invited to give a
performance at
the Federation of
Music Services’
Fundraising at Tesco: L-R Madeleine Millar, Conference in front
Harry Davidson, Charlotte Wyatt, Fiona Russell of several hundred
delegates from
Acer Saccharum (Maple Syrup) is a
music services around the country, and
bassoon quartet consisting of four
followed this up with a performance at
14-year olds from Berkshire. They first
the opening of the junior day at the
began playing together last year when
International Double Reed Society
they became the complete bassoon
Conference in Birmingham. They gained
section of the main National Children’s
support from Howarth of London via the
Orchestra. It’s quite unusual for a
donation of some oboes to Maestros and
complete section of a national orchestra
sat a post-grade 8 recital certificate
to come from one area and one teacher
as a quartet, which they passed with
and it became the catalyst for them
distinction. All four players had already
staying together and working as a
passed grade 8 with distinction as
quartet after their year in the NCO
individuals and two have taken diplomas.
came to an end. Now they meet every
The other two will be doing diplomas this
Monday evening as part of the Berkshire
summer.
Maestros music scholarship scheme,
exploring the interesting world of
Because of their success they have
bassoon quartet music and discovering
become involved in some research being
more and more wonderful compositions
led by Helena Gaunt of the Guildhall
10
School of Music in how to nurture and
develop endangered species instruments.
It was she who suggested that they apply
to play at the International Society for
Music Education Conference in Beijing,
China in the summer of 2010. Without
much hope of success against worldwide
competition they produced a DVD
of performances from the year and
submitted it for consideration along
with a CV and suggestions of possible
programmes. In October they were told
they had been offered a place. They will
play at least three, maybe four, concerts
whilst they are there.
To fund the trip the quartet is aiming to
raise £9,000. This is quite a feat when
there are only four players! So far they
have sold Christmas cards, played at two
Christmas parties, packed bags at Tescos
and done carol singing. They have
passed the £1,000 mark and are
ploughing on.
They have various concerts planned for
next year and sponsored events. They are
still hoping to attract further sponsorship
for the trip, but the economic climate is
making it difficult to persuade potential
sponsors that a bassoon quartet is a vital
addition to their portfolio!
As like-minded double reeders, if you
can think of any new sources for us
to approach or can help yourself,
do not hesitate to email me:
[email protected]
Howarth of London reprints Evelyn Rothwell’s
Guide to Oboe Reed Making
reports William Ring
The famed volume on oboe reed-making
by the late great Lady Evelyn Barbirolli,
former Oboe President of BDRS, has now
been issued in a reprint by Howarths.
Photo: William Ring
Those oboists with a very well-thumbed
copy might welcome this opportunity to
acquire an ‘upgrade’ with its shiny new
cover, while for any who still do not have
a copy of their own, this reprint offers a
timely opportunity. The inside has
remained the same, though printed on
slightly higher quality paper. If you do not
buy yours before, it will be available at
the BDRS May 2010 Convention at
Wycombe Abbey.
Tim Mallett, Bassoon
Sylvia Harper writes to inform us of the
untimely death of Tim Mallett who died
last September. He had worked with most
of the important UK Symphony, Chamber,
Opera and Ballet orchestras, including
all the BBC Orchestras. He also played
for several shows in London and on
tour including Oliver and Phantom of
the Opera.
Tim was born in Stockport 1963 and
studied at the Royal Academy of Music
(1982-1986) being awarded the
Florence Woodbridge Bassoon Prize
(1985) and Craxton Trust Award. He was
a student of both Anthony Judd and John
Orford. He premiered the Contrabassoon
Concerto written for him by Peter
Scott-Wigfield in London in 2003.
Updated only shortly before his death,
his profile entry in the Morgenstern’s
Diary Service website has a link to a
PDN (Paraproteinaemic Demyelinating
Neuropathy) website suggesting that he
was suffering from this multi-symptom
disorder. No further information has
been offered for publication.
The Green Bassoon?
by Sydney E Hemsley
The photo is of my ‘Green Man’
decorations being tested one
December afternoon in preparation
for a carol-fest at The Bicton Inn,
Exmouth, Devon later that evening. My
‘crew’ – The Bicton Inn Classics Pub
Band – is normally dedicated to
bringing classical music excerpts to
pub audiences, but was diverted on
this occasion to accompanying the
carol singing. We are flute (Alison, pub
landlord), keyboard (Geoff, maker of
training films and amateur composer),
guitar (Bob who plays by ear, music of
any genre) and bassoon (myself,
Sydney, improver and bassoon
experminenter, also Captain of Crew).
fifty pieces of popular classical excerpts,
which I have arranged to make them both
available to pub audiences and avoid hours
of rehearsal time.
Since our beginning in late May ‘09, we
have gained some satisfying responses from
many local pub regulars who welcome a
change from the usual diet of Americana,
Pop-rock, etc. As a result ‘Bassoon’ is a
word which now has more meaning in
these parts! Our repertory numbers over
The ‘Carol-fest’ was a resounding success,
the bar packed with both regulars and
visitors who refused to let us finish at
11 pm, even after we had worked
through thirty or more carols and many
requested repeats.
Incidentally, the bell section of my
bassoon in the photo is one I made to give
it a more earthy sound; although the only
comment was from a singer who asked if
it had been fitted with a megaphone!
11
Inspiring Success
INSPIRE
SUCCESS
CREATE
KNOWLEDGE
MOTIVATE
SPIRIT
Forthcoming Open Days:
Senior School: Saturday 27th February 2010
Junior School: Saturday 6th March 2010
For more information contact Admissions on 01749 834252
or email: [email protected]
www.wells-cathedral-school.com
12
Our Oboist Ancestors
A Guide to Who Was Who in the
Nineteenth-Century Oboe World
James Brown introduces his extensive compilation, which includes biographies of more than 1650 oboe players,
together with information about their teachers, their orchestral positions and their solo repertoire.
pieces were written by
oboists themselves, possibly
out of sheer frustration with
the meagre published
repertoire that was available
to them.
Many references to oboists
were derived from ancient
programmes, orchestra
lists, music critiques and
accounts of concerts. So the
hunt was on and I managed
to accumulate some 1650
names of oboe players who
were active in this capacity
at some time or other in the
nineteenth century. I have
tried to be entertaining as
well as informative with
my material, as I am more
of an enthusiast than a
musicologist.
I was fortunate enough to have had some
twenty-seven years of orchestral touring,
mostly with the English Chamber
Orchestra, and so I was able to take many
opportunities, particularly in Continental
Europe, trying to dispel the myth that
‘there is no solo repertoire for the Oboe
from the 19th Century’. (See Appendix XI
of OAA for a list of some 170 works for
oboe solo and orchestra, all performed
between 1800 and 1900.) It is notable
that some sixty percent or more of these
The quantity and quality of
the information varies from
the scant to the profuse and
the poor to the excellent.
My motives for bringing it
to you in this form are
several. I did not wish
to squander and lose
something that could
perhaps help others in their
own research, however
trivial it may seem, and the
hope that some of you out
there will find it useful.
I have put into the text as
many pointers towards my sources as
possible, and I hope that you may feel
inclined to pursue for yourselves, some
of the ‘new’ oboe repertoire that I have
uncovered. Lastly, I wanted to pay homage
to those many colleagues from the distant
past – Our Oboist Ancestors, (OOA).
In this day and age, it has become
unfashionable to be seen with a reference
book in your hands, otherwise I suspect
that this very informative publication
might well have seen the light of day
some years ago. I am of the age where I
like to cross-refer a lot and, personally, I
love being distracted towards some name
or other that I have just glimpsed, that
then leads me on to more and more
different connections. Consequently, a
name in the text in bold, will always lead
you to a valid reference. What’s more,
there are many illustrations of these
personalities, scattered amongst the 140
pages of text.
I am a one-man cottage industry and I
hold no OOA books in stock. Abbey
Printing of Malmesbury, Wiltshire – who
have entirely designed and produced this
book for me – have guaranteed to reprint
a minimum of ten copies within a week
of re-ordering. I have sent several other
items to them over the last few years, and
they are indeed very reliable.
Here are the prices for OOA, including
postage and packing. They appear to vary
considerably, but it is the relative cost of
the postage that varies so much, not the
price of OOA.
UNITED KINGDOM
EUROPEAN UNION
USA/Canada (Surface Mail)
USA/Canada (Air Mail)
£10
€15
$20
$25
I regret that I have no facilities for
receiving payments by credit card; this
means that I can only accept a moneyorder or cash, from transatlantic or EU
purchasers. From within the UK I can
accept either cash or a personal cheque.
Please send your order(s) to:
JAMES BROWN (OOA),
36 HORSEFAIR,
MALMESBURY,
WILTSHIRE SN16 0AP
UNITED KINGDOM
[Ed. Neil Black’s review of James Brown’s
Our Oboist Ancestors appears on
page 36.]
13
Two Forgotten Bassoon Sonatas:
Newly discovered Sonatas by Nikolaus Von Krufft
When Wouter Verschuren, Principal Bassoon in the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, first found out about the
existence of these two sonatas, he was rather sceptical.
Vienna. Krufft worked as a
civil servant for the secret
Court and State secretary
from 1801. In 1814 he
joined the Austrian Army
and probably took part in
the last campaign against
Napoleon. In this capacity
he travelled in 1815 to
Paris and in 1817 to Italy.
At the same time he
remained thoroughly
dedicated to his musical
activities.
I had never heard of the composer, and
if the music was any good, why had
nobody made the effort to record them?
