Double Reed 70 cover - British Double Reed Society
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Double Reed 70 cover - British Double Reed Society
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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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. Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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. Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 7 8 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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] Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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! Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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.] Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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. Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 15 Krufft Grand Sonata in Bb first movement, Allegro molto moderato 16 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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? Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 21 22 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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”. Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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! Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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. Oboe reeds 25 different styles Oboe recanes 25 different styles Oboe cane gouged, shaped, or profiled Bassoon reeds 19 different styles Bassoon cane gouged, shaped, or profiled Reed Test Packs Try new reed styles without wasting money. Return any unsuitable reeds for exchange or refund. Quality Guarantee Any reed can be returned within one week for exchange or refund. Catalogue Sent to you on request. Britannia Reeds 156 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts. AL1 4JD Telephone: 01727 846055 Order Hotline: 01727 848495 www.britanniamusicshop.co.uk Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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. Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 27 28 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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! Woodford Reeds Woodford Green, Essex IG8 0TE Professional Bassoon and Contrabassoon Reeds Made from Glotin Cane Minimal adjustment required Contact: 07971 291120 or email [email protected] Website: www.woodfordreeds.com Paul Carrington Woodwind Instrument Repair Specialist Pease Hill Cottage Town End Lane Flintham Newark Nottinghamshire NG23 5LT Music by Liz Sharma An extensive list of music for all your wind ensemble needs from solos, duets, trios up to large wind band. ‘The Band loved it – Have you got any more?’ Music for Double Reed Ensembles a speciality – Parts can be created to suit your ensemble – however wide the ability range. If you can’t find what you need –just ask – it can be written For a list & further details –email [email protected] Tiger Books Ltd. Tel 0208 998 6896. Mobile 077923 20792 Fax 0208 991 9141 Tel: (01636) 525397 Email: [email protected] FINEST REED SCRAPING KNIVES Our small No 8 has arrived Knife No4: Blade 75mm x 12mm£47.00 (inc. p/p & VAT) Knife No5: Blade 90mm x 16mm£53.00 (inc. p/p & VAT) Knife No8: Blade 65mm x 10mm£45.00 (inc. p/p & VAT) Blades: Bevel edge from the highest quality tool steel giving exceptional sharpness and longevity. Handles: Individually turned from selected hardwoods. All Knives come with leather sheath Knife sharpening service Pete Haseler, Gregson Knives 21 Station Road, Studley, Warwickshire, B80 7HR Telephone 01527 853304 (day), 01386 792224 (eve) [email protected] www.gregson-knives.co.uk Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 (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. Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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. Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Email: [email protected] 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 Email: [email protected] 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 Advertising in the Double Reed News Copy deadlines: Summer Issue 15th March Autumn Issue 15th June Winter Issue 15th September Spring Issue 15th December The following rates apply for camera-ready copy. Any additional artwork will be charged at cost. To place an advertisement or obtain further information please contact Geoffrey Bridge, Treasurer BDRS, House of Cardean, Meigle, Perthshire PH12 8RB or email: [email protected] Whole page Half page (265mmH x 190mmW) (130mmH x 190mmW or 265mmH x 92mmW) Quarter page (130mmH x 92mmW or 62mmH x 190mmW) Eighth page (62mmH x 92mmW) Single £190 Series £171 £121 £109 £70 £44 £63 £40 Classified Students Full Members Overseas Members £15 £25 £25 (plus postage) Fees will be payable in Sterling only. Membership Enquiries: Dr Christopher Rosevear (Membership Secretary) The Old School, Winchfield, Hook, Hampshire RG27 8DB [email protected]. Re-order Services Back copies of DRN (where available) can be obtained by sending £4.50 to the Membership Secretary Single articles are available from the Editorial Office. Post/fax/email the details. Copies will be sent out with an invoice for 50p per page. Concessions 10% discount on music, accessories and insurance from the following and various concert discounts as advertised in DRN: T W Howarth 31/33 Chiltern Street, London W1U 7PN 020 7935 2407 Special positions add 10% Loose inserts Up to 8grams Membership £125 Over 8grams by arrangement Pre-paid only, first 12 words Extra words £5.00 £0.40 (per word) Please make cheques payable to British Double Reed Society. Copy requirements: If sending a disk or email please enquire first to discuss format. Photographs should be prints or negatives. Camera-ready artwork, bromide, disk or film. Layout and text is acceptable but the publishers reserve the right to charge for origination or typesetting. Advertisers will be notified if this is necessary. Screen 120. 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 magazine, and reserves the right to amend them. Any such contribution is, however, accepted on the understanding that its author is responsible for the opinions expressed in it and that its publication does not necessarily imply that such opinions are in agreement with the Society. Articles submitted for publication in this magazine should be original unpublished work and are accepted on the basis that they will not be published in any other magazine, except by permission of the Editor. However, the BDRS has agreements with like-minded societies with whom the sharing of published items does from time to time take place. Acceptance of material for publication is not a guarantee that it will in fact be included in any particular issue. No responsibility can be accepted by the Double Reed News, the Editor (or the British Double Reed Society committee) or contributors for action taken as a result of information contained in this publication. © Copyright 2010 British Double Reed News. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording and the Internet, without the written permission of the publishers. Such written permission must also be obtained before any part of the publication is stored in a retrieval system. The Society’s membership list is held on a database. The policy adopted by the Society is that the list will not be disclosed to any third party and is maintained solely for the purposes of administering the Society. The individual name and address of any member who is on the Teachers’ Register may be given in answer to a query from someone wishing to take up music lessons. Any organisation wishing to circulate the membership is free to ask to place an advertisement in Double Reed News or make a leaflet insertion in the next issue on payment of an appropriate fee. J Myatt Woodwind 57 Nightingale Road, Hitchin, Herts SG5 1RQ 01462 420057 Crowther of Canterbury 1 The Borough, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2DR 01227 763965 British Reserve Insurance 6 Vale Avenue, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1EH 0870 240 303 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, information and advice on all aspects 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. Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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 Double Reed News 90 Spring 2010 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