Relics & Discoveries [CD]

Known for his highly versatile approach to bassoon playing and innovative programming, Bram van Sambeek teams up with pianist Hans Eijsackers to present their new album, Relics and Discoveries. The release features a programme of concert-tested works partially dedicated to the conservatory repertoire most beloved by bassoon students. Several pieces originated as Paris Conservatoire competition commissions from the institution's composition faculty. Tansman's engaging Sonatine, Koechlin's three slow movements, and Dutilleux's Sarabande et cortege each reflect their composers' fiercely independent personalities: each energetic, contemplative, and masterfully crafted. A major discovery is Fazil Say's substantial and colourful Suite. Originally for alto saxophone, it is arranged here for bassoon in it's original key of E flat minor to preserve the instrument's unusual tonal 'friction'. Kinan Azmeh's November 22nd, a meditative evocation of childhood sounds from a Damascus market, adds emotional depth. Closing the programme is Eugene Jancourt's arrangement of the Allegretto from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, a movement van Sambeek connects to both personal memory and climate activism. Together, these works challenge the misconception that the bassoon repertoire is limited, offering pieces that range from conservatory staples to newly unearthed gems.