Besides this, only one of the pieces had
ever even been published in a modern
edition. I ordered a copy of the first
edition dating from the early nineteenthcentury and, to my great surprise and
pleasure, the music turned out to be
wonderful. Two large, four movement
sonatas for bassoon and fortepiano
originating from a region and an area
from which bassoonists have hardly any
repertoire! This is the reason I decided to
do some promotion for Nikolaus Freiherr
von Krufft, with the aim of drawing
attention to these fine works. They
are a great addition to the repertoire for
players of historical as well as ‘modern’
bassoons. To make the music available
for all those who are interested, I have
made a modern edition of both sonatas
and I recorded them together with my
wife, fortepianist Kathryn Cok. I hope
that many professional players, students
and amateur players will have as much
pleasure as I had in mastering these
lovely but tricky sonatas.
Nikolaus Freiherr von Kruff, son of a
State Minister, was born in Vienna on 1st
February 1779. He received his first piano
lessons from his mother Maria Anna
Freiin von Haan (1739-1819) and later
studied composition with Johann Georg
Albrechtsberger (1736-1809). He studied
philosophy and law at the University of
14
The 1818 Allgemeine
Musikalische Zeitung records his
untimely, early death: ‘Freyherr von
Krufft, an excellent pianist and skilled
composer has deceased at the age of
39.’(‘Der Freyherr von Krufft, ein
ausgezeichneter Klavierspieler und
gebildeter Tonsetzer, ist mit Tode
abgegangen.’) According to his
biographer, Constant von Wurzbach
(1818-1893), Krufft dedicated his entire
spare time to his musical activities and,
unfortunately, also often his nights.
Because of this, he suffered from an early
exhaustion and this led, together with an
excessive sensitivity of his nerves and a
draining fever, to his early death. The
Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung also
described Krufft as follows: ‘As a pianist
he glittered through rare talent and
precision and as a composer through
spirit and study.’ (‘als Clavierspieler durch
seltene Fertigkeit und Präsicion, als
Componist durch Geist und Studium
ausgezeignet.’)
Next to the sonatas for fortepiano and
bassoon, Krufft wrote sonatas for violin,
horn, and other chamber music works
such as string quartets. He also wrote
many works for solo piano, including
24 Präludien and Fugen after Johann
Sebastian Bach’s Wohltemperiertes
Klavier. Krufft’s lieder have a special place
in his body of work. He was
an exponent of the Viennese lieder
school, and had a large influence on
Franz Schubert.
These two bassoon sonatas were meant
to be played on a Viennese/Austrian
classical/early romantic bassoon, such as
those made by Johann Tobias Uhlmann
(1776-1838), Wolfgang Küss (1777-1834),
Kaspar Tauber (1758-1831) or Carl Doke
(1778-1826). These instruments were made
from dark stained maple with brass keys.
The amount of keys differs from
approximately eight to eleven. Their
keywork is exquisitely done and reminds
us of Lyons makers such as Franz
Sautermeister or Rust (late-eighteenth/earlynineteenth century). The keywork is in a
way more delicate than for example that of
great makers from Germany such as
Heinrich Grenser (1764-1813) or Johann
Friedrich Floth (1761-1807).
Krufft’s Way of Writing and the Use of
Period Instruments
Krufft’s writing for the bassoon stretches
the range of the period bassoon to the
limit. He writes constantly from low Bb to
c’’. It gives a specially beautiful colour of
sound, but this demands a lot from the
instrument, player and, not to forget, the
reed, especially when you play on an old
(or replica) bassoon. What makes it so
exciting to play this repertoire on a
bassoon from the period is that it
confronts you strongly with the limits of
your instrument. This creates a wonderful
musical tension because you cannot go
any further. Krufft really demands
everything possible of the bassoon of his
time, and that gives you often the feeling
of the bassoon in overdrive. To go any
further the bassoon needed to be
modernised, which of course happened at
the hands of Almenräder and Heckel in
the German school countries and by
Savary and Buffet Crampon in France.
I have chosen to record the sonatas on my
10-key Cuvillier à St.Omer from c.1810. It
is made of maple and is dark stained, and
the metalwork is made of brass. Cuvillier
was a French maker of various wind
instruments, but the characteristics of this
beautiful instrument resemble Viennese
bassoons. I decided to use this bassoon
Krufft Sonata in F first movement, Adagio Sostenuto-Allegro con brio
because it is a fantastic instrument and I
know it inside out, and that comes in
handy with repertoire like this.
The Sonatas by Movement
Both sonatas were printed only in parts.
Pierre Mechetti in Vienna published
the Sonata in F probably in 1809.
The complete title is:
Sonata
pour le Piano≈Forte
avec accompaniment obligé
de bassoon ou de violoncelle
It was dedicated to Achduke Rodolphe, a
student of Beethoven, and consists of four
movements. The first movement has a
dramatic introduction, like the one found
in Beethoven’s First Symphony. It opens
with three theatrical tremolo chords,
which are connected by melodic bridge
passages played either by the bassoon or
the fortepiano. This Adagio sostenuto is
followed attaca by an Allegro con brio.
The allegro is a lovely, playful movement
combined with long, lyrical lines. It is
interesting to note that Krufft used an
unorthodox Sonata Form: where one
would expect a development followed
by the recapitulation with the first and
second theme, Krufft uses a lot of
thematic material of the first theme in the
development (almost the whole theme,
but in Ab major). The recapitulation starts
with the second theme without using the
first theme again. The movement begins
in a joyful and innocent manner but in
the development he stretches the
harmony and technical demands to the
full extent. He modulates immediately to
Ab major and writes intervals in the
bassoon part from F to c’’.
The third movement is an Andantino
15
Krufft Grand Sonata in Bb first movement, Allegro molto moderato
16
theme and three variations. The marking
is molto espressivo, but the theme itself is
more simple than very passionate. The
first variation is for the bassoon with
piano accompaniment. It is written in a
free triplet manner. After this there follows
a solo variation piu adagio for the piano
with an accompaniment of long notes
from the bassoon. The last variation is
tempo primo and sempre mezza voce.
The most challenging aspect of this
variation is that it ends with four bars of
pianissimo Bb. The last movement is the
Finale All’Ongarese. It is a great, witty
piece ending in a virtuosic Prestissimo
all’Ongarese.
The second sonata was published by
Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, probably in
1818, the last year of his life. It is entitled:
Grande Sonata
Pour le Pianoforte
avec an accompaniment
de Basson ou Violoncello obligé
oeuv.34
In this sonata there is an extra part for the
violoncello that differs in many places
from the bassoon part. In the cello part,
the melody is placed sometimes in a
different register and Krufft uses double
stops on a few occasions. The Sonata in
Bb is clearly from a later date than the
one in F. Where the latter still breathes
the air of the classical period, the Sonata
in Bb is more romantic in its style.
This Grande Sonata begins with an
Allegro molto moderato (see illustration),
unlike in the Sonata in F with its slow
introduction. The beginning of these two
sonatas could not be more different.
Whereas the Sonata in F starts with a
display of bravura, the Sonata in Bb starts
with great innocence, consisting of a
mixture of melodious lines and virtuosic
passages. This first movement is also
composed in an unorthodox Sonata Form.
The exposition conforms to all the normal
rules, but the recapitulation is incomplete
because the first theme is missing. The
development, however, is largely based
on the first theme.
The second movement is a beautiful
Adagio (see illustration) in which the
feeling of time seems lost. It is one of
those pieces in which one realises how
great it is to play the bassoon. The
movement starts with long, stretched
notes, played by the bassoon on top of
an arpeggiando accompaniment. In the
second part there appear beautifully
elongated melodic lines, both in the
bassoon and in the piano part. The piece
dies out with a long diminuendo.
The third movement is a Menuetto con
Trio (see illustration) and has a
completely different atmosphere. The
Menuetto is composed in quite a square
and rhythmical way. It is a solo for the
fortepiano with the bassoon merely
doubling the bass line like a basso
continuo, which is indicated very
precisely with articulation marks. The Trio
has a very different character. Where the
Menuetto seems to look back in style to
the classical period, the Trio is looking
forward to the romantic period with its
lengthy vocal-like melodies, more so like
a solo for the bassoon with an
accompaniment of the fortepiano.
The last movement is a lively Rondo, a
Presto (see illustration) in 6/8. The first
thing that one notices about the theme is
that it contains many repeating fast notes,
which suggests a crisp, rhythmical
character. This is emphasised by the
precise articulation markings. In this
Rondo there can be found a second
theme, which is the total opposite in
character of the first theme. Rhythmically
it is very simple, with a sweet and
Krufft Grand Sonata in Bb second movement, Adagio
17
melancholic melody. The sonata ends
with a back-breaking Piu Presto!
These two sonatas by Freiherr Nikolaus
von Krufft, will surely find their place in
the standard bassoon repertoire and will
also be a great addition to programmes
for student exams. They contain the full
spectrum of bassoon playing: virtuosic
both in the sense of fast passagework as
well as playing a refined Adagio. They use
also the full range of the instrument (at
least for the historical bassoon) and they
invite you to use all the colours of the
rainbow in the production of sound and
dynamics.
I hope that this brief description of these
two sonatas by Nikolaus von Krufft,
with all their virtuosity, drama and
melancholy, inspires many bassoonists to
discover these pieces for themselves, and
that they will enjoy playing them as much
as I have, whether on an historical
instrument or a modern bassoon.
Krufft Grand Sonata in Bb third movement, Menuetto con Trio
[This article first appeared in the IDRS magazine, The Double Reed, and is reprinted here by kind permission.]
18
19
Orpheus Responses
Following Edwin Roxburgh’s extended CD review of Harrison Birtwistle’s Orpheus Elegies in the last issue of DRN,
the oboe soloist on the recording, Melinda Maxwell, writes with further insights about this very significant extended
work and its renowned composer.
A Mask of Orpheus by
Celia Maxwell Scott
One of the thrills of learning a new score
is the discovery of unknown details of
expression and musical language. When
Harry Birtwistle first suggested the idea
of writing a piece for oboe and harp I
wondered about the sound world. How
would he voice and balance the two
instruments, what would be the shape,
would it contain impossibly difficult
technical manoeuvres? Well, all became
clear many years later.
