THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA SCHOOL OF MUSIC Roy Barnett Recital Hall Tuesday, March 23, 2021 7:30 p.m.

MASTER'S STUDENT RECITAL*

KATHARINE MA with Ryan Goetz, Marie Park, Carlos Savall Guardiola, Eric Li,

Cello Suite No. 2 in d minor (1685-1750) Prelude Allemande Gigue

Vocalise-étude en forme de Habanera Joseph Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) arr. for by Fernand Oubradous arr. for guitar by Bruce Roberts

Eric Li, guitar

Sonate pour Basson avec acompte de Piano Camille Saint Saëns (1835-1921) Allegretto Moderato Allegro Scherzando Adagio Allegro Moderato

Ryan Goetz, piano

– INTERMISSION –

Trio for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon Bill Douglas (b. 1944) Bebop Cantando Angelico Dragon

Marie Park, oboe Carlos Savall Guardiola, clarinet

Trio pour piano, hautbois, et basson Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) Presto Andante con moto Rondo

Marie Park, oboe Ryan Goetz, piano

* In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music degree with a major in Bassoon.

We acknowledge that the University of British Columbia is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people.

Program Notes

Cello Suite No. 2 in d minor

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in 1685 in Eisenach, Germany, to a family of many and son of a city . As an adult, Bach worked mostly as a court and church musician. His compositions enriched the German Baroque style, adding great depth to the repertoire in sacred music, secular music, and .

With this said, Bach was also a master at writing for solo instruments. Although written for solo cello, Bach’s set of six suites are a classic in the bassoon repertoire. Each suite consists of a prelude plus six dances (as is characteristic of Baroque musical suites): an Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, two Gavottes or two Minuets or two Bourées, and a Gigue. I have selected three movements from his second suite in d minor: Prelude, Allemande, and Gigue.

The prelude begins in a subdued and mysterious manner. It is vocal in character and sounds as though each note, figure, and phrase are letters, words, and sentences. The Allemande (“German dance”) is a dance in a duple meter. Traditionally, it was a serious and ceremonious dance, performed by a couple. The Gigue is an active, rhythmical dance in 3/8 meter. It derives from the folk dance, the Jig. This lively dance traditionally was the last movement in a Baroque suite. These pieces are demanding in scope, but rewarding for the player and listener.

Vocalise-étude en forme de Habanera

Born in Paris in 1875, Joseph Maurice Ravel grew up with his family’s love for music. He attended the Paris Conservatoire, but did not complete his studies due to scandal and unfair treatment by some of the Conservatoire’s faculty. After leaving, he found his place as a and master of orchestration, arranging many of his own piano works and the works of other composers for symphony orchestra, such as Daphnis et Chloé and Pictures at an Exhibition, respectively. Ravel worked slowly and diligently, and as a result did not have the same breadth of repertoire as other composers, but his thoughtfulness does not go unnoticed in his work today. As new innovations emerged in the 20th century, Ravel saw the great potential of utilizing the new technology for recording music, and as a result took part in many recording sessions of his works, contributing some of the first recordings of music in the 20th century.

Ravel famously said, “Music, I feel, must be emotional first and intellectual second.” I believe this sentiment gave birth to his Vocalise-étude en forme de Habanera. Arranged for almost every instrument, this rendition by the French bassoonist, Fernand Oubradous, is second to none. Although originally composed with piano accompaniment, this guitar arrangement by famous guitarist, Bruce Roberts, is the perfect compliment for the bassoon, bringing the Cuban dance to life. Both voices are of equal importance in this work, making it more of a duet than solo with accompaniment. The colours of the bassoon and guitar evoke a sense of warm, spice-filled air, and the simplicity of Ravel’s composition allows the music to speak for itself. It is intimately conversational in nature, almost as though there are no words spoken, but only the conversation of the dance.

