This is a major release for bassoonatics and casual bassoon enthusiasts. Frank Morelli, longtime bassoonist for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra — with which he recorded the Mozart concerto for DG, along with a string of other non-solo albums like this one — assembles a program of mostly little-known music by little-known composers. Then he and accompanist Gilbert Kalish play their hearts out.
Luboš Sluka’s sonata is a work of some melancholy and considerable melodic gifts, which doesn’t easily compare to other composers. Sluka has an original voice, one which often sends the bassoonist singing plaintive folk-ish songs. One might think, at times, of Janáček or Martinů or the angular piano writing of Shostakovich on one of his least angsty days. This was originally written for cello, but as arranged for bassoon by the composer with a few edits by Morelli. It’s clearly a major part of the instrument’s repertoire.
Another one is Iván Eröd’s brilliant Sonata Milanese, so-called not because it sounds Italian or as Morelli jokingly notes, is lightly breaded and fried, but because the dedicatee was named Milan. Morelli is also correct to point out that the piece features “one of the most wonderfully evocative slow movements ever written for bassoon,” almost an understatement. The movement reminds me of French composers like Poulenc.
Roger Boutry’s Interférences I is bluesy and angry, like something from Charles Mingus’ Epitaph. Modernist musical techniques and dissonant ostinatos sit alongside the jazz moods, making for an unusual mix. Styles are also combining in Pierre-Max Dubois’ Sonatine-Tango, a set of four very short pieces inspired by the Argentinian dance. Alexandre Tansman’s Sonatine is, like much of his work, neo-classical, sardonic and Parisian all at once, especially in the winking final scherzo.
Oh, and there are two well-known composers on the album, too. Paul Hindemith’s sonata is highlighted by a slow movement that combines nocturne and military march in a totally satisfying way. There’s also a piece from Ravel’s Kaddish, transcribed by Morelli himself and it makes a touching encore.
MSR Classics is rapidly becoming an essential record label. Their sound quality is reliably good, as it is here, though you should prepare for bassoon clicking sounds. Morelli and Kalish prove to be great fits in the label’s collection of excellent artists who only lack in name recognition. Maybe not a mainstream release, but a terrific bassoon recital.
Brian Reinhart