The idea for it originated in the late
1970s but was not realised until 2004. At
one point in the process Harry asked me
about certain harmonic and multiphonic
sounds and I gave him suggestions where
double harmonic pitches could be
sustained and ‘hung over’ into nonharmonic sounds. These sounds became
part of a few of the 26 Elegies and in the
seventh Elegy the oboe uses this
technique throughout. All the others
contain melodies and rhythmic dances
that sit very comfortably within the range
of the oboe. The one difference about the
musical language is that there are
extremes of dynamic and expressive
colour that need to be gauged exactly,
as I found out when we rehearsed with
Harry. He was very specific about mood,
the intensity of a line, the meaning, and
above all the flow and pace. So, pretty
much the same rules of course that
apply to any musical expression, the
difference here being that the expression
is in a new language and therefore
unfamiliar.
20
Each of the 26 are short, some only a
minute or less, and Birtwistle describes
them as cryptic postcards; short, intense
and characterful in their message. He
chose specific fragments of texts from
Rainer Maria Rilke’s Sonnets to Orpheus,
that appear at the end of each Elegy as an
after-thought and enrichment of the
musical meaning. Only three of the
Sonnets are set in their entirety and the
oboe and harp are joined by a countertenor who also only sings in another four
Elegies. The good news is that these
pieces can be selected separately and
played in an order decided by the
performer, as long as the sequence begins
with Elegy No.1 and finishes with Elegy
No.19. It is not required that all 26 are
played. Perhaps this is very much to be
desired in any oboe recital as all 26 can
last up to 45 minutes. Also, if you happen
not to have a counter-tenor to hand, as he
only sings in seven of them, there are
many that can be chosen to make up
your own sequence.
being in procession and the music follows
its own course. In one other Elegy, one
metronome is used and the fragment of
text from Rilke is; ‘and with little steps the
clocks tick by alongside our proper day’.
Birtwistle throughout his life has been
continually fascinated by pulse, and
another piece he wrote for me in 1983
called Pulse Sampler for oboe and claves
very much proves this point. However, in
the 26 Elegies two of the movements use
metronomes, one for each player. Each
metronome is set to its own tempo; the
difference between the tempi is small, eg
beat = 46 and 52, and as they begin one
after the other so you hear the difference.
The music begins, nothing synchronises,
and deliberately so. There is a feeling of
Included in the CD booklet is an
interview I made with Harry and here
is a part of this interview.
….and the Elegies, how would you
describe them?
The whole process of acquiring and
learning these exquisite pieces has been
deeply enriching. I have spent most of my
life commissioning new work for the
oboe and playing an enormous amount of
other modern repertoire and I’m pretty
sure now of what works and what
does not. I know the name Birtwistle
sometimes evokes panic, but these pieces
do work beautifully and are not brash,
angular and violent. They contain a style
that is sometimes tender and lyrical, at
other times deliberately non-expressive,
and others are occasionally impulsive,
but every Elegy is always full of character
and harmonic richness. I have loved
every minute of learning and playing
them and hope that they can become part
of any oboist’s repertoire.
The movements in the Orpheus Elegies
are like postcards with cryptic text.
The Elegies without voice, of which there
are many, have fragments of text at the
end of each of them. What is the role of
these words?
If you set a text to music, the music that
you make for the text becomes the music
of the text, but then when you have the
music of the text and you take the text
away, it’s music about the text and in a
sense it becomes a thing in itself. You
write as it were an accompaniment or a
vocal line, there’s a hierarchy presumably,
there’s the text and the vocal line, and
then whatever you put with it, it then
becomes music of the text. It’s directly
related but at the same time it’s
something in itself. If you take it away
without the text or it becomes an
extension of it, it then becomes music
about the text. It would be ridiculous to
try to set all the Sonnets, it would be
nonsense. What I wanted to do was to
write an ambitious piece for oboe and
harp. I started writing it, alongside
reading the text. I suddenly realised that
the text had to have an existence within
the thing but it couldn’t be there all the
time. I see the oboe as being Orpheus,
and his instrument the harp, and the
counter-tenor is like the narration, it’s
about the music and the presence of the
music. I wanted the text to be there in the
way that you might say Debussy’s use of
the long poem L’Après-midi d’un Faune by
Mallarmé? The music is the atmosphere
that he has derived from his idea of what
he thinks the poem is about.
There is a string quartet by Nono with
Holderlin fragments. You can’t deny the
existence of the text. I put them at the
end in the way that Debussy put them at
the end of his Etudes.
One of the ways of generating texture
is by the articulation of layers, threads,
strands, and of melodies phasing. For
instance, can you explain what is
happening in No.19 where the melody
is interrupted?
That one is about a death. It’s like being
struck and then having less energy, less
air, less wind if you like. The harp has the
function of the death blows.
The lines and melodies have their own
independence. I think there might be
within the piece, but it’s not calculated, a
sort of spectrum of something where you
play very precisely together, even up to a
point where you have the external thing
of a metronome, the machine. There are
some things where you play accurately
together and others where you are
completely free.
So there is a built-in element of chance?
No two performances will be quite
the same because the melodies that
intertwine will always have a certain
type of flow for each particular moment
in performance.
Yes, but its good isn’t it? It’s a pity that the
audience is not party to it. It’s a game that
is devised for you, but the audience
doesn’t know. It’s a private game. Your
attitude in playing it is different….the
thing of breathing. It has to have its own
independence in which you’re not
waiting. It has a natural flow.
The metronome is outside. It’s an external
thing that you have to abide by. It’s not
even like a conductor because good
conducting is somebody listening to the
players, and leading, and it’s a give and
take thing; a good conductor is somebody
listening to you and you watching them
and the thing becomes one. But the
metronome is the opposite. It’s
completely a-rhythmical.
Some Elegies use the eerie sounds of
multiphonics and double harmonics.
What do you like about these unusual
oboe sounds? In the first Elegy there
are double harmonics where both notes
slide between closed and open sounds
producing a slightly ancient quality to
the sound.
Yes, I like the primitive aspect of these
sounds, where you play a note, something
pure... It’s just the quality of the note. It’s
like examining the note for itself.
There are other moments where certain
multiphonics are used very abruptly and
they sound quite raw and violent.
Some of them I use only a couple of
times. It’s like the note exploding, it
becomes fragmented, it opens out.
Some Elegies are rhythmically striking
and full of energy, percussive in
character, almost as if they are wound up
and set off like musical boxes. Can you
talk about these?
They are mechanisms, but some of them
you get two strict mechanisms. You can
have a mechanism which is perfectly
related and you can have a mechanism in
which independently they are accurate
but precisely where they fit doesn’t really
matter.
Melinda Maxwell continues:
The recording of these pieces for Oboe
Classics was completed in June 2009 and
the CD booklet has further information and
explanations of context and background.
Also as part of this recording are Three Bach
Arias, arr Birtwistle which were arranged as
companion pieces to the Elegies.
What fascinates you about simultaneous
independent tempi?
The music is published by Boosey &
Hawkes.
Should you wish to learn more about
these pieces and hear a selection please
visit www.oboeclassics.com/Orpheus.htm
21
22
The Evolving Bassoon(ist)
Stephen Fuller lives close to Down House in Kent, where Charles Darwin’s bassoon-playing son
Francis (Frank) helped his father in his experiments.
How has the instrument
evolved?
I began on a French
system Buffet loaned from
my secondary school.
After a few years, at about
the age of 16, my parents
bought me a German
system Huller which had
what I would describe as
basic keywork (no high D
or rollers on the thumb
keys). With the exception
of finding an improved
crook this instrument saw
Down House, Kent me through school and
onto music college – a
If you visit Down House you will see, in
situation that was not untypical at that
the living room, a bassoon beside the
time. If I look at the instruments students
piano, symbolising the music making that
have now it is clear that progress has
was part of family life there. But Frank
been made.
Darwin’s role on occasions was not only
in chamber music. He was also required
The first point to make is that the standard
to play his bassoon to see what effect the
of instrument manufacture has generally
low notes/vibrations had on earth worms;
risen and although bassoons remain
in fact it had none.1 (Unfortunately the
relatively expensive instruments, the
instrument is not authentic – a cheap
quality of even the lowest cost instrument
German system instrument purchased for
has improved, in some cases markedly.
the display, not one that belonged to the
That is not to say there are not still duds
family as I was first advised by one of the
out there.
staff.)
We now have mini-bassoons, short reach
Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species and
bassoons, even instruments that are
work associated with ‘the survival of the
designed to evolve, by the replacement
fittest’ caused me to think about our
of the lower joints, from a reduced size
evolution as bassoonists. If the bassoon is
instrument to a full size one. So those
an ‘endangered species’ then these
wanting to learn the bassoon can easily
evolutionary precepts suggest that we
start at an earlier age. Makers have also
need to be attuned to our environment
continued to improve the evenness of
and able to adapt as it changes, to help
tone across the range and tackle some of
ensure our long term survival. I have been
the tuning peculiarities. There are also
a bassoonist for over 40 years, after
now more makers of the highest quality
beginning to play at secondary school:
instruments, giving an unparalleled
here I will cover some of the changes that
choice and availability of professional
have occurred during this time from my
standard instruments.
perspective. (Admittedly a number of
instrument’s innovations were in
For better facility, instruments often now
existence before I began playing but took
have rollers, also keys for high D, high E
some time to come to my attention.)
and even high F fitted, as well as trill keys
for Eb and for Ab to Bb. Attempts have
also been made to simplify fingerings or
to make more playable those note
patterns that stretch the modern German
system beyond its limits: the Cirranceau
system employed additional touches for
the lower notes that facilitated low trill
combinations, while Arthur Weisberg’s
automatic venting system frees the left
thumb from the task of venting the
second octave A, Bb, B, C, etc. It is
certainly true that bassoonists are often
inventive and practical people. They have
and, I am sure, will continue to tackle the
weaknesses and problems they determine
the instrument to have. Equally it seems
that there is a conservative streak that in
many cases hinders if not stops many of
these ideas and innovations from
achieving mainstream acceptance and
use: or is this just naturally Darwin’s
precepts in operation?
