When an outstanding bassoonist swaps her wind instrument skills for composing after giving up her solo career and orchestral position in the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra for health reasons, it can be assumed that her compositions, especially for bassoon, will bear witness to a profound knowledge of playing technique and a special love of music. So it is in the case of the solo piece Soul Food with the three movements I. Mesmerise, II. Thrill and III. Fly Free, whose titles say it all: true soul food for both players and listeners - "they travel on a soul journey that ultimately leads to freedom and joy, while finding strength along the path" (foreword: "About the work").

Liberation and joy in life were also the mission of the founder of modern hypnosis, Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815), whose work has a relationship to the first movement’s title and theme. The modal melody ascending from the depths seems almost hypnotic, able to literally enchant and captivate. Particularly if one skims the body and keys of the bassoon with magic hands and creates ‘magnetic’ tones, as is often used in a parody depiction of ‘mesmerisation’ (in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, for example).  After a variety of animations and accelerations towards a ‘fiery‘ flight, followed by a passionate sound stream in F sharp minor, the movement ends in the peace of the echo of the beginning – patient healed.

The second movement "Thrill" is technically tricky, an electric staccato study with thriller qualities, if one produces the sudden forte outbursts like a type of scare. To restore calm, a free, tenderly dreamy section appears in the middle with arpeggiating garlands upwards and downwards that soon lead back into the staccato thrill. For the high passages of the middle section, a technically easier alternative one octave lower is included.

The musically playful semiquaver sequences of the third movement depict a freewheeling flight of joy, in the middle of which a slightly wistful waltz is embedded, whose steps expand more and more, grow larger, more exuberant – until the humorous flight of the heart begins again, increases furiously and finishes at the height of jubilation. The three character pieces are worth studying and performing, as they challenge mastery of the bassoon equally as much as they convey the musical joy of playing. Set in a clear typeface with inserted extra pages that are easy to read and player-friendly, the movements, which last a total of about 10 minutes and are well achievable at an advanced level, can also be performed individually and integrated into a variety of program contexts to nourish the soul of all participants.

Translation by Margot Dean, NAATI-Accredited Professional Translator from German into English.

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