FANTASIE DI BRAVURA - for bassoon and strings on themes by Verdi, Donizetti and Bellini

1. Ouverture da "IMasnadieri"di G. Verdi * 4.38
2. A. Torriani: Divertimento su "Lucia di Lammermoor" di G. Donizetti * 10.43
3. L.Orselli: Fantasia su "Un Ballo in maschera" di G. Verdi * 9.30
4. A. Torriani: Fantasia su "Il Pirata" di V. Bellini ⁺ 8.13
5. L. Orselli: Reminiscenze su "La Traviata" di G. Verdi * 7.15
6. G.Tamplini: Fantasia di bravura su temi di G. Donizetti ⁺ 9.16

* arrangement for bassoon and strings by Stefano Canuti
⁺ arrangement for bassoon and strings by Giuseppe Catania

Recording made by Giulio Cesare Ricci in May 1996 in the Parish of San Michele Arcangelo in Sivizzano di Traversetolo (Parma).
Thanks to Don Giuseppe Celeste for the exquisite hospitality. Special thanks to Mrs. Luigia Mossini.

Seeking original scores for the bassoon and studying them has enabled me to become familiar with the Fantasies for bassoon and piano on this CD; I have played them in concerts for some years now. My intention was to heighten the chamber music quality that pervades these pieces, consequently I did not consider it inappropriate to try an arrangement where the conventional part played by the piano is entrusted to a string quintet; I believe this brings out not only the tonal and expressive qualities of the bassoon which carries on chamber music-like intercourse with the strings, but also makes it possible to play the pieces with the "natural" tone ofthe strings without the "tempered" participation of the piano. When selecting pieces for this CD I kept in mind the excellent level ofworks for bassoon and strings in the 1600's and 1700's, from Vivaldi to Devienne, Krommer and Stamitz.

Stefano Canuti

Paraphrases, transcriptions and instrumental arrangements of opera excerpts or of themes and motifs from famous operas are frequent and deeply significant in the context of 18" Century music.In fact, if we consider the characteristics and make-up of Italian society in that period, with its widely differing socio-economic and cultural conditions, we can also understand why this usage was so popular and what it consisted of. It was aimed at making known a repertory of great effect by working music into new forms, or at highlighting the performers" virtuoso qualities; nor should the efforts of the publishers themselves to publicize the works be overlooked. At first, these musical arrangements still seemed anchored to improvising on a single theme of the opera but then this model was discarded and a new one adopted to include several motifs, organized according to a free sequence; in the meantime the new composition became more and more independent with its own identity, while, from the 30's to the 50's, the genre developed rapidly, enhancing the virtuosity of musical performance. It is enough to see the printed titles of all those works, Paraphrases, Fantasias, Reminiscences on themes from operas, from Mozart to Rossini, Bellini, Wagner and Verdi, to realize how popular that genre had become, flourishing at the same pace as opera itself. On the other hand, it is clear that this new genre helped to create a whole repertory for instruments or instrument ensembles which lacked a wide range of works dedicated to them like the viola or the harp, not to mention the band which, together with different kinds of choral groups, made this music known also to the social classes unacquainted with the theatre. Fantasia on Un Ballo in maschera for bassoon and piano, Reminiscences on La Traviatafor bassoon and piano, Fantasia di bravura on opera motifs for bassoon, Concerto for two bassoons on Lucia di Lammermoor, Rimembranze, varied Melodies on the opera La Sonnambula for 'cello with piano accompaniment, La Sonnambula for two flutes and piano, Qui la voce sud soave from I puritani varied for clarinet with piano accompaniment, Grande Fantaisie sur la Norma pour la Harpe, Lively potpourris on motifs from the most recent operas for Flute, Clarinet, Oboe and Bassoon are someof the many titles which mark a genre and usage destined to distinguish an age and society. Naturally the piano was the instrument which played the most important part, because in those times it could be found in all middle-class homes as well as in the drawing-rooms of the nobility, near at hand for amateurs and therefore themost direct means for "making music" at home. Not only, it was often the composers and piano virtuosi themselves who gave a bolder impetus to this new view ofworks by creating Paraphrases. Thus, side by side with a whole range of works aimed mainly at a public of amateurs and which consequently took into consideration their rather limited capacities, more complicated musical compositions developed where virtuosity and vivaciousness became particularly important. Evidence of this are List 's numerous paraphrases, but also the equally demanding ones of Thalberg, Tausig, Czerny, Kalkbrenner and Rubinstein. Liszt also drew themes and motifs from other material besides opera, like popular songs and Lieder, and this helped the genre of paraphrases to reach wonderful results, contributing also to the development of piano techniques. These piano entertainments enhance the virtuoso's technique and bear witness to tendencies, tastes and moods of an age. The modified works (transcriptions and arrangements) composed for various instrumental ensembles are equally interesting to understand musical tastes of 19th Century society. In fact they have broader aims ranging from pure knowledge to the enjoyment of famous and much-loved scores. There was a desire both to draw attention to particular virtuoso qualities and to broaden an originally scanty repertory, as besides Vivaldi's, Weber's and Mozart's Concertos, there were about twentyconcert works in all for the bassoon. Consequently paraphrases, fantasias or arrangements usually taken from themes of operas were composed for this instrument too. Thus it was possible for the bassoon to reveal its qualities and characteristics: a "tender and melancholy voice", "accents full of strength and feeling" suitable "for expressing both great passion and pleasant and facetious moods" as the musicologist Pietro Lichtenthal noted in 1826; these new works also enabled the performer to highlight the instrument's potential in extremely vivacious and difficult scores. Within the framework of the different Italian schools of bassoon, the variegated one that was concentrated around Parma followed its fruitful and unbroken course which began in the 1700's and has continued up to now. Outstanding performers from this school range from the famous Paolo Girolamo Besozzi (1704-1798), the Duke of Parma's "virtuoso", whose teaching formed other equally impressive artists like the German Felix Rheimer, to Gaetano Grossi (1750-1807), Luigi Tartagnini (1780-1849), first bassoon in the Regia Orchestra of Parma, Luigi Beccali (1809-1886) with his pupils Leone Leoni, Giulio Gallina, Camillo Formentini, Armando Oliva and Giovanni Pomelli, and to Luigi Orselli. Parma's constant pre- eminence emerges also in the 1900's with some of the most famous instrumentalists formed in the Emilian town: Jori, Ziliani, Barabaschi, Landini, Mezzadri and Bertoni are, in fact, considered the greatest Italian bassoon players in the first half of the century. This particular tradition is also expressed through new methods and studies (as with Luigi Orselli) aimed at improving the instrument's potential, or through arrangements of certain pieces originally written for other instruments, in order to enhance the technical brilliance of the instrument by evoking the virtuoso qualities of the original work. Proof of this practice can be found in the works on this CD, where there are Parafrasi and Fantasie for bassoon and strings on themes from famous operas, ranging from Bellini and Donizetti to Verdi. Listening to them one can note that, although they clearly belong to the genre, none of the composers of the paraphrases, in this case accomplished bassoon players, limited himself to a more or less "virtuoso" and striking interpretation, but tried to make the instrument"converse" with the others, creating anew a chamber music-like atmosphere and style.