There have also been continuing changes
in the manufacture and design of crooks
with the main manufacturers often
introducing new designs, improvements
and options. Most interestingly, wooden
(palisander/rosewood) crooks are
available from Paraschos, a product of
high-tech milling tools. It’s not possible,
of course, to alter the shape of a wooden
crook, but players have for half a century
or more made significant changes to the
shape of the crook to facilitate improved
playing posture and/or a different angles
for reed entry into the mouth. In recent
times experiments have showed that
certain crook shapes can reduce
resistance and improve tone production
too.
Makers such as Fox now offer bassoons
in a range of Maple woods which have
different tonal characteristics. From a
purely aesthetic viewpoint purchasers
may choose the colour of the instrument,
and manufacturers can supply options
such as gold-plated keywork, choice of
bell style (German, French or Italian) and
1
Darwin observed that worms had no sense of hearing as “they had made no response to shrill notes from a metal whistle, which was repeatedly sounded
near them; nor did they of the deepest and loudest tones of a bassoon”.
23
whether surmounted by an imitation ivory
ring or a metal one. Many of the options
described above may not be recent but
are certainly now more prevalent in the
catalogues of manufacturers.
Probably most of the methods of
supporting the bassoon were in use when
I began playing; however it took me time
to discover first the spike (the apparent
a la mode option in the ‘70s), the seat
strap, Dutch Leg rest, and various
harnesses and devices such as the
balance hangar as a means of getting to
grips with the weight, posture and contact
difficulties of the instrument.
Who remembers those innovative players
who used foam and Squash bags to
provide an early ‘gig’ bag? From a
practical viewpoint divided long joint
options have allowed a shorter, lighter
case – possibly meeting airline hand
baggage requirements – and
made transporting the
instrument easier.
Reeds
Players in my playing
lifetime have become
much less reliant on reed
makers and today most
professionals and many
amateurs make their own
reeds. Not only are
supplies of cane more
readily available, the
quality and range of
tools and machines
available have grown
exponentially. This
together with many books, more recently
web sites and most importantly players
willing to share they expertise, has placed
this perhaps daunting activity within the
reach of most.
The bassoon environment
The free instrumental tuition that allowed
me to try the bassoon and then study
through school is unfortunately no more.
24
Youth music schemes have been
established, arguably reached a zenith,
and now operate in a more difficult
financial climate than previously,
although many remain a powerful force
and certainly it seems to me that their
standards are as high as ever and rising.
Conductors such as Daniel Barenboim
have insisted that the German instrument
be the standard and even institutions
such as the Paris Conservatoire have
accepted the German instrument in
what have hitherto been bastions of the
French one.
Similarly those few professional players of
the French instrument in the UK working
in the early 1970s have all retired and
likely now passed on. However, there has
been a resurgence of interest in French
bassoon, with some players of the German
instrument playing the ‘basson’ for French
repertoire or ‘authentic’ performance of
early-twentieth-century
British music
performance. Some
play the most recent
incarnation of the
French instrument.
Additionally, during
my time as a
bassoonist there
has been the huge
growth of interest
and expertise in
performing on
baroque and classical
instruments. This
has revolutionised
Stephen Fuller
performance practice
and brought knowledge of different and
older techniques of reed-making to a
wider audience. Whilst I do not play
‘original’ instruments I have had the
opportunity to experience instruments
that Beethoven wrote for, which has
helped me to appreciate the demands
he was placing on his players with
works such as Missa Solemnis –
particularly the contrabassoon part that
remains today a tour de force!
Access to knowledge and help
With the birth and growth of double reed
societies, a proliferation of publications,
music and specialist vendors, the
bassoonist has a range of resources
undreamt of when I first began studying.
In the last decade or so the internet has
revolutionised access to these resources
wherever they are in the world, whether
for the purchase of reeds, music,
accessories, or to sites offering guidance,
expert advice, forums and discussion
groups.
As with other sources of advice, offers
of goods and even recordings and
performances, one has to learn to identify
the valuable from the over-hyped – and in
some cases fraudulent – enticements
available on the web. But few would argue
that a revolution has taken place in the
range and accessibility of everything the
bassoonist might want and need. Simply
the possibility of communication, sharing
and learning available to bassoonists today
are unparalleled in history.
Conclusion
The bassoon remains an expensive
instrument and therefore not amongst the
most popular. As always, however, it is
the musicianship and artistry of the player
rather than the technical innovations of
instrument or reeds that marks out the
finest performers. If it is ‘endangered’ it is
perhaps because classical music is less
popular, and there are many more
alternative interests or diversions to
compete with the study and performance
of an instrument. There are, though, more
wonderful performers of the bassoon both
professionally and amateur than before.
In our youth orchestras there are many
fine players reaching seemingly ever
higher levels of performance and artistry.
I, for one, would argue that in my time as
a bassoonist there has been significant
progress and we now have an opportunity
and environment that offers great
prospects for the survival of the species
for a good time to come.
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25
Stronger Oboes in Havana
The Oboe Habana Project: a brief look at its development
The Oboe Habana Project was created in January 2008 by Aimara Magaña, and last reported on by her in the
pages of DRN just over a year ago. She was then an oboe student on the BMus degree course at Guildhall School
of Music & Drama. Here she updates us on recent progress to date and the help she has received from many in the
UK, including members of BDRS.
What started as a reed-making workshop
in the summer of 2008 has now
developed into a project whose main aim
is to advance the oboe playing in Cuba,
where this instrument is in need of
‘rescue’. The project includes two main
activities: teaching and performance. Most
of the problems with this instrument in
Havana stem from the lack of information
about teaching methods, techniques used
and repertoire offered to the students.
The project’s first concert was very
significant: it was an oboe and piano
recital, which I gave accompanied by the
renowned pianist María Victoria del
Collado in January 2008. The Cuban
audience was able to enjoy the first oboe
and piano recital offered in Havana for
many years. On this occasion, the Three
Romances by Clara Schumann were
premiered in Cuba. Since then, it has
become a custom to include in these
programmes at least one piece that is
being performed for the first time. Among
the music that the Cuban audience has
since been able to hear are Britten’s
Temporal Variations, After Syrinx by
Richard Rodney Bennett, and Paul Reade’s
Aspects of a Landscape. In January 2010,
Dutilleux’s Sonata and Madeleine Dring’s
Trio for Flute, Oboe and Piano also joined
that list.
Four donated oboes
necessary to expand the repertoire of
Cuban music for oboe as there are
practically no original Cuban pieces for
the instrument. At the moment we are
working intensely on this and hopefully
the first Cuban sonata for oboe and piano
will be ready soon.
include students from all levels of
musical education at which oboe is
taught. The students come from the
University in Havana and two main
conservatoires: the High Institute of Arts,
Amadeo Roldán, and the Guillermo
Tomás Conservatoire.
At the core of the project, of course,
are the students themselves. They
The first reed-making workshop was given
in Havana in the summer 2008 with the
Yanier Hechavarría, composer
As another recent development, the
project is enlisting the help of Cuban
composers. The first contribution to this
was made by Yanier Hechavarría, with
Reflexiones o Monólogo de la Duda. It is
26
Aimara coaching a student
an instrument of their own to play on.
They were sharing or borrowing low
quality instruments from the school. The
fourth oboe was handed over during my
recital in January.
The project has widened its scope and
after its approval, it has been linked to the
Symphony Orchestras and Wind Band
programmes. In December 2009 a
concert took place in which the chamber
music ensemble ‘Solistas de la Habana’
performed in a format including oboes in
the wind section. February 2010 sees the
same ensemble performing Handel’s
Water Music with students participating
on the project. Now it is possible to
programme pieces from the chamber
music repertoire that feature a full
woodwind section which was almost
impossible in the past.
Some donated accessories
support of Howarth of London, Oboe
Reeds Direct and Helena Gaunt from the
Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
Thanks to the kind and steady donations
of Howarth of London, Oboe Reeds
Direct and many members of the BDRS,
it has been possible to offer two more
workshops. Now I can happily report that
the students are able to produce good
quality reeds and are already playing
on them.
April 2009 was a very important month
for the project. This was when the first
concert by participating students was
presented in Havana. It was the first of a
series of projected annual concerts,
designed both to provide performance
experience and for Cuban audiences to
get to know more about the instrument
and its repertoire. Possibly even more
important was that the Project received
formal approval from the Cuban musical
authorities. Now it is official and can
count on the support of the Ministry of
Culture, the High Arts Institute, the Music
Institute, National Agrupation for Concert
Music and the UNEAC.
The help of Howarth of London, Dr.
Helena Gaunt, Oboe Reeds Direct and
Double Reed News magazine has been
crucial all this time, and the contributions
of BDRS members have been substantial.
Members have provided reed-making
materials and tools and even instruments
adding up to a value of £2500. So far
there have been four oboes and one
bassoon kindly donated for the Cuban
students. Three of these oboes and the
bassoon were given to four students from
the Amadeo Roldán Conservatoire and
the High Arts Institute during the project’s
annual concert in April 2009. These
students did not have until that moment,
Student performers
The future of the project looks good. My
visits to Havana to perform and work with
the students will keep going at least twice
a year. We are trying to get a space for
the students to perform so there is an
oboe recital more frequently than just the
annual concert. Future plans include the
visit of Dr. Helena Gaunt, who is
planning to offer a master course in
Havana. Performances proposed under
the Oboe Habana Project banner include
Ligeti’s Six Bagatelles, Poulenc’s Sextet
and Berg’s Chamber Concerto; in the
symphonic repertoire Ravel’s Tombeau
de Couperin, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella and
Strauss’ Don Juan.
