Danzi · Bassoon Concertos · Overture in E Flat Major · Forgotten Treasures Vol. 2

APE+CUE | 1 CD | Booklet | 232 MB | 2006

Of the period instruments currently on the scene—and I am generally not a fan—it is the bassoon that holds the most attraction for me. It alone makes me wonder sometimes whether the modern instrument is indeed a step forward, technical wizardry notwithstanding. The period bassoon has a plump, soft, and ultimately comforting tone that even the best of modern instruments cannot really match. Of course, you cannot cut through an orchestra with it, and that was not its role in the days of yesteryear; more to its liking was accompanying the basses and cellos with occasional solo bursts. But it does have a wonderfully pliant sound, and it’s not hard to understand why composers like Mozart and Franz Danzi found it attractive. Mozart left us one concerto, though there are rumored to be three or four times this many, and Danzi created five, plus a series of three bassoon quartets as well. Danzi, a product of the important Mannheim school, where innovation after innovation was the order of the day and composers were vying with each other to write for its soloists, was a cellist himself who would eventually leave a profound mark on the woodwind world. At age 20, he was already an orchestral soloist, and his career as pedagogue, performer, composer, and conductor was to know few equals.

It is strange that the bassoon concertos have not caught on with the public or even many bassoonists. This is probably due to the fact that the modern instrument can make mincemeat out of Danzi’s once formidable technical challenges for a seven or nine-keyed instrument. Consequently, if the bassoonist finds it trivial, so will the public. But in point of fact, these concertos are terrific vehicles for the most astute of modern players, and should be taken up more frequently. Though the F-Major work is popular for its lyrical Andante, the G-Minor offers many things to a modern listener, and is quite favorable in tone. When played with such an adeptness and lucid facility like that of Jane Gower, the excitement builds from the first bars, no matter which concerto is playing, and she proves herself a fully competent exponent of the period bassoon, and an able interpreter of Danzi’s difficulties.

The Overture in E♭ is a real smoker, punchy and exciting; I wish there were a few more on this album. However, with the excellent surround sound, vivid and very well balanced, this esoteric little surprise becomes an immediate Want List contender; it should contend for a place on your shelves also. --Fanfare, Steven E. Ritter

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