Sonate pour Basson avec acompte de Piano

Camille Saint-Saëns was born in Paris in 1835 and was a musical prodigy. He displayed perfect pitch by the age of three, made his concert debut at the age of 10, and subsequently became a student of the Paris Conservatoire. Early in his career he was an advocate for modern musical ideas, praising Liszt, Schumann, and Wagner; but, in the 20th century he became a staunch musical conservative, despising Stravinsky’s music, seeing Debussy’s music as “shapeless”, and is quoted saying of Milhaud’s polytonal music, “fortunately, there are still lunatic asylums in France.”

His bassoon sonata in G major is in a traditional French romantic style and was composed in 1921 as one of his last works. The first movement begins as what I imagine to be a memory, a loving thought of something from the past. As the movement progresses, this thought becomes more invigorated and emotional, pushing to the climax in G major. The memory fades back to the past, as the movement fades away on a high B in the bassoon. The second movement, a scherzo, is an energetic dance in e minor. This movement is flashy in technique, while being dark and mischievous in character. The movement finishes with a high E evaporating into the hall. The final movement has two parts: the adagio and the allegro moderato. The adagio is a beautiful lullaby, with a pressing and intense middle section, returning to the lullaby, and passionately pushing towards the end, leaving the listener wanting more. The allegro moderato, is an upbeat and light-hearted finale, completing this sonata in a noble and accomplished manner.

Trio for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon

Bill Douglas is a well-known contemporary Canadian bassoonist, , and composer. Born in 1944 to musical parents, he began playing piano at the age of four and bassoon at the age of 13. At a young age, Douglas was heavily influenced by early rock such as , , and Elvis. Around the time he began the bassoon, developed an interest in music and was influenced by , , and . Early in his career, Douglas taught at the California Institute of the Arts, where he became interested in African and Indian Music. His musical inspirations span from J.S. Bach to Ralph Vaughn Williams to Ali Akbar Khan.

Trio for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon was written in 2007. The first movement is in a standard Bebop jazz style from the 1940s. The bassoon is the “walking bass” of the jazz trio, with occasional solos. Although the music is all written out, the oboe and clarinet are the improvisatory duet of this jazz trio. The second movement, “Angelico,” has a spiritual tone to it and is heavily influenced by the sacred polyphony of the Renaissance period, with equality between all the voices. The third and final movement is very rhythmical, with influences from classic rock and heavy metal rhythms and beats, complete with flairs of modal scales, harmonies, and power chords. Trio for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon nicely encompasses many of Douglas’ eclectic musical interests, providing a delightful piece for the players and listeners alike.

Trio pour piano, hautbois, et basson

Francis Poulenc was born in 1899 in Paris to parents who could not be more different: a father who was deeply religious, a pious, faithful Roman Catholic, and the owner of a profitable pharmaceutical company, contrasted with a mother who was spirited, worldly, and artistic. Poulenc largely attributes his compositional style to these two foundational influences. As a young man, Poulenc was expected to follow in his Father’s footsteps with the pharmaceutical business, and consequently was not allowed to go to music school. Although he did piano lessons from a young age, he was mostly self-taught. As he advanced, he quickly became a renowned musician and a prolific composer. This allowed him to promote the emerging recording industry in the 1920s, and he did much recording in his lifetime.

Composed in 1926, the Trio for piano, oboe, and bassoon was the first of two works in the middle of his compositional life and is in a neoclassical style. Neoclassicism was a style of composition in the early 20th century that brought back 18th century styles - the styles of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven - but, with a modern twist. Poulenc’s neoclassicism keeps more to 18th century classical styles, with strict harmonic structures, textures, and rhythms, while bringing in modern ideas. These include exotic scales, interesting rhythms, and dissonant harmonies, sometimes superimposing them onto each other.

The first movement hails to impressionism, but is capricious in character. It begins with an improvisatory style, only to suddenly go into a sharp, articulate fast section, then to a lyrical and lush middle section, and finishes with a race to the end. The second movement begins almost like a slow dance in two. It progresses into a lush melody, with satisfying harmonies, and finishes in d minor evaporating into the silence of the hall. The third and final movement is an energetic rondo, filled with surprisingly complex and changing harmonies. It is curious that the opening theme played by the oboe shares similarities to the opening theme played by the oboe in the Scherzo from Beethoven’s third symphony.