I would like to acknowledge all the
people who have kindly and generously
made donations. Since the summer 2008,
there has been a steady flow of reedmaking materials and cane for the
students, which has contributed to their
success in this area. Also to those people
who have donated instruments and have
made it possible for five young musicians
to realise their dream. And especially to
everybody in Cuba and in England who
has contributed to placing the oboe back
in the Cuban classical musical spectrum.
27
28
Bassonicus:
What if...Beethoven had been born a woman?
by Jefferey Cox
I seem to recall having to write an essay
for my music O level examination on the
subject ‘What if Bach had never been
born? How might this have changed the
course of music?’ I cannot remember
what I wrote, but the question – which
really boils down to ‘What do we owe to
Bach?’ and, by analogy, to other
composers through the age – is a good
one and merits a serious answer. How
are we indebted to individual composers,
and can we draw any over-arching
conclusions?
A whole range of technical and stylistic
ideas have, of course, been introduced by
composers, and they may have been
responding to the introduction of new
instruments or the demands of changing
audiences which required more capable
and more powerful instruments. And how
many times have we heard of virtuosi
claiming that a piece was unplayable
when the next generation of conservatoire
students could toss it off in their final year!
“
…to my mind the
oboe da caccia
produces one of the most
gorgeous sounds on
the planet.
“
Technical considerations are complex. For
example there is the contrast of the violin,
which has arguably never been improved
upon since the days of Stradivarius, and
the bassoon – which has most definitely
developed by leaps and bounds since
Almenraeder and Heckel got to grips with
it in the mid-nineteenth century! You
might also consider whether the oboe
family’s evolution is entirely for the best.
Yes, in many ways; but to my mind the
oboe da caccia (entrusted with some of
Bach’s most sublime melodies, though no
longer written for) produces one of the
most gorgeous sounds on the planet.
These technical considerations are
important but, to my mind, by the by.
They even distract from the core issues.
The subversiveness of the ‘What if’
question lies in the implication that the
natural essence of music is to develop
linearly, whereas its true nature is circular
– and with many back-doubles! If you
doubt this, just think of Bach and how
music of all periods since his day has
drawn on his ideas. That perennial claim
to academic respectability, the fugue,
used by almost every composer up to the
present, was nowhere better
demonstrated than by Bach, who
endowed it with then undreamt of
possibilities, and paved the way for the
likes of Jacques Loussier, the Swingle
Singers, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and
many others who also recognised that the
4-in-a bar steady pulse, so beloved by
Bach, adapts with minimal change to the
demands of modern jazz. Or take a
Haydn symphony: once considered
fuddy-duddy, Haydn is the current darling
of the discerning concert-going public as
29
listeners become aware of the humour,
artistic subtlety and sheer craftsmanship
in his work. So what if we were suddenly
deprived of Haydn’s London symphonies,
the Creation, or indeed the string quartet
(which he is credited with having
‘invented’) as a medium? What goes
around comes around, and each
successive generation is the beneficiary.
To illustrate my point from another
perspective, I can think of no better
example than Stravinsky. Stravinsky’s life as
a composer consisted in jumping forwards
and backwards, drawing on the best of
different generations of musicians. The Rite
of Spring was, in the words of Neil
Armstrong, ‘a small step for a man but a
huge step for mankind’, and was a seismic
event in music. Stravinsky went on to
experiment with the twelve-tone
system of composing developed by his
contemporary, Schoenberg, while often
reverting to eighteenth- and nineteenthcentury models. Bach’s Brandenburg
Concertos provided the model for
Stravinsky’s Dumbarton Oaks, and the
classical symphony of Haydn and Mozart
for his own Symphony in C and Symphony
in Three Movements. Stravinsky was
nothing if not eclectic, and his willingness
to experiment paralleled that of Picasso.
Both had the sense that their art had
reached a point where continuing in the
same vein could not be done without a
feeling of déjà vu and resorting to pastiche.
Stravinsky had no compunction about the
latter, but he did so while creating what
has been a rich legacy for others to draw
on. Curiously, perhaps, Stravinsky’s own
work has not worn well and he is currently
less in fashion.
Reverting to the question of Beethoven’s
contribution, there are those who would
argue that when it comes to expressing
30
“
The fact that one
generation can enjoy
the music of another has
a strong bonding
influence…
“
what it means to be human, no other
composer has been his match, and
he is quite simply the Shakespeare of
composers. If you agree with that, it goes
without saying that his late piano sonatas
and string quartets, his one opera
(Fidelio), the Choral Symphony and Missa
Solemnis will be amongst the key points
of reference in all of music. Perhaps they
are, but even these cannot encompass
the entirety of what music is about. The
function of most music is more mundane.
Most of us will want music to reflect and
reinforce our moods; to relax with; to
cheer us up when we feel down; to
distract us from pedestrian tasks; to
provide rhythm when we’re jogging, or
whatever. By satisfying these functions,
music is fulfilling what I would call its
circular task. This is not to say that the
music itself is inferior; after all, Bach’s
cantatas were written to order, or to
satisfy the specific requirements of the
church calendar (thus music of a high
order written to satisfy a routine
obligation); and nearly all seventeenthand eighteenth-century operas were
composed to satisfy the demands for
entertainment by the courts of the day;
this includes virtually all of Mozart’s
operas, which continue to set the gold
standard even today.
If you are looking for a current example
of circularity and linearity in music, look
no further than the pop music scene. The
weekly charts are no more nor less than a
measure of circularity (the frequency with
which given tunes are played again and
again), while jumping back to iconic
bands serves as a measure of how tastes
have evolved over time – a linear
measure. The fact that one generation can
enjoy the music of another has a strong
bonding influence, and it is particularly
remarkable that in the context of classical
music, such a bond can stretch over
centuries and embrace an astonishing
diversity of styles.
So what if Beethoven had been born a
woman? Is it possible to imagine what a
difference it would have made? A social
historian would no doubt have plenty to
say about the position of women in those
days and how the ability to sing or
play an instrument was a valued
accomplishment amongst ladies at court.
But being a professional musician was
a very different thing, and although
Beethoven was amongst the first
composers to begin to free themselves
from court patronage and ‘go freelance’,
even he – as a tough and abrasive old
man – found the going very difficult.
‘Ms’ Beethoven would probably not have
known where to start. That said, I see no
reason why ‘she’ should not have shared
many of Beethoven’s views and written
similar music. Whether it would have
been performed is another matter. I rather
suspect it might have shared the fate of
Bach’s music and lain undiscovered until
its own nineteenth-century Mendelssohn
came along and brought it back into the
light. This would at least have meant that
all those composers who felt inhibited by
Beethoven’s shadow (Brahms amongst
them!) would have been freed from their
worries. Perhaps it would have been
Brahms who wrote nine symphonies and
Ms Beethoven who only made it to four!
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31
Slippage:
Reed making’s most benevolent fault
This article is by L. Hugh Cooper (1920-2007) – who was a Professor of Music (Bassoon) at the University of Michigan
from 1945 to 1997, and a charter member of the International Double Reed Society – in collaboration with Mark Avery
and Mark Clague Decatur, Illinois. It is reprinted from the IDRS magazine, The Double Reed with kind permission.
Reed blade slippage represents the
scissor-like lateral displacement of the
two opposing reed blades. Its extent and
direction is pre-determined during the
tube forming stage of the reed making
process. This useful phenomenon is often
falsely maligned as a major reed making
fault; however, if properly understood and
controlled, several of its results may serve
as useful components of successful reed
design. Besides, the author for one, after
seeing thousands, has never observed an
individual reed produced by any reed
maker that is totally devoid of slippage.
Logically it follows that if slippage is so
difficult if not impossible to eliminate,
why not recognise and use its positive
attributes in a constructive manner?
Four Beneficial Effects of Slippage
Appropriate reed blade slippage creates a
pseudo ‘moveable shackle’ – like lateral
excursion at the rails. The reed blades’
vertical oscillatory motion is analogous to
that of an old fashioned, laminate leaf
buggy spring, whose ‘moveable shackles’
provide the obligatory lateral motion
when the spring is vertically flexed
(see Figure 1).
Last Spring Mechanism
“Old Type Buggy Spring”
vertical flexing requires
lateral excursions at ends of spring
“Moveable Shackles”
Figure 1
Reed blade slippage acts in a similar
manner to facilitate the lateral motion
required to sustain the reed blades’
vertical oscillation. As the tip cycles
close, its width increases. This inverse
proportional relationship is maintained
throughout the reed’s vibratory cycle. This
phenomenon applies to both laterally
damped and un-damped tip openings (see
Figure 2). Clamp the leaf spring’s ends to
the buggy frame or fully impinge the reed
rails and, regardless of their innate
32
Figure 2
flexibility, either will break before they
vertically flex.
Although not directly related to blade
slippage, further consideration shows that
the stepped laminar construction of a leaf
spring mimics the action of a reed blade’s
lateral tapers (see Figure 1). The longest
spring leaf serves to absorb sensitively the
bumps of minor roadbed irregularities,
while successively shorter spring leaves
are incrementally added to absorb
increasingly deeper potholes. A reed
blade’s lateral tapers respond in a similar
fashion while responding to a wide range
of playing pressures (pp to fff).
In addition, the pseudo-moveable shackle
effect dramatically reduces the muscular
effort required to vary the tip aperture
contour and resulting reed cavity’s
static volume. Selective embouchure
manipulation used to achieve desired
register shifts and/or subtle shading of
timbre, pitch and dynamics become
easier to achieve on these more flexible
slipped reeds. Resistant rail-impinged
reeds requiring an iron-man embouchure
to control become the nightmares of the
past.
