Lonely and melancholic is what the bass clarinet of Fie Schouten sounds like on this solo album. When the Netherlands went into lockdown in March 2020, concerts and even rehearsals were no longer allowed. The specialist in contemporary music had no choice but to pick up solo works again. On Schouten's album Monologues we hear all the possibilities of this special wind instrument. Monologue by the
… Korean composer Isang Yun is one of the most important and challenging solo works for bass clarinet. In Limn, Finnish composer Lotta Wennäkoski has created a fluent musical folk painting. Holz by the German composer Enno Poppe tells a story of contrasts: growth and decline, recalcitrance and flexibility. Schouten plays two Dutch compositions. Guus Janssen wrote Van Horen Zingen... especially for her to drive away the lockdown silence with lightness and charm. Schouten ends with the composition Mountains from 1977 by Ton de Leeuw, interlarded with exciting electronic tape sounds. (SvdP)more
