SKU: ST.C389

ISBN 9790570813896.

An Album of Twenty French Songs arranged for Bassoon and Piano by Martin Gatt

Fauréâ??s poignant love song Après un rêve exists in many different transcriptions for various instruments (the most famous version perhaps being the one for cello and piano that Pablo Casals made in 1910), and provides the initial inspiration for this album of French songs transcribed for bassoon and piano. The bassoon is capable of a broad range of timbres and expression, and it is the lyrical, vocal quality of the instrument that Martin Gatt has always been attracted to. In both his performance and teaching, his emphasis is on the importance of what he calls â??vocalisingâ?? through the bassoon, and for him, music for the voice â?? especially art songs of the 19th and 20th centuries â?? has been a rich source of material for exploring the expressive tonal colours of the bassoon.

The treasure trove of French art song from composers ranging from Claude Arrieu to Louis Vierne, not to mention the greats like Berlioz or Debussy or Ravel, has made the task of choosing which songs to include in this album a difficult one. In the end, Martin has settled on eight composers who have produced some of the most appealing music in the genre â?? Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921), Georges Bizet (1838-1875), Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894), Jules Massenet (1842-1912), Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), Henri Duparc (1848-1933), Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944), and Francis Poulenc (1899-1963). Rather than grouping by composer, the songs are set out in a way that contrasts different emotional worlds and sentiments, from the vibrant exuberance of Chabrierâ??s Lâ??île heureuse to the gentle melancholy of Poulencâ??s Mais mourir. These â??songs without wordsâ? for the bassoon, clearly demonstrate the instrumentâ??s cantabile qualities, varied nuances, and wide-ranging emotional possibilities.

SKU: MA.EMR-54504

Solemn March / Thema Con Variazioni / Waltz / Bach's Cello / Rondo / Nocturne / Fairy Tale / Polka / Adieu / Tango Buero.

SKU: CA.5029000

ISBN 9790007107147. Key: A major. Language: all languages.

SKU: PR.14440442S

UPC: 680160030736.

SKU: HL.49045318

ISBN 9781495082535. UPC: 888680656669. 9.5x12.0x0.515 inches.

The title refers to three instruments, three movements, and three ways of treating musical time. The tone of the work is serious yet as playful as the title suggests.The first movement, Ratios, opens with a series of seemingly unrelated ideas in tempo ratios of 3:2 and 4:3. As the movement proceeds, the ideas develop, transform, and superimpose in increasingly wide spirals. The slower second movement, Cycles, is a fantasy built on the strict scaffolding of an omnipresent, diatonic cantus firmus set in symmetrically expanding and contracting cycles. The quick finale, Phases, is a moto perpetuo tarantella in which the instruments move in and out of phase as they chase one another. The flowing eighth notes merge and finally unify ideas from the previous movements.

SKU: PR.11440532C

UPC: 680160008681.