Humoresque – Solo Bassoon

Completed in January 2009 this short tour de force for the ‘clown of the orchestra’ exploits the humorous nature of the instrument whilst exploring its full range. Structured in a simple ternary form the outer sections are highly chromatic (loosely centred around the note B flat but eschewing a sense of key) and there are many changes of time signature giving it highly rhythmic energy. The brief central section is more reflective and is a free development of a motif hear in bars 30 to 35: a semiquaver ‘theme’ is subjected serially to four variations in a quasi-waltz style employing this time a consistent 3/4 time signature. The sections are joined with a hesitant quaver figure which is first heard in bar 19.