Scherzo (1976) (score & parts) - 4BSN

Scherzo (1976)
for bassoon quartet
by Roger Jannotta (b. 1943) - American composer

The Scherzo for bassoon quartet was written in 1976 for Steve Young and the Boston Bassoon Quartet. Nearly the full range of the bassoon is used from the lowest B to the highest E in the treble staff. The first section uses a constructed scale centered around C. The four instruments are mostly rhythmically independent occasionally meeting at short, percussive staccato points. The second section is more lyrical and less polyphonic. The same constructed scale is used by now centered around the note E and adding the note G# to the scale. The piece ends with a repetition of the first section and short, quiet coda.