Mr Sheen's Miscellany For Bassoon was written for the Trinity Guildhall Examination Board syllabus. It is aimed principally at students of grades 1 to 5 and intended to combine technical challenges with that most vital musical ingredient: fun.Mr Sheen's Miscellany For Bassoon - Grade 1 contains three pieces for bassoon and piano by Graham Sheen.Polka-dots.There are three contrasting types of expression for the bassoonist here. The opening phrase is staccato which is followed (at bar 11) by a sustained counter melody. Finally (at bar 19) both these effects are combined in a second melody which needs very clear dynamicplaying.Monkey Puzzle.Sustaining the sound while re-articulating the notes is important in this piece. In other words the opening should be played almost slurred. Be aware of the changing harmonies underneath the held notes in the bassoon part.Serious Song.Long but separate notes contrast with real legato. The main theme is marked tenuto so full value for each note especially ending notes. Even the quavers aren't very short at this speed. Try to make the richest sound you can like for example a fine Russian baritone.

Unusually for him Davies starts his Bassoon Concerto not with slow music but with speed and brilliance: the opening is a Presto initiated by the strings and only at the entry of the soloist does the tempo relax to thatof a real introduction. Out of this grow a big dancing Allegro. The slow movement begins and ends with a simple song around fantastical ornamentation from the soloist. The finale is again a recitative and dance with a slow coda.The whole work is an immense show of stamina poetry and athleticism for the bassoon set against an orchestra coloured by low wind (alto flute clarinet in A bass clarinet contrabassoon horns).Bassoon part with pianoreduction of the orchestral score.

Timeless Cornish Melodies Cooked Up For Hungry Brass Players-As I sit myself down to write this brief foreword I ask myself can there be music more stirring than these old Cornish folk melodies? Though not Cornish myself (I confess to being born a little further up the road in Bristol) I feel I have spent sufficient time in these 'ere parts to resonate with the sturdy brass band tradition that continues to permeate this incomparably beautiful rugged county. One can almost detect a French 'accent' when listening to the piano music of Debussy and likewise speaking as a lapsed brass player there is undoubtedly something of the Cornish twang about Trelawny when played on a cornet or euphonium. Then again one gets a different yet entirely convincing effect upon hearing these melodies rendered on woodwind instruments; hence with a little gamesmanship on my part I am pleased to see my collection of these fifteen delectable ditties come to fruition in the form of arrangements for treble clef brass instruments (in B flat and E flat) trombone and tuba (bass clef) horn in F flute clarinet and bassoon.While many will find themselves humming the likes of Going up Camborne Hill Lamorna or The Helston Furry Dance even before they have turned to the first page - for these are indelibly intertwined with Cornish culture - I wonder if I might draw your attention to The Cornish Squire The Pool of Pilate and Cold Blows the Wind Today Sweetheart which are quite simply sublime melodies perhaps needing that extra bit of help in bringing them to mind nowadays. In the best tradition of musical hand-me-downs Cornish folk music works equally ideally sung and played and only by doing so on a regular basis can such traditions hope to continue forward with vigour and authority. A legitimate way of achieving this is to revitalise the harmonic scheme of these ancient tunes and bring them up to date for a modern audience; after all it was such an approach that fuelled the imagination of Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams in decades past while skilfully paying homage to the

The source document for this edition is a copy of the original puclication in the Library of the Royal Conservatoire of Music in Brussels. Wrong notes habe been corrected according to context and accidentals added where necessary or omitted where superfluous. All editorial additions to the musical text have been indicated by the use of ( ) or broken slurs.The deliberately simple and unprententious realization of the unfigured bass is to be taken as the suggestion of the editor and stylistic changes may be made by the continuo-player.

/ Niveau : Elémentaire / Musique religieuse / Répertoire / Basson et Piano ou Orgue