Odd Bird Concerto, op. 37 (solo part only) - BSN/STGS/PERC

Odd Bird Concerto, op. 37
for bassoon, strings, and percussion

From the composer: 

I had long wanted to write a bassoon concerto, many other projects intervened. Nadina Mackie Jackson has been such a crucial figure in my life and career that I felt, in 2012, that the time had come to odder her the concerto U had always wanted to write. The nickname "Odd Bird" for this concerto comes from knowing Nadina, her paintings, her early record label and, of course, her world-famous cerulean hair. In my view, she definitely is a bird, thought perhaps no more odd than any of us!

The first movement allegro section is a nod to her recent Vivaldi album, with an opening figure derived from the baroque patterns used by Vivaldi. I could not resist adding a bass drum for dramatic impact. As with the trumpet concerto, I first wrote the slow movement, Ending Worlds, which was written during the final season of the beautiful Bavarian Festival, Klang & Raum, where I had the honor of performing for ten summers with Tafelmusik. The last movements includes quotes from many other works I have written in recent years. I wanted to achieve a feeling of redemption in someone who has forged a path through hard moments and, finally, found her true way. I often feel musicians overplay the dramatic aspects of my music, but in the case of the Odd Bird Concerto, I intended all of the drama. 

This is just the solo bassoon part.  To order the full set, click HERE.

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

A versatile musician with an inquiring mind, Mathieu Lussier energetically and passionately promotes the bassoon and the Baroque bassoon as solo instruments throughout North America and Europe. He has performed as a bassoonist, soloist, or director with such ensembles as Arion (Montreal), Les Violons du Roy (Quebec City), the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Toronto), and the Orchestre de la Mission Saint-Charles (Lamèque). Since 2007, he has been artistic director of the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival. He devotes a good deal of his time to chamber music performance as a member of the Ensemble Pentaèdre de Montréal, the Caliban Quartet of Bassoonists (Toronto), and the ensemble Musica Franca. His numerous solo recordings include almost a dozen bassoon concertos by Vivaldi, Fasch, Graupner, Telemann, and Corrette; a disc of bassoon sonatas by Boismortier; three CDs of music for solo bassoon by François Devienne; and a CD of wind sextet music by Gossec. He has composed more than 30 works, many of which are regularly performed in concerts in North America, Europe, and Australia.