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Track(s) taken from CDA67453

The Carnival 'Fantasia'

composer
James Ord Hume (1864-1932)
arranger
Laurence Perkins (b1954)

Laurence Perkins (bassoon), New London Orchestra, Ronald Corp (conductor)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
Recording details: July 2003
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Will Brown & Simon Eadon
Release date: November 2004
Total duration: 5 minutes 42 seconds
 

Reviews

‘One of the jolliest CDs to have crossed my desk in ages … the indefatigable Perkins has assembled some genuine rarities for our delight’ (The Mail on Sunday)

‘Perkins is a compelling advocate of the instrument, not only in his painstaking work as orchestrator and arranger, and his enthusiastic and well-researched booklet notes, but most of all in his playing … this is a delightful disc which will be of interest to a much wider audience than merely the bassoon-crazy’ (International Record Review)

‘Perkins is an excellent bassoonist who managed to collect some interesting and unusual pieces for his instrument, arranging others himself. His enthusiasm for the repertoire and the bassoon itself are immediately apparent. He plays with a spontaneity that makes us entirely forget technique, so that we never feel like we are witnessing a feat of bravura. His beautiful sound and effortless dexterity all work towards making the music gently caress the ear’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘I admire Perkins' playing very much; it is expressive and highly polished’ (Classical Music Web)

‘The playing here is not just comical (where required), it's also very beautiful—a lovely example of music-making’ (Manchester Evening News)
James Ord Hume is chiefly remembered nowadays for his work in the field of brass bands, as a composer, conductor and as an adjudicator at competitions. Born in Edinburgh, his father was an army bandmaster, and James’s early musical experience was as a cornet player in the Royal Scots Greys, but he disliked military service and arranged for a discharge. He then pursued a career as a largely self-taught composer, writing some two thousand works (including works under several pseudonyms) including Diamond Jubilee (written for Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in 1897) his prize-winning march BB and CF, and a test piece for the first Brass Band National Championship at the Crystal Palace in 1900, based on tunes by his close friend Sir Arthur Sullivan. His bassoon solo, The Carnival, is a colourful miniature tone-poem, with impressive fanfares introducing equally impressive cadenzas and themes reminiscent of the various acts in a Victorian carnival, ranging from the gently lilting melody earlier in the piece to the energetic virtuoso finale.

from notes by Laurence Perkins © 2004

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