Footpaths

Description

This bassoon concerto was written in 2013. It is an epic story in seven movements where we follow the bassoon from darkness to light. It is a life-quest journey which is an expression of personal experiences. The movements are: Searching, On The Move, Resting, A New Dawn, Entering The Light, At A Crossroad and On The Foot-path To Happiness.

The concerto wanders through a wide variety of experiences and feelings. The main character, represented by the bassoon, starts in a depressed state of darkness, where very encounter with anything even remotely light or beautiful almost increases the feeling of despair (Searching). Then, a spark of anger is born which takes us on to the second movement (On The Move). This feeling takes the character forward, and out or depressive numbness. In the third movement (Resting) the character can finally rest, but still with an underlying feeling of sadness and loneliness, and it is not until the fourth movement (A New Dawn) that the bassoon starts to live a little, which leads into a more peaceful experience
(Entering The Light). After that the character needs to ponder over where to go next (At A Crossroad), and finally in the seventh slightly mad movement (On The Footpath To Happiness), the character can live to the full, finding his way in this ever changing world.