François Devienne: Sonata for Flute, Bassoon, and Piano (1787)
00:00 - I. Allegro moderato
06:11 - II. Rondo: Allegretto assai
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Bassoon: Eberhard Buschmann
Flute: Robert Dahn
Piano: Monica von Saalfeld
Year of Recording: ???
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“The first movement of the All Moderato beat is striking with its cheerful and lively thematic form. In addition to the simple and unsophisticated musical form, the fast passages in the part have been skillfully interspersed, and they are presented to the performers with soft transitions, without forcing them both as technically and register. The composer has equally distributed the solos to all three instruments. The theme beginning with the flute, then is heard on the harpsichord, and finally on the bassoon. It consists of a deep musical form that does not have a rhythmically complex structure and, is made with the simplicity that performers can demonstrate their skills as soloist.
The second movement of the work is written as Allegro rondo, which is generally known as the most distinctive feature of the classical sonata form. The second movement was created with a simple and unsophisticated thematic form. When looking at the notation of the part, it is seen that the flute and bassoon parts are structured with quarter and eighth notes. As in the first movement, Francois Devienne distributed the solo to three instruments equally. The second movement of the work starts with the introduction of the harpsichord to the main theme. In this simple and unsophisticated theme, there is not any challenging element for the composer in terms of playing technique, and the theme, starting with the presentation of harpsichord, is heard again in eighth meter with the strong dynamic introduction of flute and bassoon. It can be said that the most important detail for the performer in this part is the nuance quality. Even though the second movement does not force the performer in terms of breath and finger technique, it is a part that needs to be paid attention to reveal the colors of the musical form and to show the stylistic features of the period.“ (Sabriye Özkan)
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Note: The score used (only one available) has countless issues, both in regard to the raw accuracy and engraving. Also, the recording used in this video also had a second, slow movement inserted although, as far as I can tell, there are really only two movements that make up this work.
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