A second, more obvious slippage function
helps to create better hermetic seals along
the rail junctures separating the two
opposing reed blades. Simply put, it is
easier to match mechanically an edge to
a plane than to match an edge to an edge
(see Figure 3). As a result, all else being
equal, slipped bladed reeds are as a
whole hermetically tighter than those
reeds with little (or no?) observable
lateral slippage.
A third slippage advantage serves to
relieve the ‘basic embouchure set’ of its
initial burden by ‘damping out’ the loud
raucous (schawm-like) noise generated
along the reed blades’ rails. Rails, whose
impinged edges are joyfully beating one
against the other, produce obnoxious
unmusical periodic noise.
There are two viable ways to control
this problem. The most difficult way is
to use a hard, jaw supported iron-man
embouchure in conjunction with stiff
resistant reeds that have sufficient
strength to resist collapse under
extreme vertical embouchure pressure
(see Figure 4). While an easier more
efficient approach utilises lateral
blade slippage to ‘damp out’ the
offending blade areas with little
additional embouchure involvement –
‘if it isn’t there, it don’t need fixing’
(see Figure 5).
An additional aspect of the second
approach is that when using a variable
soft, lip-supported embouchure with
flexible slipped reeds, the degree of
slippage and its resultant damping is
variable during actual performance. A
slight torquing motion of the head can
Figure 3
• If more change is needed, simply turn
the Turk’s head a little more.
Reed makers who use DUCO or another
equivalent cement on the reed tube under
the wrapping are largely denied the
benefit of this useful reed adjustment
technique.
Now for the ‘Dark Side’ of Slippage
Figure 4
influence the output of a reed that is
producing the timbral of an acoustic
buzz-saw to increase its slippage and
purr like a kitten.
A fourth truly remarkable aspect of blade
slippage is that within reasonable limits,
the degree of blade excursion and its
numerous results not only remain
variable, but are reversible, even at the
finished reed stage. This useful reed
adjustment capability, is readily
implemented by firmly grasping the sides
of the reed tube at the first and second
wire positions with the thumb and index
finger of one hand. Then, with the other
hand, twist the Turk’s head rapping in a
direction opposite to the lateral blade
motion desired.
NB: Twisting the Turk’s head clockwise
(from a posterior [rear] perspective) will
result in a scissor-like, clockwise lateral
displacement (when viewed from an
anterior [frontal] perspective) of the
opposed reed blades at the reed-tip
aperture, and vica-versa (see Figure 6).
However, the blade excursion is limited
Figure 5
to the original right or left over-lapping of
the two opposing blades. This allows a
finite amount of slippage literally to be
‘dialed’ in or out simply by twisting the
Turk’s head in the desired direction. Not
only, will previously described slippage
functions be impacted but an additional
major result takes place that is worthy of
discussion.
Torquing the Turk’s head offers one of
only two reed adjustment techniques that
allows an accomplished reed maker to
increase or decrease within reason the
inner capacity of the reed cavity (static
volume) of a finished reed. The other
readily reversible reed adjustment
technique involves the use of reverse
wire function.
This phenomenon is the structural
equivalent of changing the width of
the shaper after the reed has been
constructed.
• More slippage = narrower blade width.
• Less slippage = wider blade width.
• If results exceed needs, simply ‘dial’
back to square one and try again.
Slippage of some type and degree is
inevitable.1 If not controlled and left
to chance, four distinct slippage
configurations will emerge (sometimes
within one batch of reeds). These four
types fall into two modes – scissored or
embraced (see Figure 7). Two out of the
four types are structurally unacceptable.
They are also un-correctable; so do not
waste time, just bin them. While the other
two represent directional variants of an
acceptable form. Yet only one of these two
acceptable variants will be compatible
with any single individual’s embouchure
idiosyncrasies. Such an uncontrolled
random approach guarantees a reed failure
rate ranging from 50 to 75 percent, even
before the tube is removed from the
forming mandrel.
Causes of unacceptable forms include:
• Inaccurate centre folding of cane
shaped on a straight shaper.
• Inaccurate shaper contour.
• A major crack that extends down only
one side of the tube into the blade area.
With such an appalling batting average, it
is no wonder that slippage has acquired a
dismal (but undeserved) reputation.
The problem is not with slippage but
rather with uninformed makers who have
not yet learned to avoid the ‘dark side’ by
Figure 6
1
Slippage originates and often lies hidden up
in the reed tube where it is difficult to observe,
especially if the blade rails have been planed;
however its influence will still prevail.
33
(if any) and/or scoring procedures
(see Cooper, L. Hugh. Bevelling: The
Magic of Insignificant Splinters,
Double Reed News 75, Summer 2006).
Anti-clockwise
Figure 7
pre-determining the optimum type and
direction of slippage prior to placing the
first and second wires on the folded,
shaped, bevelled and scored unrounded
tube.
To ensure consistent positive results one
must first determine the direction of an
individual’s embouchure control
mechanism, by:
• The use of a mirror or an outside
observer to determine the rotational
‘cant’ of the embouchure in
relationship to the reed (often the
reed is ‘canted’ on the bocal), or a
combination of head and reed
torquing that is used in controlling
musical nuance, thus achieving
maximum results with minimum
embouchure pressure.
• If the top of the head is rotated to the
right (clockwise, most common), the
upper blade of the reed tip aperture
must be slipped clockwise to the right
(see below).
• While if the head is rotated to the left
(anti-clockwise, least common) the
upper blade must be slipped anticlockwise to the left (see below).
Another method of confirming
directionality is to examine the
accumulated past reed triumphs to
ascertain if there is a consistent slippage
directionality trait revealed. Chances are
that the great majority of these successful
reeds will be slipped in a similar manner.
However, there may occasionally be one
or two aberrant ‘comedy of error’ reeds
that played quite well or were used in
desperation when all else failed. Do not
let these lucky exceptions cloud the issue.
‘The proof of the pudding is in the eating.’
If most of the superior reeds are slipped
in like manner, the answer to optimum
slippage direction is already revealed.
Do not question it; go with it.
Once the individualised slippage
direction is established, its consistency
must be maintained by physically
‘locking’ it in prior to the placement of
any wires, but after appropriate bevelling
Anti-clockwise
Torquing
34
Following any needed bevelling and/or
scoring procedures, consistent directional
slippage may easily be predetermined by
off-setting the two opposed ‘butt-end’
halves of the folded and shaped cane,
prior to placing any wires. The two
following opposite type displacements
(seen from a posterior [rear] perspective)
will also result in two opposite slippage
directionalities at the reed tip aperture.
• To ensure clockwise slippage at the tip
aperture, displace the upper butt end
to the left (see Figure 9).
• To ensure anti-clockwise slippage at
the tip aperture, displace the upper
butt end to the right (see Figure 10).
The apparent disparity evident in the
initial lateral overlapping of the two butt
ends will automatically self-correct to
concur with the appropriate scissoring
displacement when the tube is rounded
out. With the profiled, folded, shaped,
bevelled (if needed) and scored canehalves overlapped to ensure the desired
direction of reed slippage, position the
first (front) wire (22 gauge soft brass) on
the skewed reed blank. Then after
tensioning, tightening and locking the first
wire securely down on the still
unrounded blank, repeat the wiring
process with the second (middle) wire.
However, to equalise stress, position its
twist on the opposite side of the tube.
Here ends the quest for consistent
controlled directional reed slippage. With
both the first and second wires firmly
tensioned, tightened and ‘locked-down’
on the two laterally displaced halves of
the as yet unrounded, folded and shaped
reed blank, form the tube. Both the
slippage type and its direction have
already been irrevocably pre-determined
in any resultant reed. This statement is
valid regardless of what subsequent tube
any attempt to force it beyond ‘deadcentre’ to reverse the fundamental
direction that is already locked-in at the
tube by the first and second wires.
Anticlockwise
wire twist
Figure 9
Anti-clockwise
Torquing
Figure 10
forming methodology is used or the skill
level of the maker. For already at this
early stage in the reed making process –
‘what you see is what you get’.
SUMMARY
The author, on behalf of the many
fortunate individuals who have, over the
years, experienced the ‘bright side’ of
consistent, controlled reed slippage,
hopes that this brief paper has effectively
championed their usage of slippage as a
desirable reed making technique. While
to those individuals who continue to
experience the ‘dark side’ of inconsistent,
uncontrolled slippage, the author
fervently hopes that the arguments put
forward in support of this useful
technique have shed sufficient light on
the matter to entice the uninitiated into
the fold.
Finally, to those remaining individuals
who are still convinced that slippage is a
fatal fault that not only must, but can be,
eliminated from reeds, the following
observations should be noted. Slippage
originates, and often remains hidden,
up in the reed tube, with its lateral
pivot-point locus scissoring at the second
wire position. As a result even with little
or no lateral displacement apparent in
the blades, and/or the tip-aperture, the
structural influence of the tube’s
directional torquing remains
mechanically dominant!
Prima facie evidence in support of this
phenomenon is that the blades of a
finished reed (with or without visible
slippage) may be laterally skewed a little
more or less only within the directional
modality of the tube displacement. Turn
the Turk’s head wrapping of any reed in a
clockwise and then anti-clockwise
direction. Depending on the type of
slippage, one direction will augment the
scissoring effect of the blades while the
opposite direction will diminish any
apparent displacement. However, when
blade slippage is reduced by this method
to near zero, further torquing becomes
unproductive. For the reed will balk at
Such preferential unilateral directionality
is proof-positive that some type of
slippage is to some degree imbedded
irrevocably within the reed’s mechanical
structure: while a hypothetical nonslipped conceptual version, with its
imagined perfectly aligned tube and
rails, would theoretically be completely
unbiased in its directional preference.
