The music for yesterday's gym session was Walter Becker's Circus Money, an album I've come to regard as up there at the pinnacle of Steely Dan related material. For some reason I was particularly struck this time round by the low wind sounds on a couple of the later cuts - God's Eye View and Three Picture Deal. I think these emanate from Roger Rosenberg's bass clarinet, but wherever they're from they wind wonderfully through the songs in question, giving them a kind of whimsical weight.
After the session I was inspired to seek out a bit more of the low stuff and hit upon the notion of searching for bassoon-based music on YouTube. Happily there's a lot, which means I've got a considerable play-list of such for the long weekend.
My two favourites so far both involve female players of remarkable talent. Marlene Ngalissamy plays a Vivaldi Concerto with consummate taste, blending in rather than dominating, and Katharina Matzler does something similar in a splendid piece by Mozart. The sheer youth of the orchestra playing the latter is a bit startling but even more gratifying.
I don't suppose the bassoon has much glamour about it. Perhaps that accounts for the purity of the musicality of these performances?
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