At a very young age, Thomas Oltheten heard the bassoon in an orchestra and was immediately struck by its sound. And his love for this instrument never left him. Thomas not only plays the modern bassoon, but also the baroque bassoon, the dulcian – a 17th century precursor – the classical and romantic bassoon and even the special French bassoon from around 1900, the ‘basson’.
For half a millennium, the bassoon has enthralled audiences, composers and musicians alike. A lot of changes were made to the bassoon over time; these can be heard and seen in this program. Not only bassoons from different centuries, but also various keyboard instruments will sound via the music of various composers, such as Bertoli, Ortiz, Telemann, Devienne and Leclair, who worshiped the bassoon.
Thomas Oltheten – dulcian, bassoon
Marion Boshuizen, harpsichord, fortepiano