Luigi Orselli was a member of the Royal Court Orchestra of Parma and became its First Bassoon in 1849 on the death of Luigi Tartagnini. He left numerous paraphrases for this instrument and also wrote for it the various methods and studies applied at the school of music in Parma, all of which were on motifs and themes from Verdi's operas. Throughout the Reminiscenze sulla Traviata and the Fantasia su Un Ballo in maschera, there is clearly space both for virtuoso feats and to allow the other instruments to take part in the flow of music, as can often be noted for example in the Reminiscenze, when the bassoon passes the theme to the violin.

Giuseppe Tamplini (1807-1888) had a long career as an instrumentalist in Milan, the city where he was First Bassoon at the Scala Theatre, but also in London where he held numerous appointments. He was first bassoon at theItalian Opera and at Her Majesty's Theatre, music Director for the 48" Regiment of Her Majesty the Queen, on the examination commission at the Royal Academy of Music for military music, and, from 1873 on, manager of Casa Ricordi's London branch. Along with these activities, Mr. Tamplini was zealously engaged in writing his theories in treatises on harmony and study methods for the bassoon, the instrument he had devoted so much effort to in an attempt to increase its capacities. A bassoon made according to his teaching will be on show at an exhibition of musical instruments in Bologna. His extensive experience and thorough knowledge of the instrument are reflected in his compositions; a perfect example of this is the Fantasia di Bravura on Donizetti themes in which, after the bassoon presents the theme, we hear a series of variations with a play of embellishments between the wind instrument and the strings which is extremely captivating and vivacious.

Antonio Torriani (1829-1911) studied at the Milan Conservatory with A. Cantù and in 1869 became First Bassoon at the Scala Theatre. His outstanding talent as an instrumentalist very soon made him known and appreciated both in Italy, where it is common knowledge that Verdi called him "the first bassoon of the world", and in France where he went on many tours, earning the title of "le roi des bassons". Also he devoted his efforts to perfecting the instrument technically: Ricordi published his new study method which was adopted at the Milan Conservatory. His works on the CD, the Divertimento su Lucia di Lammermoor and the Fantasia su Il Pirata are of great effect because of the daring virtuoso passages of the part played by the bassoon and because its tonal qualities are greatly enhanced.

Luigia Mossini (trad. Jennifer Pudney)