<p>&quot;With nearly a hundred transcriptions of songs and arias for bassoon and piano to his name, Martin Gatt must surely be the expert in this field. With pianist Margaret Lynn, Martin presents an intriguing selection entitled Abendlied. The title is taken from Schumann who, represented by six songs, is the first and most favoured composer. Though broadly Romantic in content, the composers represented range from Beethoven through to Eduardo Toldr&agrave;. This is a bold undertaking and the challenge of finding the required variety of colour and tone throughout is ably met by both performers. For convenience the songs are grouped by composer, though not in chronological order. You might find, as I did, that a more random selection of tracks made this anthology even more delightful. There is a fine sense of style and colour throughout and the sound and balance is generally first rate. I found the textures of Schumann&rsquo;s accompaniments a little challenging for the solo line here and there, but by contrast the combination of the simplicity of Schubert&rsquo;s piano writing and the bassoon in its tenor register is irresistible. This is a rare opportunity to hear bassoon playing of this calibre.&quot;<br /> <br /> &nbsp;<strong>Graham Sheen</strong><br /> <br /> &nbsp;</p>

"With nearly a hundred transcriptions of songs and arias for bassoon and piano to his name, Martin Gatt must surely be the expert in this field. With pianist Margaret Lynn, Martin presents an intriguing selection entitled Abendlied. The title is taken from Schumann who, represented by six songs, is the first and most favoured composer. Though broadly Romantic in content, the composers represented range from Beethoven through to Eduardo Toldrà. This is a bold undertaking and the challenge of finding the required variety of colour and tone throughout is ably met by both performers. For convenience the songs are grouped by composer, though not in chronological order. You might find, as I did, that a more random selection of tracks made this anthology even more delightful. There is a fine sense of style and colour throughout and the sound and balance is generally first rate. I found the textures of Schumann’s accompaniments a little challenging for the solo line here and there, but by contrast the combination of the simplicity of Schubert’s piano writing and the bassoon in its tenor register is irresistible. This is a rare opportunity to hear bassoon playing of this calibre."

 Graham Sheen