"How oft, when thou, my music, music play'st
Upon that blessed wood whose motion sounds
With thy sweet fingers when thou gently sway'st……"
(Shakespeare: Sonnet 128)
There is no programmatic element to this concerto but the title, drawn from Shakespeare's sonnet number 128, simply establishes my desire to get away from the comic and clown-like image which the bassoon has so often prompted. I am deeply indebted to David Hubbard whose wonderful bassoon sound was always in my mind and who helped me so much in writing for his fantastic instrument. Hopefully I have gone some way to produce for him something of beauty, passion and energy. This one movement concerto is divided into five clear sections which are an introduction (in which the main musical motifs of the whole work are hinted at), a playful scherzo and trio, a slow central movement, an energetic rondo and a final reflective coda which reflects on much of what has gone before. Several of the orchestral instruments (particularly, piccolo, bass clarinet, cor anglais, bassoon, contrabassoon, marimba, guitar and viola) play an important role in accompanying and dialoguing with the soloist particularly in the slower sections.
