Ivor treated us to a wonderful bassoon recital of music from a variety of composers and genres for this week’s lunchtime recital. It was a pleasure to listen to the warm tones of this minority instrument.
Ivor began his recital with the second movement from Telemann’s Sonata in F minor, an energetic composition written in ternary (ABA) form. Ivor demonstrated great breath control during the movement’s many semi-quaver passages as well as producing lovely lyrical legato passages and articulated staccato phrases.
Following this, Ivor performed Andante ma adagio from Mozart’s only bassoon concerto. The concerto takes the form of an aria, which Ivor brought to life beautifully with a warm tone, drawing us in. This expressive and dramatic, yet calming work was a wonderful treat on a dreary Wednesday.
To end the recital, Ivor chose the Vivace movement from Hurlstone’s Sonata in F major. Originally published in 1904, the sonata was dedicated to a well-known bassoonist of the time, Edward Dubrucq. Ivor effectively displayed the bassoon’s versatility and wide tessitura. His confident playing aided in translating the pompous tone of the Vivace.
As a surprise, Ivor then played the theme from Ivor the Engine, a British cutout animation television series which originally aired in 1958 in black and white and then revived for colour televisions in 1975. A fun and lively end to a wonderful recital.
The recital is available to watch here.
