# Transposed Scores for Bassoon



## Enthalpy

Hello bassoonists and everyone!

From J-S Bach's orchestral suite number 3, the *Air, transposed for bassoon quartet*, copyleft
View attachment JSBach_Air_QuartBassoonCMajor.pdf

View attachment JSBach_Air_QuartBassoonDMajor.pdf


Very easy to play: I achieve it (inelegantly) after four months bassoon learning. The C major version is even a bit easier than the D major.

You find three more bassoonists in your symphonic orchestra, or in your multiphonic recorder, or among your students. A fourth bassoon is decent, a contrabassoon sounds better.

Enjoy!
Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy


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## Vasks

I think you mean "transcribed" rather than "transposed" regardless if a transposition was done in making the "transcription"


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## Enthalpy

It's exactly JSB's notes a ninth and an octave lower, so would it be a transposition or a transcription in English?


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## Vasks

The reason to call it a "transcription" is because Bach did not write that piece for 4 bassoons. If he had and then all you did was transpose then you would be correct to call it a "transposition"


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## Enthalpy

Here's, from J-S Bach's orchestral suite No 2, the *Badinerie, transposed for bassoon*, copyleft.

View attachment JSBach_Badinerie_Bassoon.pdf


Flautists show off limitless with that piece, but a bassoon achieves it too. "Easily" would be wrong here, and this depends on the exaggeration of the tempo. You can choose the transposition height.

If an other instrument wants a score, it goes quickly with my present files.

Enjoy!
Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy


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## Heck148

Enthalpy said:


> Here's, from J-S Bach's orchestral suite No 2, the *Badinerie, transposed for bassoon*, copyleft.
> 
> View attachment 134032
> 
> 
> Flautists show off limitless with that piece, but a bassoon achieves it too. "Easily" would be wrong here, and this depends on the exaggeration of the tempo. You can choose the transposition height.
> 
> If an other instrument wants a score, it goes quickly with my present files.
> 
> Enjoy!
> Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy


Nice!! Looks good.
If you want to hear a whole new dimension of Bach transcribed for bassoon- look up "Bach and Bassoon", Arthur Weisberg, bassoon, Crystal Records CD345. Flute, Violin Partitas, Cello Suites - Great playing, the technique, and esp the clarity of the high register athletics is truly stunning


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## Enthalpy

Thanks for your interest!

How difficult is it on the Heckel system?

I've been learning the French system for 4 months and the Badinerie is still out of my reach. I can play it slowly, if slowing down much two bar lines. So I have good hope that good bassoonists achieve it with due brilliance. The Heckel system is said to help, but the difficulty of a piece is badly predictable on the bassoon.


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## Heck148

It's pretty straight ahead...fun and not too difficult...Bach wrote a similar original part for bassoon solo in Orchestra Suite #4 Bouree #2...pretty busy part!!


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## Enthalpy

Thanks Heck148!

Found some records on Youtube with
"Bach and Bassoon" "Arthur Weisberg"
and indeed he played cleanly.

Meanwhile I've tried the Badinerie in G minor transposition, and on the French system it seems easier than in A minor. It eases two bars that, in A minor, are much more difficult than the rest (at my level). Maybe I play it slowly in a few months.

To show off, flautists play the Badinerie with quarter >180. Other bassoonists shall try, that's inaccessible to me in a foreseeable future.


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## Heck148

Enthalpy said:


> Thanks Heck148!
> 
> Found some records on Youtube with
> "Bach and Bassoon" "Arthur Weisberg"
> and indeed he played cleanly.


Yes, pretty incredible playing...if you are using French bassoon - you by all means should seek out recordings by Maurice Allard....outstanding artist...unfortunately few of his solo recordings ever made it to the digital era...

[


> Meanwhile I've tried the Badinerie in G minor transposition, and on the French system it seems easier than in A minor. It eases two bars that, in A minor, are much more difficult than the rest (at my level). Maybe I play it slowly in a few months.


 when I get the chance, I'm going to read thru the b minor one...that looks like the most "athletic". 



> To show off, flautists play the Badinerie with quarter >180. Other bassoonists shall try, that's inaccessible to me in a foreseeable future.


180/min is way too fast fast....it would sound like a shapeless, unmusical mush-mosh....c 116-120 would be nice....then you can get some phrasing, dynamics into it...


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## Enthalpy

Meanwhile I train the B minor version. It seems to be the easiest one on the French bassoon.

180/min has nothing to do with art, for sure. Nor could it be a dance, a "badinerie". It's only to show off.

But even that could be a goal too. Show that a bassoon achieves the same speed on that very standard flute score. :devil:


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## Heck148

Enthalpy said:


> Meanwhile I train the B minor version. It seems to be the easiest one on the French bassoon.
> 
> 180/min has nothing to do with art, for sure. Nor could it be a dance, a "badinerie". It's only to show off.
> 
> But even that could be a goal too. Show that a bassoon achieves the same speed on that very standard flute score. :devil:


180/minute?? Why bother??
Fast, hashy and sloppy has little musical value. Clean, well-phrased and musical has great value..you're right, it's a dance...it should sound, feel like a dance.


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## Enthalpy

I meant, the G minor seems easiest for the French bassoon.

Why bother: maybe because many people, and even composers, imagine low instruments as lumbering. If more people grasp that a bassoon can be agile, we'll get more scores.

