Bassoon Sonata (Saint-Saëns)

The Bassoon Sonata in G major, Op. 168, was written by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1921 as one of his last works. This bassoon sonata is the last of the three sonatas that Saint-Saëns composed for wind instruments, the other two being the Oboe Sonata (Op. 166) and the Clarinet Sonata (Op. 167), written the same year. These works were part of Saint-Saëns's efforts to expand the repertoire for instruments for which hardly any solo parts were written, as he confided to his friend Jean Chantavoine in a letter dated to 15 April 1921: "At the moment I am concentrating my last reserves on giving rarely considered instruments the chance to be heard."[1][2]

Structure

Bassoon Sonata (Saint-Saëns)
Performed by Arthur Grossman, bassoon and Joseph Levine, piano
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The work consists of three movements. A performance takes approximately 13 minutes.

  1. Allegro moderato
  2. Allegro scherzando
  3. Molto adagio – Allegro moderato

Reception

The musical scholar Jean Gallois calls the Bassoon Sonata "a model of transparency, vitality and lightness", containing humorous touches but also moments of peaceful contemplation.[3]

References

  1. ^ Ratner, Sabina Teller (2002). Camille Saint-Saëns, 1835–1922: A Thematic Catalogue of his Complete Works, Volume 1: The Instrumental Works. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-19-816320-6.
  2. ^ Jost, Peter (2010). Camille Saint-Saëns, Bassoon Sonata op. 168 – Preface. Munich: G. Henle Verlag. pp. III–IV. ISMN 979-0-2018-0966-3.
  3. ^ Gallois, Jean (2004). Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (in French). Sprimont, Belgium: Éditions Mardaga. p. 368-368. ISBN 978-2-87009-851-6.