The grouping of one wind instrument with a string trio or quartet is common in the classical era. island's particular blend of instruments produces a unique and sonorous texture through the substitution of the bassoon’s deeper voice for the more common treble instrument such as flute or clarinet. The repertoire for this combination has a special charm. It is often highly virtuosic, with demanding bravura passagework and theatrical and ostentatious interplay between the instruments. Whilst the melodic material, imitation and virtuosity are shared most frequently between the lead voices of the bassoon and violin, the other string parts are often independently interesting with the occasional solistic opportunity.

As a composer, Franz Danzi can most easily be classified as an exponent of the Mannheimer School. The quartets, Op. 40, were written around 1813 when Danzi had just been appointed Kapellmeister at Karlsruhe and had begun teaching composition at the newly founded Institute of Art; an intensely busy and fruitful period of his life. Playing and hearing the music never ceases to surprise and please. Danzi's dramatic flair is ever apparent, with his mastery of setting atmosphere and creating a sense of expectation. The melodies are distinctively fresh and cantabile, born along with buoyant momentum by dance-like rhythmic figures. Their often folk tune-like simplicity is given added piquancy by the many adventurous turns in the harmony. Danzi's instrumental writing is highly idiomatic but at the same time he attains a partnership and a true blending of voices, which is one of the most satisfying aspects of performing chamber music of this quality.

In his unfettered lyricism, atmospheric shades of light and dark, the same wistful alternations between lightheartedness and introspection, Danzi's music is often reminiscent of Franz Schubert's. Thus Schubert's Allegro for string trio makes an illuminating partner to the Quartet on this programme.

The great Viennese Franz Schubert doubtlessly needs no introduction here. His chamber music oeuvre is amongst the most cherished of audiences and players alike. The Trio D 471 was composed in September 1816, probably for private performance or for the winter soirées of Ignaz von Sonnleitner. The Allegro, beginning with a striking pianissimo, has an economy of thematic material, but it evolves through such a diversity of registers, keys and textures that one has a sense of continuous and spontaneous invention. Alas only the first 39 bars of the following Andante remain.

Unlike his rather monumental Grand Quintetto, the Variations for Bassoon and String Quartet by
Anton Reicha comes across as a more simplistic affair. Whilst the pedagogical master of counterpoint here restrains his adoration of the fugue, the piece is nonetheless remarkable in its clever construction. One of Reicha's earliest didactic works is indeed L'Art de varier, and in this Quintet he proves himself an expert. After a sombre and somewhat plaintive introduction the bassoon slides cunningly into the rather naive, cheeky allegretto theme, accompanied by string pizzicati. With each variation, separated by comically pedestrian string ritornelli, the theme takes a new guise, each more extrovert than the last, until it culminates in a rollicking 6/8 coda. As with Reicha's entire wind oeuvre, he clearly has a virtuoso performer in mind. The manuscript is dedicated to "mon ami Monsieur Bonjour". Whoever this curiously titled bassoonist may have been, he surely had an exceptional instrument at his disposal; the piece is festooned with notes in the extreme high register.

In his History of Violin Playing, Andreas Moser wrote: "If only concert organisers had the courage to include in their programmes one of Rolla's trios...the audience would listen astounded at the excellence of the music." Well, we dare! However, we will spare you the first movement, which struck even us as unnecessarily long-winded and unwieldy. Alessandro Rolla was first violinist at La Scala from 1803 and five years later became the first professor of violin and viola at the new Milan Conservatorium. Highly influential, held in great regard by his contemporaries, his compositions display a sensitive, idiomatic approach and a fluent melodicism that was seen as representing a continuing Italian tradition as opposed to Paganini's more extrovert bombast. Whatever spurred a violin virtuoso to come up with the innovative instrumentation of viola, bassoon and cello is a mystery, but the combination does present opportunities for dense sonorities and darkly glowing textures, especially in the lyrical Andante. The third movement presents an infectiously cheeky theme which is embellished with increasing acrobatics, especially by the cello, in the following variations.

During his visit to Paris during the late 1770's, W.A.Mozart must have heard many concerts at the
Concert Spirituel. His symphony, KV 300a (‘Paris’) was in fact written for this first and most famous of concert societies. Very much in vogue at the time was the symphonie concertante, or concerto for two or more instruments. The Parisian audiences delighted in the musical battles between soloists who competed in expressive power as much as in virtuosity. These works featured wind instrumentalists with great frequency, including in the often-performed music of François Devienne, then celebrated flautist and bassoonist, and later also pedagogue and composer of high regard. No doubt Mozart heard and absorbed in Paris a great deal of the style of symphonie concertante writing, especially for winds, which he would later use in his own compositions in this genre.

It is a very interesting comparison to hear compositions of Devienne alongside those of Mozart, as he shares many of the same elements of his classical language. As contemporaries wrote of him, Devienne also composed very readily and painlessly, which one feels immediately in the easy inspiration and spontaneity of his musical ideas. The melodies are always lively with an infectious forward rhythmic impulse and natural logic of dimensions, creating a flowing line that avoids all rigidity at phrase-ends and cadences. As charming and gracious as it is, the music is never superficial. Not only does Devienne display an excellent sense of humour, but there are often moments of true drama and suspense. An interesting aside is that the well-loved, ubiquitously hummed and whistled aria from Devienne’s most successful opera, “Les Visitandines” (1792) later earned Devienne accusations of plagiary of a Papageno aria from Mozart’s “Magic Flute”, the first ten notes being melodically identical. True or not, the comparison is flattering, especially as one of his early bassoon concerti was for many years time attributed to Mozart!

There are indeed reports of another three lost bassoon concerti by Mozart, in addition to the beloved youthful work, KV 191. In their absence we are fortunate to possess the Sonata for bassoon and cello, KV 292. Whilst its provenance has often been disputed, frequent acquaintance with the piece reassures me that it is in fact his work. Our short suite of Mozart duets is assembled from KV 292, and the Duo for violin and viola, KV 424. This presents a lighthearted opportunity to hear the varying colours of each instrument in seldom-heard pairings.

The three quartets of Devienne, Op.73, are clearly infused by the spirit of the symphonie concertante. Whilst the “soloists” are clearly the bassoon and violin, the viola and cello do spring from their primarily accompanying roles with regular solistic outbursts. The third quartet is written in the sombre hued and passionate tonality of g minor. It contains moments of soulfulness and real pathos, where one hears that Devienne also was capable of much of the expressive depth and leanings towards the romantic that are so characteristic of Mozart.

(c) 2010 Jane Gower