The Playful Pachyderm: Classic Miniatures for Bassoon and Orchestra (2004)

performed by Catriona McKay (clarsach), Laurence Perkins (bassoon), Richard Suart (baritone), New London Orchestra, Ronald Corp (conductor)
composed by British Isles Traditional, Charles Gounod, Edward Elgar, Fred Godfrey, Gabriel Fauré, Gilbert Vinter, J. Quenton Ashlyn, James Ord Hume, Jean Baptiste Senaillé, Johann Wilhelm Ganglberger, Julius Fucik, Maurice Ravel, Ralph Vaughan Williams

As accomplished and engaging performers of light music, Ronald Corp and the New London Orchestra are ideally suited to the pleasant and often jovial fare on Hyperion's 2004 release The Playful Pachyderm. An album of charming miniatures for bassoon and orchestra, this disc features the skillful playing of bassoonist Laurence Perkins, who conveys both the humorous and wistful tones associated with his instrument. Ganglberger's jaunty polka My Teddy Bear, Senaillé's energetic Allegro spiritoso, and Fucik's The Old Grumbler are ... Read More

As accomplished and engaging performers of light music, Ronald Corp and the New London Orchestra are ideally suited to the pleasant and often jovial fare on Hyperion's 2004 release The Playful Pachyderm. An album of charming miniatures for bassoon and orchestra, this disc features the skillful playing of bassoonist Laurence Perkins, who conveys both the humorous and wistful tones associated with his instrument. Ganglberger's jaunty polka My Teddy Bear, Senaillé's energetic Allegro spiritoso, and Fucik's The Old Grumbler are witty pieces that emphasize the clownish side of the bassoon, as do Gounod's whimsically macabre Funeral March of a Marionette and, of course, Vinter's athletic tour de force, The Playful Pachyderm. Elgar's plaintive Romance, Fauré's brooding Pièce, and folk song arrangements, such as Walking from Äppelbo, Bonny at Morn, and Vaughan Williams' Studies (4) in English Folk-song, demonstrate the bassoon's potential for sweet and occasionally dolorous lyricism. Ostensibly intended for... Read Less