Quintet, op. 63 - BSN/STG4 or CBSN/STG4

THis work was written at the suggestion of the English virtuoso John Parr, who wanted to demonstrate to his audience how a soloistically handled contrabassoon can sound, and asked me for a suitable piece. To begin with, I wrote an Andante & Rondo with an accompaniment for string quartet suited to this instrument, whose tone doesn't carry very far. Parr gave the two-movement work its successful first performance in October of 1953 in Victoria Hall in Sheffield. 
In 1977, at the editor's request, I added an introductory movement in Sonata form, producing the present three-movement quintet, a technically easy recital piece that should be a welcome addition to the contrabassoonist's repertoire. When using the bassoon, however, the strings are best scored as a chorus, as in a Concertino. 

  -- Willy Hess

Please note the score looks like a piano accompaniment, and it may be possible to play this as such, but all the string parts are included.