2025 Bassoon Course at Higham Hall
Five days of sheer bassoonery in the English Lake District!
with
Catriona McDermid
and
Laurence Perkins
with pianist
John Gough
Sunday 18th - Thursday 22nd May 2025
(Arrive 1600-1800 on 18th, depart after lunch on 22nd)
at Higham Hall, Bassenthwaite, Cumbria
A 5-day (4-night) course for bassoonists from grade 3 to diploma standard
Inspiration and expert advice on modern bassoon playing
- and a chance to discover the baroque bassoon (or develop your technique if you already play it!)
With excellent accommodation, superb Cumbrian food and spectacular views of the Lakeland hills, this is the perfect place for bassoon geekery of the best kind! The sessions can include expert advice on posture, breathing, embouchure, good tone and tuning, sound projection, reed adjustment, fingerings, technical fluency and musical interpretation - and, of course, great opportunities to play in bassoon ensembles! (Ensemble groups will be graded with players of roughly the same standard). For those who would like to, there will also be an opportunity to play a short solo in class with concert pianist John Gough - this is optional, but it offers the chance for informal, relaxed musical and technical feedback for those who would find this helpful. John will also be playing in an evening Tutors Concert.
This year we have a wonderful opportunity to experience the baroque bassoon at close quarters, in the capable hands of Catriona Mc Dermid who plays regularly with the English Baroque Soloists, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique and Academy of Ancient Music. We can explore the rich and varied repertoire for that period, learn the differences between old and new, how the instrument developed which can lead to a better understanding of the modern instrument - which, of course, Catriona also plays on a very regular basis!
Travel is easy to Higham Hall by car via M6 / A66, or by train to Penrith main line station with optional minibus transfer directly to Higham.
Course fees:
Residential: £709
Non-residential: £502
Places are limited on this course - sadly, it was not possible to accommodate everyone who applied last year, so book now to secure your place!
Click HERE to go directly to the online application form.
Carl Maria von Weber
Concerto in F major
for bassoon and orchestra
Op. 75
New Urtext edition by Laurence Perkins, published by Emerson Edition
Version for bassoon and piano
Urtext solo part, and new piano accompaniment based on Weber's orchestration.
Version for bassoon and orchestra
Urtext edition based on the composer's 1822 manuscript, with full score (including detailed editorial notes) and orchestral parts for sale or hire.
Click HERE to order this music directly from Emerson Edition - versions with piano or orchestra, printed edition or digital download.
A brand new and much-needed piano realisation of Weber's orchestral accompaniment
The accompaniment to this Concerto was clearly conceived by Weber orchestrally, with plenty of wonderful detail, satisfying harmonies and chord groupings, and some highly imaginative part-writing. All this cannot be reproduced in playable form in a piano part, and earlier attempts at piano reductions often included passages which were un-pianistic and clumsy for the pianist, and not all that satisfying from an audience’s perspective.
This new piano reduction has gone right back to the original orchestration, reproducing the essential details in Weber’s excellent orchestral writing and reproducing as far as possible the depth and detail of the orchestration, whilst remaining pianistic in style and playable by a pianist with reasonable technical skills.
This new bassoon-and-piano edition includes the same Urtext solo part as the full orchestral version.
A new Urtext orchestral edition with orchestral parts for sale or hire
Weber wrote his Concerto for bassoon and orchestra Op.75 in November 1811 for George Friedrich Brandt. Weber returned to the work in 1822, making several revisions before passing it on to his publisher Schlesinger in Berlin who issued parts (but no score) the following year. The first printed orchestral score was published in 1952. This new Urtext edition returns to Weber’s original markings in his 1822 manuscript (with occasional references to the earlier 1811 version). Markings which are editorial are clearly indicated in the score and parts, and there are detailed editorial notes in the full score.
Weber Bassoon Concerto
recorded by Laurence Perkins for the Hyperion record label, with Manchester Camerata conducted by Douglas Boyd.
LISTEN to three excerpts - click below:
Weber Bassoon Concerto - 200th anniversary
Wednesday 3rd August 2022 in the Kennedy Hall, Cecil Sharp House, London
More than 30 bassoonists gathered in London to celebrate this great masterpiece for bassoon, which was completed (in its final version) by Weber on 3rd August 1822. They gave a live performance with soloist Amy Thompson in a new version (currently unpublished) for bassoon ensemble by Laurence Perkins, who conducted the performance.
Enjoy the entire performance here - click below!
=================================================
EVENTS and PROJECTS
led by Laurence Perkins
=================================================
2019: HANDEL 'Musick for the Royal Fireworks'
270th anniversary performance at the Royal Academy of Music, London, conducted by Laurence Perkins on 27th April 2019
(BDRS/RAM joint promotion)
Hear the complete performance on the BDRS website - click HERE
2018 - Year of the Bassoon
On-line audio recordings and videos including
Laurence Perkins: Bassoon Anthem A multitrack recording of a piece specially composed by Laurence Perkins for the 2018 project - listen free to the full track on Spotify, click HERE
Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story Four songs recorded by Laurence with pianist Yoshiko Endo playing the piano that once belonged to Leonard Bernstein, and may possibly have been used in the composition of this music.Click HERE for a free YouTube sampler of these recordings, or download MP3 files from iTunes or Amazon - click the appropriate link.
Michel Corrette: Two Arias Recorded on location in woodland in the south of France, with owls, cicadas, bird song and a distant chapel bell. Click HERE for a free sampler of these recordings, or download MP3 files from Amazon - click the appropriate link.
Volodymyr Runchak: Lamento and Moto Perpetuo Two contemporary pieces which explore the bassoon in highly expressive ways. Listen free to the full performances on YouTube - click HERE.
Catriona McDermid Video of a young professional bassoonist (a former student of Laurence Perkins) making her way in the challenging environment of professional playing in London. See this on YouTube - click HERE
The Vibrant '60s
A double-reed ensemble performance (oboes and bassoons) in St. James's Park, London - 3rd June 2017
(a British Double Reed Society event)
RNCM 'Young Bassoons'
Free Sunday morning sessions led by Laurence Perkins, for school-age bassoonists of any playing level. For details, click HERE
International Bassoon Day
Sunday 11th October 2015
and Autumn 2015 UK bassoon project
This was a marathon two-month education project, beginning with International Bassoon Day on Sunday 11th October 2015, followed by a total of 35 events around the UK - 27 'Bear-faced Bassoonery' presentations, plus 8 performances of the concert programme 'Bassoon Voyager' (click here for details).
The above photo (by John Durham) was taken on the steps of the Royal Albert Hall, on International Bassoon Day - 38 bassoonists gathered to play Mozart on a beautifully sunny lunchtime. Watch excerpts of the London event on YouTube - click HERE to see this delightful memento of a special occasion!
Martin Jones has also put his own film of the RAH event on YouTube - click HERE to see it.
Bassoon quartets live on BBC Radio 3
A feature about International Bassoon Day was the first item on BBC Radio 3's popular drive-time In Tune programme two days previously on Friday 9th October 2015, and featured four bassoonists from different walks of life. Listen to a performance from that live radio broadcast - the performers are Laurence Perkins, Rachel Whibley, Matthew Kitteringham and Alex Kane.
Mozart: Adagio, KV580a (arranged for bassoon quartet by Laurence Perkins) - duration 4’35"