Bassoon Quintet
Encyclopedia
Bassoon Quintet is short for the Quintet
of Graham Waterhouse
, composed in 2003 for bassoon
and string quartet
.
. On 5 October 2003 music for one to ten players, conducted by Yaron Traub
, was performed in the Kleiner Konzertsaal, including the Piccolo Quintet
. The bassoon part was first played by Lyndon Watts
, the principal bassoonist of the Münchner Philharmoniker, in the presence of bassonist William Waterhouse, the composer's father. The string quartet was formed by Odette Couch, Kirsty Hilton, Isabel Charisius and the composer.
A revised version was performed in Munich on 14 March 2011 in a chamber concert of the Bavarian Tonkünstlerverband (Musical Artists' Association). The soloist was again Watts, who also premiered Bernd Redmann
's Migrant for bassoon and string quartet, and played the first of four quartets for a woodwind instrument and string trio, called "Finnische Quartette", by Jörg Duda
. The string players, besides the composer, were members of the Münchner Pilharmoniker, Clément Courtin, Namiko Fuse and Konstantin Sellheim.
The quintet is in preparation to be published by Lienau
.
of the bassoon, a range of three and a half octaves. The predominantly "lyrical mood" of the work is also established. "Restless energy" defines the Allegro movement, a four note motif
is passed between cello and bassoon, later dominating figuration in the bassoon part.
The slow movement is reminiscent of the composer’s memories of liturgical Armenian chant
, which he experienced in 1996 in the Armenian district of Jerusalem around Easter. He describes: "The meandering line, continually curling back on itself and the resonance of the massive, ancient stone walls are mirrored in the writing, as continually shifting, changing fragments of the "chant" are passed between the instruments".
The last movement has a more symphonic aspect. The strings and the bassoon play arpeggio
motifs in open intervals such as fifth
s and major sixth
s. The intervals of the introduction reappear on high harmonics in the strings. A virtuoso coda concludes the work.
Quintet
A quintet is a group containing five members.It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single unit....
of Graham Waterhouse
Graham Waterhouse
Graham Waterhouse is an English composer and a cellist. He is known for chamber music and for unusual scoring, such as Piccolo Quintet, Bright Angel for three bassoons and contrabassoon, Chieftain's Salute for Great Highland Bagpipe and string orchestra, and works for speaking voice and cello,...
, composed in 2003 for bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
and string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
.
History
In 2003 Graham Waterhouse composed the Bassoon Quintet, to be premiered as part of a composer's portrait concert at the GasteigGasteig
Gasteig is a cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig...
. On 5 October 2003 music for one to ten players, conducted by Yaron Traub
Yaron Traub
Yaron Traub is an Israeli conductor and pianist.Throughout the 90s he served as Daniel Barenboim's assistant at the Bayreuth Festival and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. After being prized at the 1998 Kirill Kondrashin Competition, Traub has internationally active as a guest conductor before he...
, was performed in the Kleiner Konzertsaal, including the Piccolo Quintet
Piccolo Quintet
Piccolo Quintet is short for the Quintet op. 26 of Graham Waterhouse, composed in 1989 for piccolo and string quartet and published by Zimmermann in 2002 as Quintet for piccolo, 2 violins, viola and violoncello.- History :...
. The bassoon part was first played by Lyndon Watts
Lyndon Watts
Lyndon Watts is an Australian bassoonist. He is principal bassoonist of the Münchner Philharmoniker and an academic teacher.-Professional career:...
, the principal bassoonist of the Münchner Philharmoniker, in the presence of bassonist William Waterhouse, the composer's father. The string quartet was formed by Odette Couch, Kirsty Hilton, Isabel Charisius and the composer.
A revised version was performed in Munich on 14 March 2011 in a chamber concert of the Bavarian Tonkünstlerverband (Musical Artists' Association). The soloist was again Watts, who also premiered Bernd Redmann
Bernd Redmann
Bernd Redmann is a German composer and musicologist.-Professional career:Bernd Redmann studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, music pedagogy and composition with Dieter Acker, and music theory. He was also enrolled for musicology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München...
's Migrant for bassoon and string quartet, and played the first of four quartets for a woodwind instrument and string trio, called "Finnische Quartette", by Jörg Duda
Jörg Duda
Jörg Duda is a German composer of classical music.-Professional career:Duda was influenced by the church music of Scheyern Abbey. He took lessons in organ and improvisation with Harald Feller, in theory and composition with Dieter Acker. From 1988 to 1992 he studied church music at the...
. The string players, besides the composer, were members of the Münchner Pilharmoniker, Clément Courtin, Namiko Fuse and Konstantin Sellheim.
The quintet is in preparation to be published by Lienau
Robert Lienau
Robert Lienau was a German music sheet publisher, who in 1864 acquired the publishing firm founded by Adolf Martin Schlesinger in Berlin in 1810, and gave the company his own name. He moved the main offices of the firm to Frankfurt am Main....
.
Music
As in the composer's Cello Concerto of 1995, the movements of the quintet are in the sequence "slow introduction – fast – slow – fast". The introduction presents characteristic intervals and the wide tessituraTessitura
In music, the term tessitura generally describes the most musically acceptable and comfortable range for a given singer or, less frequently, musical instrument; the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding texture or timbre...
of the bassoon, a range of three and a half octaves. The predominantly "lyrical mood" of the work is also established. "Restless energy" defines the Allegro movement, a four note motif
Motif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
is passed between cello and bassoon, later dominating figuration in the bassoon part.
The slow movement is reminiscent of the composer’s memories of liturgical Armenian chant
Armenian chant
Armenian chant is the melismatic monophonic chant used in the liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic Church.Armenian chant, like Byzantine chant, consists mainly of hymns. The chants are grouped in an oktoechos. The oldest hymns were in prose, but later versified hymns, such as those by Nerses...
, which he experienced in 1996 in the Armenian district of Jerusalem around Easter. He describes: "The meandering line, continually curling back on itself and the resonance of the massive, ancient stone walls are mirrored in the writing, as continually shifting, changing fragments of the "chant" are passed between the instruments".
The last movement has a more symphonic aspect. The strings and the bassoon play arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
motifs in open intervals such as fifth
Fifth
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.Fifth may refer to:* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "Pleading the Fifth"* Fifth column - a political term...
s and major sixth
Major sixth
In classical music from Western culture, a sixth is a musical interval encompassing six staff positions , and the major sixth is one of two commonly occurring sixths. It is qualified as major because it is the largest of the two...
s. The intervals of the introduction reappear on high harmonics in the strings. A virtuoso coda concludes the work.
External links
- Graham Waterhouse website
- Isabel Charisius, Universität der Künste BerlinBerlin University of the ArtsThe Universität der Künste Berlin, UdK is a public art school in Berlin, Germany, one of the four universities in the city...
, violist of the Alban Berg QuartetAlban Berg QuartetThe Alban Berg Quartett was a string quartet founded in Vienna, Austria in 1970, named after the famous composer Alban Berg.-Members:- Beginnings :...
2005 until 2008 - Clément Courtin Münchner Pilharmoniker 2011
- Namiko Fuse Münchner Pilharmoniker 2011
- Konstantin Sellheim Münchner Pilharmoniker 2011