Concert Piece - BSN/HN/PN

The dedication on the original title page reads simply, "Niccolo Paganini a Mr. Henry". Antoine Nicholas Henry (1777-1842) was professor of bassoon at the Paris Conservatoire. It seems likely that this work was written during one of his visits to paris (February-April 1831 and March-June, 1832). The horn part, not as prominent as the bassoon, was doubtless written for Louis Francois Dauprat (1781-1868), who was also Professor at the Paris Conservatoire and principal horn in the Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire. Dauprat was the last major virtuoso on the hand-horn in France, and the part is written for the hand-horn in E, which had a more mellow tone than the horn in F, but which put the bassoonist in to an awkward tonality on his instrument, which probably had no more than 13 keys. 

The work is not a true Concertino because of several features: in the score, the bassoon and horn solo passages are written into the staves of the orchestral bassoon and horn- in other words, the solos are to be played from the body of the orchestra; the solo passages are doubled almost throughout by the flute and clarinet; there are no virtuoso scale or arpeggio passages; the work ends with a 58-bar tutti. 

Orchestra parts are available for rent from Musica Rara (Breitkopf).