Hidden within a larger ensemble of brass, winds and strings is a type of instrument that is finally getting its own chance at the spotlight.
The Ohio University Double Reed Quartet is a newly forming ensemble made up of professors and graduate students who will perform with only double reed instruments, such as the oboe or bassoon. Double reed instruments have a mouthpiece consisting of two vibrating reeds instead of one.
Just as it’s hard to see double reeds in the large ensemble, it’s sometimes even harder to find double reeds at all, said Matthew Morris, the founder of the OU Double Reed Quartet and lecturer in bassoon and music theory.
“We’re seeing a real decrease in an already rarified environment,” he said. “The bassoon is a goofy instrument. It takes folks willing to do the road less traveled.”
Morris said the plan is for this quartet to play at venues and spread the word about double reed instruments, hoping to ignite a kind of “double reed renaissance.” One way he plans on doing so is by beefing up the repertoire for double reeds, such as his arrangement of “Linus and Lucy,” the famous tune from the Peanuts cartoon.
“There’s not much representation for this kind of congregation,” Morris said.
While one aim of the group is to educate the masses about double reed instruments, it also hopes to aid recruitment of double reed instrument players.
“It’s important for the preservation of the instruments and the whole of our profession that people know who we are and what we do,” said Michele Fiala, cofounder of the quartet and associate professor of oboe. “It’s also important for OU` and the School of Music to be able to bring in oboe and bassoon students, so more people know about double reed instruments and more people play them.”
Andrew Payne, one of the graduate students featured in the quartet who plays bassoon, said going to schools and actually playing for the students is a very effective method to get them involved in the instrument.
“They’ll see the music in action,” said the third-year graduate student studying music history. “It’s more meaningful and much more interesting.”
Payne said he plans on playing a bit from the Disney film Fantasia when Mickey Mouse enchants the broom, in order to show the students they do know the bassoon, they probably just never made the connection.
“Double reeds have an ubiquitous voice in TV and film music,” Morris said. “Without bassoons, the BBC would have to shut down. … In Bugs Bunny cartoons, you hear bassoon all over the place. If you listen to the Flintstones, you hear contrabassoon everywhere. You hear them a lot, but you often just don’t know what you’re listening to. It’s the supporting dialogue in scenes, not the focal point.”
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