So the Badinerie would be misused as a demo. For art, a slower pace is obviously better. en.wiki gives a reasonable listening example.


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## Heck148

Enthalpy said:


> ....Why bother: maybe because many people, and even composers, imagine low instruments as lumbering. If more people grasp that a bassoon can be agile, we'll get more scores..


Oh, there are plenty of "fast note" works available for bassoon...Vivaldi wrote 38 bassoon concerti, and of course, the Weber pieces, Hummel concerto are great showpieces...

Lots of orchestra works - Mozart -"Marriage/Figaro" Ov, "Haffner" Sym (35) mvt IV, Ravel Piano Cto mvt III, Stravinsky - Pulcinella to name just a few.


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## Enthalpy

*A record of JSBach's air on four bassoons* exists already (2007)
Dmz1a8taHVY
I hope we hear more, of better technical quality. The bassoon serves this music very well.


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## Enthalpy

*Other record of JSBach's air on four bassoons*, with better technical quality
yidzhXOiGWY​The instrument clearly fits this music.


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## Enthalpy

*Joseph Achron's Hebrew Melody* is magnificent on a violin
josephachron.org​and I claim a *bassoon* has all the expressiveness to play it magnificently, so here's *my transposition*.
View attachment JAchron_HebraeischeMelodie_Fagott_TmpA.pdf​
I suggest to hear violinists, to realize how freely they play the piece, and to save time not over-interpretating the tuplets in the Cadenza. Nice examples among others:
Francesca Dego - Jasha Heifetz​
Your opinion matters! Do you see mistakes in my transposition? In bar 104, shall the trill get an ossia? On my French bassoon, it's easier than the plain E on bar 112.

This temporary version is expected to disappear as newer ones replace it. Check later messages then.

Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy


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## Enthalpy

No comment by the bassoonists... They must all be secretly rehearsing the _Hebrew Melody_ like mad to be the first to play it in public! :lol:

No competition from my side: after two weeks I'm nearing the _Cadenza_. Maybe I can play the whole piece in 2-3 months, that would be after 11 months learning the bassoon, but I won't have the technical margin needed for a nice performance. Anyway, up to now this piece seems easy.


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## Enthalpy

Newer version of *Joseph Achron's Hebrew Melody*, transposed for a *bassoon or bass clarinet and piano*.

View attachment JAchron_HebrewMelody_BassoonBassclarPiano_TmpC.pdf
​The bassoon or bass clarinet score got minor improvements. The piano score is the original one and may still evolve a little bit.

Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy


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## Enthalpy

Hopefully last version of *Joseph Achron's Hebrew Melody*, transposed for a *bassoon or bass clarinet and piano*
View attachment JAchron_HebrewMelody_BassoonBassclarPiano.pdf​An error in measure 76 is corrected. Please discard the older versions.

The piano voice is Achron's original.

I added breathe marks and breathe ossia as mere suggestions.

Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy


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## Enthalpy

Here's *Dinicu's Hora staccato* transposed for *bass clarinet or bassoon*. Fits a soprano clarinet too, and pages for the violin are joined.
View attachment GDinicu_HoraStaccato_BassclarBassoonViolin.pdf​
The original must be in the public domain in the EU. Elsewhere, please check, especially in the USA. My typing and transposition work is copyleft. Beware Heifetz made changes, a copyright on his version would still hold.

Record by G.Dinicu himself:
EHR1eZ23qCw​
Merry Christmas!
Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy


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## Enthalpy

One more *record of JSBach's air on four bassoons*, nice
2nMRwrCWgjs​It's even a transposition in C, like the one I uploaded here.


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## Enthalpy

Here are *J-S. Bach's Sinfonia and Largo*, transposed for the *bassoon*, copyleft:

View attachment JSBach_SinfoniaLargo_Bassoon.pdf
​
The sinfonia is a piece of the cantata BWV 156
O44cmwNAy0U at 5s​the largo of the harpsichord concerto BWV 1056
FXpxkAmo6is from 3'11s to 5'46s - yLBHK98KeiI at 5s​
Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy


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## Enthalpy

Enthalpy said:


> [...] Joseph Achron's Hebrew Melody, transposed for bassoon and piano [...]


The effect of *"Play on the reed's tip" can be heard there*
Talkclassical​


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## Enthalpy

*Malinconia, by Eugène Ysaÿe*, is the second piece of the second sonata for violin solo. Beautiful, but badly difficult on one violin.
Ilya Kaler - Gidon Kremer - James Ehnes - Augustin Hadelich​
Split among two instruments, Malinconia becomes easy, so here it is for
*two bassoons*, or *two bass clarinets*, or *two oboe family members*.

View attachment EYsaye_Malinconia_ReedDuet.zip
​Expand to pdf with some archiver.

Ysaÿe's work in the public domain in the EU (but law isn't uniform here). Some websites suggest it is in the USA too, I have no opinion.

Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy


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## Enthalpy

*Erratum*: the second voice in Malinconia has no slur between the first and second bars.


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## Enthalpy

*Corrected version of Ysaÿe's Malinconia for reed duets*.

View attachment EYsaye_Malinconia_ReedDuet.zip
​


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## Enthalpy

An other performance of Ysaÿe's *Malinconia, by Régis Pasquier*. From him, I prefer the tempo that better fits "poco lento" to my opinion.
Malinconia by Régis Pasquier


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