Marie De Grandval’s Grand Trio
Marie de Grandval composer
Andrew Parker oboe
Kristin Wolfe Jensen bassoon
Colette Valentine piano
It’s a rare treat to hear exceptional recordings of double reed ensembles; no trio could know this better than bassoonist Kristin Wolfe Jensen, oboist Andrew Parker, and pianist Collette Valentine, who’ve accomplished a delightful performance on their new release, MARIE DE GRANDVAL’S GRAND TRIO. A popular composer in her day, de Grandval’s works are given a breath of fresh air, handled delicately in a collaboration with remarkable natural blend. Jensen’s warm treatment of the song-like bassoon passages highlights the elegant pizzicato oboe passages serviced by Parker, the fluttering and dramatic musicality in Valentine’s piano playing tying the ensemble together with a bow.
Track Listing & Credits
| # | Title | Composer | Performer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Grand Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano: I. Andantino | Clémence de Grandval (Marie Grandval) | Andrew Parker, oboe; Kristin Wolfe Jensen, bassoon; Colette Valentine, piano | 6:07 |
| 02 | Grand Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano: II. Andante | Clémence de Grandval (Marie Grandval) | Andrew Parker, oboe; Kristin Wolfe Jensen, bassoon; Colette Valentine, piano | 3:25 |
| 03 | Grand Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano: III. Allegro Vivace | Clémence de Grandval (Marie Grandval) | Andrew Parker, oboe; Kristin Wolfe Jensen, bassoon; Colette Valentine, piano | 4:00 |
| 04 | Grand Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano: IV. Rondo | Clémence de Grandval (Marie Grandval) | Andrew Parker, oboe; Kristin Wolfe Jensen, bassoon; Colette Valentine, piano | 5:42 |
Recorded July 2022 at Jessen Auditorium, The University of Texas at Austin in Austin TX
Session Engineer Dr. Jordan Walsh
Editing, Mixing & Mastering Dr. Jordan Walsh
Executive Producer Bob Lord
VP of A&R Brandon MacNeil
A&R Jeff LeRoy
VP of Production Jan Košulič
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Chelsea Olaniran
Digital Marketing Manager Brett Iannucci
Artist Information
Andrew Parker
Oboist Dr. Andrew Parker is currently Associate Professor of Oboe at the University of Texas at Austin and faculty at the Round Top Festival Institute. In addition to his teaching, Andrew maintains a rich performing career as a soloist and chamber musician. He has performed concerti with numerous orchestras including the Quad City Symphony, the Dallas Wind Symphony, the Great Falls Symphony, the Puerto Rico Philharmonic, the University of Iowa Chamber Orchestra, and the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra.
Kristin Wolfe Jensen
Bassoonist Kristin Wolfe Jensen has been Professor of Bassoon at The University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music since 1995 and is also Principal Bassoonist with ROCO, on the faculty at the International Festival Institute at Round Top, and a Licensed Body Mapping Educator. She is the creator of the multimedia bassoon tutorial, MusicandtheBassoon.org, author of The Breathing Book for Bassoon, cofounder of the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition and Bassoon Symposium, and producer of the video series, The Herzberg/Kamins Reed Making Method.
Colette Valentine
Pianist Colette Valentine joined the faculty of the newly created Collaborative Piano Department at the University of Texas at Austin’s Butler School of Music in 2008 and assumed leadership of the program in 2017. Critically hailed for her “clean, sparkling technique” (Salt Lake Tribune) and for her “consummate skill and musicianship” (Classical New Jersey), she has performed collaboratively in such venues as New York City’s Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Merkin Concert Hall; at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, the National Gallery of Art, the Library of Congress, and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC, and internationally in Paris, Zurich, Florence, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, and Hong Kong.
Notes
French composer Clémence de Grandval (1828–1907), born Marie Félicie Clémence de Reiset and known as Vicomtesse de Grandval and Marie Grandval, was popular in her time but suffered the fate of many talented women composers and was soon forgotten. Born to a wealthy family, her mother wrote and published stories, and her father was an Officier de la Légion d’honneur and a pianist. At a very young age, she studied composition with Friedrich Flotow, composer and family friend, and later with Frédéric Chopin and Camille Saint-Saëns, the latter dedicating his Oratorio de Noel to her.
Grandval was a prolific composer, often publishing under a variety of pseudonyms including Caroline Blangy, Clémence Valgrand, Maria Felicita de Reiset, and Maria Reiset de Tesier. Her output includes a mass, 50 songs with piano accompaniment, several orchestral works and oratorios, nine operas, and many chamber pieces. She was the recipient of the inaugural Prix Rossini in 1881 with her librettist Paul Collin for the oratorio La fille de Jaïre.
Her penchant for song and opera is evident in the Grand Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, where each musician enjoys the opportunity to play long singing lines and indulge in a “bel canto” style of rubato and expression. The piece maintains a balance of playfulness and heartfelt sentimentality throughout all four of its movements. Grandval’s compositional prowess is particularly evident in the interplay between the three voices. The oboe, bassoon, and piano are constantly in dialogue with one another, moving apart and coming together in a way that evokes a lively conversation.
Grandval dedicated the Grand Trio to “Mr. le Prince de la Moscowa,” which could refer to one of two possible Romanovs, Czarevitch Alexander II or Czarevitch Nicholas I.
The ensemble would like to thank Sarah and Ernest Butler who made possible the Butler Faculty Development Award that funded this recording, and The University of Texas Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors that funded the release on PARMA Recordings.
