 The Doublers BBoard
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Author: marcgilly
Date: 2008-04-06 20:29
Can anyone shed some light on how much bassoon is in Sondheim's "Company" (1996 version)?
The instrument isn't listed in the original orchestration, but appears in Reed III for the 1996 revival:
Company (1970)
1: Piccolo, flute, alto flute, E-flat clarinet, clarinet, alto saxophone
2: Piccolo, flute, alto flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
3: Flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
4: Oboe, English horn, clarinet, baritone saxophone
5: Clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone
Company (1996)
1: Piccolo, flute, alto flute, E-flat clarinet, clarinet, alto saxophone
2: Oboe, English horn, clarinet, tenor saxophone
3: Clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, baritone saxophone
(Source: http://www.bretpimentel.com/doubling/shows/).
At first, its absence from the original version led me to think it wouldn't be that important, but having had a listen through the clips from the revival recording on amazon I've noticed the bassoon quite a lot.
Is it an important instrument, or can the sections be effectively covered on either bass clarinet or bari sax?
Thanks in advance
Marc
Post Edited (2008-04-06 20:36)
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2008-04-10 13:45
In the productions that I've played back in the 1970's, the bassoon part was quite alive and well, thank you. As it is very prominent in tunes like "Little Things" and "Another Hundred People", replacing it with bass clarinet (not very good) or baritone sax (positively bad) is not a good idea.
I never had to play it, for in both instances we had a baritone/bassoon player on the part.
These were both Equity productions, off Broadway, but professional.
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Author: marcgilly
Date: 2008-04-11 06:23
Thanks for your input, Terry. The MTI website lists Reed V of the 1970s version as Baritone Sax, Bassoon, Clarinet - does that sound more like what you've experienced?
I've since had a listen to the London revival recording, which I think uses the instrumentation I'm looking at, and the bassoon seems to be the most prominent instrument in Reed III, followed by baritone sax.
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2008-04-11 20:19
Yup. It was quite entertaining to have two baritone saxes going at it during the "Tick Toc" number, and I didn't have to worry about the bassoon part. Against that, the clarinet part in "Another Hundred People" was a real killer.
The show is rather dated these days, even with directors goosing up the dialog here and there. The drug stuff gets a mixed reaction these days, and the anguish over staying married or not seems strange to a world long accustomed to no fault divorce.
Against that, you have one of the best 'Eleven o'clock" numbers ever written in "Side By Side By Side". The music is among the best I've ever played (although I juiced it up with soprano sax (in lieu of the original soprano clarinet) during the more exuberant of the orchestra sections running up to the final "eleven-tett" dance number), and the huge joke at the end of the number is one of the best set up in all of the genre.
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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