As such, a ‘magical’ reed capable of
sliding smoothly from clockwise to anticlockwise modality without hesitation,
is a sure fire formula for reed
instability! Fortunately, the author has
never had to cope with this mythical reed
form. For, like an Arundo Donax
Sasquach, it is often reported but, like
‘Big Foot’, never actually seen.
CONCLUSION
Based on the above evidence and
personal observation of countless reeds
during a lifetime spent as a performer and
teacher, it is the author’s considered
judgment that:
• slippage in conjunction with its
structural influence is mechanically
present whether it is visible or not, and
• as such slippage represents an
inevitable (or at the very least a pre
dominant) consequence of reed making.
As an integral aspect of all reeds, slippage
must be consistently controlled to
maximise its positive characteristics and
minimise the dark uncontrolled negative
results. With the why and how of slippage
now revealed give it a chance. Try it!
Slippage will prove to be the most
benevolent reed ‘fault’ yet encountered.
35
Reviews
BOOK REVIEWS
are reading the results of a life’s work.
Our Oboist Ancestors
by James Brown
(For details of how to acquire this book see page 13.)
In pricing it, with characteristic generosity at £10, simply to
cover costs of production, he has put the world of oboists
forever in his debt.
Neil Black
To anyone who wishes to know more of the history of the
oboe, this volume will be as indispensable as it is unique.
It contains not only the biographies, many quite extended,
of 1650 oboists of the nineteenth century, but information
about their teachers, the posts they held, and the solo
repertoire they performed; no less than 170 works for oboe
solo and orchestra written in that century are listed.
Furthermore there are many beautiful prints and even early
photographs of these oboist ancestors, always interesting
and frequently also endearing; who would ever expect to
see a picture of the great Georges Gillet aged fifteen, or
enjoy the self-confident gaze of Pasculli in his prime? We
may also read of the great masters of the late-eighteenth
century who lived on into the next. For example Ramm and
Ferlendis, for whom Mozart wrote; and the father and son
Triebensee of whom Georg, the father, played with
Beethoven in the first performance of the Quintet for Piano
and Wind; and Josef, the son, took part in the first
performance of Die Zauberflöte under Mozart’s direction.
Then, to take an example at random, we may read of the
much later oboist Charles Reynolds, who by means of his
circular breathing technique was able to play the Tristan
und Isolde cor anglais solo in one breath.
Although James Brown, the author and compiler, modestly
describes himself as an enthusiast rather than a musicologist,
the scholarship seems impeccable, with scrupulous indices
and lists of works with opus numbers and publishers; while
the enthusiasm and humour behind this whole undertaking
shine through, never more so than in the appendices, which
contain some simply hilarious material.
At this point I have to reveal that I am unable to review the
book as a detached observer. I was at James’s side quite
literally as his oboe colleague, while we stumped around
Europe for nearly 30 years giving concerts with the
inspirational English Chamber Orchestra. Frequently, after
an early breakfast, he would be off to the local library,
chateau or Schloss, to spend a day seeking information for
this book. He invariably charmed librarians (in their own
languages) into showing him rarely seen manuscripts,
emerging from his researches in time to play immaculately
in the evening’s concert. The compilation became for him
almost a second profession, and between these covers we
36
Oboe, Art and Method
by Martin Shuring
pub. Oxford University Press
ISBN 978-0-19-537457-5
£15 (paperback): 224 pages
This is probably the most important book on the practical
craft of oboe playing that has been written in the English
language in the past 50 years.
The first book that described the practicalities of oboe
playing I remember was Evelyn Rothwell’s little volume,
published in the early 1950s. This was followed by a more
comprehensive version of her teaching thoughts in the three
volume series produced in the late 1970s, The Oboist’s
Companion. Earlier, in 1961, was published the then
oboists’ bible, The Art of Oboe Playing by Sprenkle and
Ledet, which gave a full and worthy description of the
American oboe reed style. In 1977 Léon Goossens’
collaboration with Edwin Roxburgh produced a valuable
addition to the learning and dealt in some detail with both
baroque and contemporary practice. I feel though that
The Oboe, Art & Method perhaps surpasses all of the above
in its delivery of practical common sense teaching.
Martin Shuring is Associate Professor of Music (Oboe) at
Arizona State University. He has held orchestral positions in
the orchestras of Hong Kong, Florida and Phoenix, Arizona,
and has edited Barret’s Complete Oboe Method.
Since this time there have been comprehensive books written
about the history of the instrument and advanced playing
techniques. In this volume these aspects are dealt with when
apposite but not in huge detail. Instead Martin Shuring has
concentrated on describing a method of learning that could
almost remove the need for a teacher. But not quite!
The book is divided into four main sections:
• Fundamentals
• Reed Making
• Equipment and its Care
• Professional and Performance Considerations.
In Fundamentals he deals with posture, breathing and
support, embouchure, fingers, articulation, expression and
practice. In Reed Making he discusses construction,
evaluation and adjustment – mainly applied to the
American reed style. In Equipment, the selection of an
instrument its care and adjustment are discussed in great
detail. In Professional and Performance Considerations he is
extremely helpful with aspects of deportment and
behaviour, and gives sound advice on career development.
In three Appendices he discusses thoughts for the complete
beginner, gives fingering charts for both oboe and cor
anglais and a complete trill-fingering chart.
The book is written largely in the first and second person for
the sake of clarity of instruction. He attempts to ease the
burden of the difficulties of playing the oboe so that it can
sing and speak effortlessly. In order to do this he teaches
that the basic simple things are done well. ‘Learn these right
the first time and then move on to the next one,’ he writes.
‘Everything musical I have ever heard or seen or learned is
in some way contained in this book.’
There are so many interesting thoughts and ideas in this
book that no oboe player should be without it. It is
particularly valuable in confirming ideas we already might
have, but I can almost guarantee that, however experienced,
every reader will find something to think about anew. Even if
it is only for the benefit of those who like to wear strong
perfumes in the orchestral oboe section and may read how
Professor Shuring thinks this might not be the best idea for
everybody else within smelling distance!
Geoffrey Bridge
CD REVIEW
Music for Wind and Piano
by Carl Nielsen
New London Chamber Ensemble
Meridian CDE 84580
Nielsen’s reputation rests mainly on his symphonies, so it is
refreshing to have some of his chamber music presented on
this CD with the brilliant artistry of the New London Chamber
Ensemble. Those who witnessed their performance of Berio’s
Opus No Zoo at the IDRS Conference in 2009 will be aware
of the adventurous and imaginative qualities which they bring
to their music-making. One glance at the photograph of its
members’ cheerful faces accompanying the disc creates an
irresistible invitation to listen to what they have to say about
Nielsen. Starting with the booklet, we discover pages of
research which reveal new insights into the Wind Quintet.
Each movement is illustrated with photocopies of the original
manuscript. The accompanying notes by Melanie Ragge (‘on
behalf of the ULCE’) are scholarly and very informative. The
last three tracks of the disc are performance illustrations of this
fascinating study. This enterprise is an impressive example of
the true function of recorded music – to give the listener fresh
insights into a composer’s world.
The selection opens with the Wind Quintet in a wonderfully
colourful performance from all the artists. This is probably
the first recording using the new edition of the work, which
‘answers many questions as well as raising a few new ones!’
The first impression is the striking effect of the resonant
acoustic which Meridian classifies as ‘A Natural Sound
Recording’. This is a welcome phrase in this digital world!
In the first movement, as the phrases interweave between
the instruments, the players create a sense of unified
ensemble in the give-and-take of prominent motives. The
result is a poised and elegant interpretation. At crotchet =
96 the following Menuet has the disadvantage of hinging
onto the same tempo unit as the first. Perhaps the generic
association of the form could be stretched to make the
movement a little more animated, especially as it precedes
the third Adagio movement, which is played with a
dramatic presence far from the lyrical character associated
with much of Nielsen’s music. The expression and intensity
of the playing is particularly impressive here. In the fourth
movement Nielsen uses his own (rather square-cut and
conventional) theme, which is in extreme contrast to the
variations, especially the second, which matches the horn
and clarinet in a volatile dialogue. Each instrument is heard
as a soloist during the movement. This illustrates the rich
character and virtuosity of each performer. I would go as far
as to say that I have never heard the work played with such
compelling authority and expression.
Serenata in vano (serenading in vain!) is an early work of
Nielson which he describes as ‘a humorous trifle’. The
Ensemble manages to raise it above this level in the sheer
beauty of the instrumental tone. The Fantasy for Clarinet
and Piano was composed in his early teens and might be
better off left in a bottom drawer. The excellent playing of
Neyire Ashworth and Michael Dussek could not dispel the
impulse to clear one’s throat! The Fantasy Pieces for Oboe
and Piano Opus 2 are from his student years and show
much more of the mature Nielsen in the poignant
37
expression ideal for the oboe, captured beautifully in the
performance by Melanie Ragge and Michael Dussek. The
horn and piano work, Canto serioso (1913) does not have
the distinctive qualities of the horn writing in the Quintet,
but this brilliant performance by Stephen Stirling and
Michael Dussek brings an evocative character to the piece.
The Fog is Lifting for flute and piano has similar limitations
in the unadulterated arpeggios of the piano writing and
the static single chord which the flute elaborates in
The Children are Playing. But the latter could happily stand
next to Debussy’s Syrinx in a recital, especially as it was
composed only a year later. Again, beautiful playing from
the artists – this time Lisa Nelsen and Michael Dussek.
The Three Piano Pieces (1928) use a much more
adventurous language, deploying chromatic complexities
and intensely articulated motives. The third is especially
significant with its brilliant toccata-like energy and
wandering episodes, which evoke all the imaginative and
sometimes unworldly landscape of the mature Nielsen.
