Gabrielle I{su, bassoon
Emma Song, piano
Alexis Mitchell, oboe
Student Recital Series
Recital Hall I February z4th,2oL7 | 5:oo pm

Program
Sonate pour basson et piano op. 168 (tgzt)
I. Allegro moderato
II. Allegro scherzando
III. Molto adagio - Allegro moderato

Camille Saint-Sadns

(r8gS-r9zr)

Alexandre Tansman
(r8sz-1986)

pour basson et piano (rg6o)
I. Introduction et Allegro

Suite

II. Sarabande
III. Scherzo

Intermission
Sposa son disprezzatofrom the opera Bajazet (tZS+)

Jean Frangaix

Trio pour hautbois, bcsson et piano (tgg+)
I. Adagio - Allegro moderato
II. Scherzo
III. Andante
IV. Finale

(tgtz-t997)

Hil::?'P=:Lq"L'J:Ji*$s
ARIZONA

STATE

Antonio Vivaldi
(t628-rZ+r)
trans. Albie MicHich

UNIVERSITY

School of Music

,

Camille Saint-Sa6ns (r835-r9zr)
Saint-Saijns wrote the Sonate op. 168 just before his death in rgzr as part of a project that he
undertook to write sonatas for ail of the principal orchestral woodwind instruments. He died before
he could complete this project, so we are very luclcy to have this work. It is now one of the most
frequently performed in the entire bassoon repertoire.

Throughout all three movements, the bassoon and piano parts are skillfully intertwined to showcase
the strengths of both instruments. The piece opens with a beautiful, evocativeAllegro moderato,
followed by a lively and energetic Allegro scherzando. The final movement begins with a Molto
adagio that builds slowly over a sparse accompaniment to a dramatic cadenza, which is finally
internrpted by a plaful A//egro that seems almost out of place.

Alexandre Tansrnan (r8qZ-rq86)
Tansman was born in Poland and began his musical education at the L6di Conservatory. However,
he spent much of his life in Paris, where he was mentored by several famous composers including
Igor Stravinslcy and Maurice Ravel. During World War II, he was forced to flee Europe to Los
Angeles because of his Jewish background, and composed several Hollywood film scores during his
time there. As a result, his music is a fascinating mixture of influences, drawing on both French and
Polish styles as well as elements of traditional Jewish music and tgzos jazz.
This Suifelor Bassoon and Hano and Saint-Saijns' Sonafe were both written in France during the
2o'h century and used in the Paris Conservatoire concours (an annual competition in which students
could only graduate from their course of study by earning First Prize), but they could not be more
different. The aggressive, driving rhythms that characterize the outer movements of the Suife and
betray Stravinsky's influence are in stark contrast to the lush, flowing romanticism of Saint-Saijns'
Sonate.

Antonio Vivaldi (t67 8-r7 4r)

The aria Sposc son disprezzata was originally written by Italian composer Geminiano Giacomelli but
is most often attributed to Vivaldi, who borrowed it for his opera Bajazet (a pasticcio comprised
partly of Vivaldi's original arias and several existing ones from other composers).

Here it has been "stolen" again to be performed on the bassoon in this beautiful transcription by
bassoon's singing tenor register to convey a voice-like character.
Sung in Bajazetby a villain named Irene, this aria's title translates to "I am a scorned wife" and is a
tortured lament of her husband's infidelity.

Albie Micklich, utilizing the

Sposa son

disprezzata,

Fida son oltraggiata,
cieli che feci mai?

E pur egl'd il mio cor
il mio sposo, il mio amor,

la mia

speranza.

I am a scornedwife,
faithful, yet insulted.
Heavens, what did I do?
And yet he is my heart,
my husband, my love,
my hope.

Jean Frangaix (rgrz-rgg7)
Frangaix was both a composer and a skilled pianist and studied with Nadia Boulanger, who
considered him one of her best students. His Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano was commissioned
by the International Double Reed Society in 1994 only three years before his death. His witty,
engaging writing brilliantly displays the contrasting tone colors and unique abilities of these three
very different instruments. It is thoroughly lighthearted in character, with the exception of the
melancholy, dreamlike Andante.
Sadly, this work is often neglected in favor of PoulenCs trio for the same instrumentation, composed
almost 70 years earlier, so I am thrilled to have this opportunity to share it with you today.