A new musical journey

Posted on by Laurence Perkins

Bassoon HRI’ve been really slow with this blog, but for very good reasons! A couple of blogs ago I mentioned my lifelong fascination for recordings (which extends into films as well, up to a point). For me this year, recording is very high on the agenda, in the form of what is probably the biggest single project I’ve ever embarked on, something which has been gobbling up all of my time recently!

Imagine a journey which starts in 1900 and ends in 1999. What changes you would see in that time! Even with glimpses of just a very select number of images, it would be such a fascinating and enlightening experience. Well, that exactly describes my recording project. It’s a musical journey through the whole of the 20th century in the company of the bassoon’s solo voice, the sound of which Sacheverell Sitwell once described as “like a sea-god speaking”. 

So, where does this journey take us, and what do we discover en route? In outline, on a musical level it explores a vast array of styles as we travel through a period of exploration, developments and experimentation. On a historical level, this journey includes musical reflections on World War II and the ‘Solidarity’ movement in Poland. All this is through original works written specifically for the instrument, and the fact that the entire programme works perfectly in exact chronological sequence really does make it a hugely varied and exciting musical journey!

There will be more details very shortly on my website www.laurenceperkins.com which will include an opportunity to invest in and support this extraordinary project. Drop me a line at https://laurenceperkins.com/contact/ if you feel that you could help and be involved in some way. 

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Published by Laurence Perkins

In outline... I’ve been passionate about music all my life, but it was a lucky accident that I started the bassoon as a teenager. This led to my life’s work which continues to this day, and my ambition is very much for the bassoon itself - for the instrument to have a wider audience and better appreciation. During my 40+ years as principal bassoonist in Manchester Camerata, I performed and recorded numerous solo works, as well as making several solo recordings for the Hyperion label. Another passion is my work with amateur musicians, which has led to coaching on courses throughout the U.K. and beyond. Teaching remains a high priority, including work at Conservatoire in Manchester (RNCM) and universities in York and Nottingham. Music is special, and live music has no parallel.