Bassoon Sonata (Saint-Saëns)

Sonata written by Camille 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

Performed by Arthur Grossman, bassoon and Joseph Levine, piano

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

Allegro moderato
Allegro scherzando
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

^ 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.
^ Gallois, Jean (2004). Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (in French). Sprimont, Belgium: Éditions Mardaga. p. 368-368. ISBN 978-2-87009-851-6.

External links

Bassoon Sonata (Saint-Saëns): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Bassoon Sonata on YouTube, performed by Francesco Bossone and Akanè Makita

Camille Saint-Saëns

List of compositions

Operas

Le timbre d'argent (1865)
La princesse jaune (1872)
Samson and Delilah (1877)
- "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix"
Étienne Marcel (1879)
Henry VIII (1883)
Proserpine (1887)
Ascanio (1890)
Phryné (1893)
Frédégonde (1895)
Les barbares (1901)
Hélène (1904)
L'ancêtre (1905)
Déjanire (1911)

Symphonies

Symphony No. 1 (1853)
Symphony in F major (Urbs Roma) (1856)
Symphony No. 2 (1859)
Symphony No. 3 (Organ Symphony) (1886)

Concertos

Piano	Piano Concerto No. 1 (1858) Piano Concerto No. 2 (1868) Piano Concerto No. 3 (1869) Piano Concerto No. 4 (1875) Africa (1891) Piano Concerto No. 5 (The Egyptian) (1896)
Other	Violin Concerto No. 2 (1858) Violin Concerto No. 1 (1859) Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863) Cello Suite (1866) Cello Concerto No. 1 (1872) Violin Concerto No. 3 (1880) Havanaise (1887) Cello Concerto No. 2 (1902) Organ Concerto (Cyprès et lauriers) (1919)