The performance by Michael Dussek shows depth of
feeling and empathy with this spirit.
As an intimate survey of the creative life-span of Nielsen this
disc is an important statement. Like all composers, Nielsen
had good days and bad. I think the performers celebrate the
good and elevate the bad in a fascinating documentation of
this important composer’s chamber music. I look forward to
the next enterprise and CD with warm anticipation.
piece in a most engaging manner, indeed all students
shared the introductions adeptly.
Following this the current principal oboist of the Hallé
Orchestra, Stephane Rancourt, formerly of the Royal
Scottish National Orchestra, performed with pianist Sam
Hutchins Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro Op. 70. The oboe
was more than an equal partner for the piano in this
performance and I felt that the lid could easily have been
raised on the long stick. Some of the playing seemed
effortful and over loud, although the breath control was
well managed in the long drawn phrases.
After this six oboists played Six Metamorphoses after Ovid
Op. 49 by Benjamin Britten. Of these six the two professionals
drew the short straws! Tim Rundle from the BBC SSO played
Niobe and Katherine Mackintosh from the RSNO played
Narcissus. I was impressed by Katherine who, despite the long
wait, produced a most beautifully quiet middle C at the
opening. The players were scattered around the hall and came
together in the final peroration of Arethusa in dramatic unison.
Jock Sutcliffe’s lovely arrangement of Jerome Kern’s Smoke
gets in your Eyes was followed by, for me, the highlight of
the afternoon. A young man aged 13, from the RSAMD
Junior Department, played Roundelay by Alan Richardson.
He showed how little fuss and effort is needed to play the
oboe musically, with good sound and phrasing, even
on modest equipment. His name – watch out for it – is
Robin Brandon-Turner!
Edwin Roxburgh
CONCERT REVIEW
Oboe Recital in Glasgow – Mondays at One
Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama
December 2009
Students and teachers, past and present, featured in this
RSAMD Woodwind Department’s ‘Oboe Focus’, a
programme designed by long-standing RSAMD oboe
teacher Stephen West. An added attraction was the world
premiere of a work by James Horan, cor anglais player of
the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
The opening of the concert, performed from the gallery of
the hall, made a most effective and arresting impression –
an arrangement of Hosanna to the Son by Orlando Gibbons
for six oboes and cor anglais. Andrew Nunn, introduced the
38
It was then time for the world premiere of Theme and
Variations on the Carnival of Venice for Oboe Trio by James
Horan. This was a little grotesque in its extreme difficulty
and harmonic structures – but it is meant to be! Stephane
Rancourt displayed a formidable technique in the highest
reaches of the oboe while the lovely warm cor sound from
James Horan was always a delight.
The programme finished with two ensemble items, for the
first time including bassoons, and an encore in which all
the players joined forces – an arrangement of Rossini’s
William Tell Overture by Simon Rennard – which brought
the house down!
Ian Crowther of the Oboe Shop (Canterbury) was present all
day in the foyer with a large selection of oboes and cors
anglais to try and buy.
Geoffrey Bridge
Notices
Oboe Extravaganza: 26th – 28th February at
Benslow Music Trust, Hitchin, Herts
Andrew Knights, author of The Oboist’s
Practice Companion, helps participants with
everything from reeds to practice routines and
warm-ups to new ideas for help with
articulation. There will be ensemble and
discussion sessions. Players of oboe d’amore
and cor anglais are just as welcome.
Details: www.benslow.org
Tel: 01462 459446
The Sixteenth Nordic Bassoon Symposium
will be held in Bergen, Norway from 9th to 11th
April. Guest artist, Milan Turkovic. Full details at:
web.mac.com/perhann/iWeb/Nordisk%20
Fagottsymposium/Velkommen.html
or telephone Per Hannevold: 0047 5528 7453
or Grieg Academy: 0047 5558 6950
Proceedings will be in English.
Registrations by 1st April.
Kerry Camden’s Advanced Wind
Chamber Music: 5th – 7th March
Benslow Music Trust, Hitchin, Herts
Be coached in ensembles small and large,
and benefit from workshops and
masterclasses given by a team of sympathetic
world-renowned players led by Kerry
Camden, on flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon
and French horn. Own-choice works can be
brought, and a range of mainstream and
more unusual repertoire available too. You
should be an experienced sight-reader.
Details: www.benslow.org
Tel: 01462 459446
The Royal Academy of Music Bassoon
Ensemble (Director, John Orford)
will be giving another concert on
April 19th, at 6pm in the David
Josefowitz Recital Hall, RAM, London.
Once again it will end with Widor’s
Toccata with optional audience
participation (contras only). Further
details from www.ram.ac.uk/events
or tel. 020 7873 7300
39
Classified
Bassoon and Contra Servicing and Repairs. Also all other woodwinds.
Ian White. Tel: 01865 873709 (Oxford).
Torda Reeds – quality handmade reeds by a professional oboe player.
www.tordareeds.co.uk Tel/Fax: 020 8505 0519.
Bassoonists! Free your hands and neck and use a spike. www.bassoonspike.co.uk
Intermediate Fox Oboe model 330 for sale. Very good condition £800 ono.
Also Artley Clarinet, very good condition £100. Tel: 01224 314946 (Aberdeen).
Allcock Oboe Reed Gouger and Profiler. 10 years old, used for two years, excellent condition.
£500 each, ono. Tel: Elizabeth, 01628 676762 / 07941 566742.
Wanted: Second hand cor anglais or double oboe/cor case. Tel: 01223 570884.
Howarth S20C + TP Dual System Cor Anglais for sale. 12 years old, fully serviced
and in excellent condition. £2,500 ono, [email protected] / 07968 379388.
B&H Emperor Oboe for sale, serial no 536934. Owned from new and in excellent condition but may
need some attention as not played for many years. Intermediate grade wooden instrument, £600 ono.
Contact Mary Hackett 01359 250538 or [email protected]
Bassoon for sale – Newly refurbished 15 year-old Schreiber 5031 in Alpine Maple. New pads +
corks. Excellent condition. Call Andrew 07799 896004 / [email protected] for info/pics.
£4,500 ono.
Howarth S25 TP Oboe. Excellent condition. Less common Howarth oboe, no longer available.
Excellent intermediate/advanced student model. £1,750, [email protected]
or 0117 9496411.
Billerbeck Oboe Reeds. Complete oboe reeds and recanes. Prompt service.
M. Downward, “Arncott”, Cummingston, Elgin, Moray IV30 5XY.
Order taken by post, online at www.billerbeckoboereeds.co.uk
Tel: 01343 835430.
Howarth XL Oboe. Beautiful instrument, specially selected. Brand new with full warranty.
£5,100. Gordon Hunt 07973 734450.
Oboe Marigaux 901 bought new 1999, newly fully serviced by Crowthers and now in
mint condition. £3,995 ono. Contact Sue 07870 276745 Cardiff.
Oboe Howarth S40c serial E 0747. £1,600. Excellent condition.
[email protected] Tel: 01243 532451.
ADULT OBOISTS. Come along and really enjoy improving your oboe-playing,
at Open Academy, Somerset. Individual consultations with Sien Vallis-Davies
(EMI artist, LPO, RCM, life-enthusiast etc. Films: www.youtube.com/VallisDavies).
Also worldwide tuition online via webcam. Do phone: 01458 860006.
40
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TERMS AND CONDITIONS. The society reserves the right to refuse or withdraw any advertisement at its
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
avoid mistakes. The Society welcomes articles, letters and other contributions for publication in this
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necessarily imply that such opinions are in agreement with the Society. Articles submitted for publication in
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J Myatt Woodwind
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SG5 1RQ
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Crowther of Canterbury
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British Reserve Insurance
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The British Double Reed Society is a
non profit-making organisation
established to further the interests of all
involved with the oboe and bassoon.
The BDRS acts as a national forum
for debate and the exchange of ideas,
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of double reed instruments. It also fulfils
an important role in encouraging greater
interest in the instruments, and securing
their place in the wider cultural and
educational environment.
41
Index to Advertisers
Britannia Reeds ...........................................................................................................................25
Paul Carrington ...........................................................................................................................31
David Cowdy ..............................................................................................................................31
Emerson Edition ..........................................................................................................................25
Fox UK..............................................................................................................Outside back cover
Fratelli Patricola...........................................................................................................................28
Pete Haseler/Gregson Knives .......................................................................................................31
Howarth London ..................................................................................................Inside front cover
K.Ge Reeds ...................................................................................................................................8
Le Roseau Chantant ....................................................................................................................19
F. Lorée ................................................................................................................Inside back cover
Andrew May ...............................................................................................................................31
Medir SL......................................................................................................................................28
myinstrument Studio ...................................................................................................................19
Oboereedsdirect..........................................................................................................................31
Püchner/Jonathan Small ..............................................................................................................25
Püchner/Jonathan Small/Graham Salvage/T. W. Howarth.............................................................22
Jessica Rance...............................................................................................................................28
Schlern International Music Festival ............................................................................................22
Tiger Books .................................................................................................................................31
Wells Cathedral School ...............................................................................................................12
Woodford Reeds..........................................................................................................................31
Woodwind & Co. ........................................................................................................................28
42
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
Fox Bassoons
Oboes and
Cor Anglais
All Double Reed
Accessories
and CDs
For information on all Fox
products, the range of Double
Reed Accessories from other
manufacturers or to arrange an
appointment, please contact
Tom Simmonds at
Fox UK
Sole UK agent for
Fox Bassoons and Oboes
83 Dudley Road
Grantham
Lincolnshire NG31 9AB, UK
Tel/Fax +44 (0) 1476 570700
[email protected]
www.foxproducts.co.uk

Double Reed 70 cover - British Double Reed Society

Transcription

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