Recital: Delano Bell '22 MM, Bassoon
NEC's students meet one-on-one each week with a faculty artist to perfect their craft. As each one leaves NEC to make their mark in the performance world, they present a full, professional recital that is free and open to the public. It's your first look at the artists of tomorrow.
Delano Bell '22 MM studies Bassoon with Richard Ranti.
This performance is open to in-person audiences, and can also be viewed below via livestream.
- Delano Bell '22 MM, bassoon
- Deborah DeWolf Emery, piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Bassoon Concerto in B-flat Major, K. 191 (1774)
Allegro
Andante ma adagio
Rondo: Tempo di MenuettoProgram note
Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto in B-flat Major, K. 191 was his earliest wind concerto and his only bassoon concerto. Mozart was a precocious young man and, at the age of 18, displayed an already spectacular compositional prowess, creating a piece of art that would serve as a staple of the bassoon repertoire to this day. The piece was written for the classical bassoon that looks and functions much differently than the modern bassoon we know today, with hardly any keywork and more difficult finger combinations.
The first movement, Allegro, begins in B-flat with a demonstrative melody and progresses through intricate technical passages that showcase nearly the full range of the bassoon that, in Mozart’s time, would have been daunting for the amateur musician for whom the piece was likely written. The second movement, Andante ma Adagio, is a beautiful, relaxed song in F Major that anticipates Mozart’s many stunning opera arias. The third movement, Rondo: Tempo di Menuetto, is a jolly minuet in B-flat Major, with a brief visit to G minor, that closes energetically.Artists- Deborah DeWolf Emery, piano
Camille Saint-Saëns | Sonata for Bassoon and Piano, op. 168 (1921)
Andante moderato
Allegro scherzando
Adagio – Allegro moderatoProgram note
In 1920, Saint-Saëns wrote to composer Gabriel Fauré, “I have no other plans for composition in my head. The grape harvest is over! at 85, one has the right to be silent – and perhaps the duty.” Despite his disposition, Saint-Saëns composed three more pieces before his death in 1921, all wind sonatas, concluding with the Sonata for Bassoon and Piano. His final work, the sonata contrasts with Mozart’s concerto fittingly, taking us from one great composer’s origins to another’s final dictations. The work was dedicated to Léon Letellier, the principal bassoon of the Paris Opera and professor of bassoon at the Paris Conservatoire, and was likely premiered on the French bassoon, an early contemporary of the German bassoon which is most popular today.
The first movement, Andante Moderato, is brief yet slow and singing, beginning with descending arpeggios in the piano that are gracefully joined by the bassoon and build to a quick and passionate climax. The second movement, Allegro Scherzando, opens abruptly and with intention as the piano propels the bassoon into an agile melody that leaps around the range. The third movement, Adagio-Allegro Moderato, is ponderous and contemplative, going from strolling and serene, to quite tense, bringing the piece to an exciting end with a galloping coda.Artists- Deborah DeWolf Emery, piano
Ralph Vaughan Williams | Six Studies in English Folksong (1926)
Adagio (Lovely on the Water)
Andante sostenuto (Spurn Point)
Larghetto (Van Diemen’s Land)
Lento (She Borrowed Some of her Mother’s Gold)
Andante tranquillo (The Lady and the Dragon)
Allegro vivace (As I walked over London Bridge)Program note
"I am told that when grapevines were first cultivated in California the vineyard masters used to try the experiment of importing plants from France or Italy and setting them in their own soil. The result was that the grapes acquired a peculiar individual flavor, so strong was the influence of the soil in which they were planted. I think I need hardly draw the moral of this, namely, that if the roots of your art are firmly planted in your own soil and that soil has anything individual to give you, you may still gain the whole world and not lose your own soul." – Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams’ music is directly influenced by the folk music he learned and recorded in England, specifically the English countryside, and therefore is often simple yet vocal and singing. Vaughan Williams originally wrote the Six Studies in English Folksong for cello and piano but arranged it for many other instruments, including bassoon. Though composed only five years after the sonata by Saint-Saëns, Vaughan Williams’ songs could not be more different in style. Five of the six short movements are rich and tuneful; music that is beautiful, simply for the sake of it. The last piece is quick and nimble and comes to a sudden, spirited end.Artists- Carson Mchaney and Katie Knudsvig, violin
- Kat Wallace, viola
- Ben Roberts, cello
- Solomon Caldwell, double bass
Jean Françaix | Divertissement for Bassoon (1942)
Vivace
Lento
Vivo assai
AllegroProgram note
Divertissement for Bassoon is a chamber work by Françaix that has a delicate, technical, and witty charm that is representative of Françaix’s general compositional style. A student of Nadia Boulanger, Françaix was doubly inspired by composers like Ravel and Stravinsky, whose influences are apparent in his ability to write idiomatically for each instrument. In this piece, he writes fun but challenging music for everyone involved and highlights the bassoon’s quirky personality.
The first movement, Vivace, is fast and a bit silly in which the bassoon humorously bounces around the range. The second movement, Lento, is slow with an air of nostalgia and longing. The third movement, Vivo assai, is perhaps the quirkiest of them all and feels like dancing with one foot that’s heavier than the other. The fourth movement, Allegro, is driving and animated, bringing the piece, and the program, to a vibrant finale.
– Program Notes by Delano BellArtists- Carson Mchaney and Katie Knudsvig, violin
- Kat Wallace, viola
- Ben Roberts, cello
- Solomon Caldwell, double bass