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
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The work consists of three movements:
- Allegro moderato
- Allegro scherzando
- Molto adagio – Allegro moderato
A performance takes approximately 13 minutes.
Reception
editThe 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
edit- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Jost, Peter (2010). Camille Saint-Saëns, Bassoon Sonata op. 168 – Preface. Munich: G. Henle Verlag. pp. III–IV. ISMN 979-0-2018-0966-3. Archived from the original on 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
- ↑ Gallois, Jean (2004). Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (in French). Sprimont, Belgium: Éditions Mardaga. pp. 368–368. ISBN 978-2-87009-851-6.
External links
edit- Bassoon Sonata (Saint-Saëns): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Bassoon Sonata on YouTube, performed by Francesco Bossone and Akanè Makita
