About the Music

We thank Dr. Timothy Bonenfant for providing the following program note for his arrangement of Louise Farrenc's Sonata Op.46 for bass clarinet and piano:

Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) had an incredible career for a woman of her era as a performer, teacher, and composer. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire, despite not being allowed to officially join classes. Her reputation as a performer, teacher, editor, and composer was even noted by Robert Schumann and Hector Berlioz. At 15 she began studies in composition and orchestration with Anton Reicha. While her marriage in 1821 and subsequent travels interrupted her studies, she resumed intensive work with Reicha a few years later. In 1842, she became the only woman faculty member at the Conservatoire as Professor of Piano, where she remained until just before her death.

At the behest of her husband Aristide, they established Éditions Farrenc, which published many of her works. Despite this, Farrenc’s dream of having her symphonic works performed did not come to fruition. The societal mores of the time were certainly a huge reason for this, but her daughter Victorine’s death at 32, who was a talented pianist, also weighed heavily on her, and shortly afterwards, Farrenc stopped composing. Her last years were spent researching early music and teaching.

Her most notable contribution is the chamber music, including two piano quintets (1839 and 1840), two piano trios, two violin sonatas, a cello sonata, two more trios (including a delightful clarinet/cello/piano trio), a sextet for piano and winds, and a nonet for wind and strings. The Institut de France honored Farrenc in 1861 and 1869 by awarding her the Chartier Prize for her contributions to chamber music.

This cello sonata suits the bass clarinet incredibly well. It treats the cello as a single-line melodic instrument, eschewing the possibilities of multiple stops and pizzicato passages. This is music that is all about a long melodic line, making its transfer to a wind instrument a smooth one. Its range also fits easily into that of the bass clarinet, although I have given the bass clarinetist the option of using the low C in a few select spots if the player’s instrument has an extended lower range.

Piano score: 58 pages; part: 11 pages. Extended-range instrument NOT required, but optional.

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About the Arranger

Timothy Bonenfant is a member of Dos Gatos, The Mesquite Trio, The Batik Quartet, and the West Texas Jazz Orchestra. He holds three degrees from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a master’s degree from California Institute of the Arts.

Bonenfant has premiered over seventy works, many written especially for him, including Virko Baley's Partita No. 4 for clarinets (bass, A, Eb and Bb contrabass) and piano, and Stephen Emmons’ Seaside and States of Mind. Bonenfant was also one of the performers on the world premiere performance of Arthur Gottschlak’s The Electric Pocket Rocket Boogaloo for bass clarinet ensemble.

With multiple recording credits, Bonenfant’s solo album, Multiple Personae, features music by Virko Baley. Bonenfant uses seven different members of the clarinet family for this collection. The Clarinet, the journal of the International Clarinet Association, said of this album “Throughout this recording, Bonenfant displays his virtuosity performing almost the entire family of clarinets.”

His playing is also featured on Walter Blanton’s The Body of a House, performing Blanton’s Wind Songs One, which was specifically composed for him. Additionally, Blanton featured his bass clarinet playing as a guest artist on the album Voyage from The Past performed by Blanton’s jazz group Dharma. Steve Horowitz included Bonenfant’s performance of his solo work on The Evening News, which Horowitz composed for him and is featured on his album of chamber music San Francisco 1990-1996.

Bonenfant has developed an international reputation as an extremely versatile clarinetist. He has performed at multiple International Clarinet Association ClarinetFests, at the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music at the United States National Conference, at the International Double Reed Society Conference, the American Single Reed Summit, numerous College Music Society conferences, and presented performances and panel sessions at the National Association for College Wind and Percussion Instructors Conference.

He has worked with composers Steve Reich, John Adams, Paul Dresher, Arthur Gottschalk, Libby Larsen, Dana Kaufman, Monica Houghton, Cara Haxo, Dorothy Hindman, Nolan Stoltz, Edwin London, and Ivan Karabitz.

He has also performed with Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Luca Ferrini, Theodore Bikel, Sandy Patti, Toni Tenille, Monica Mancini, The Village People, The Moody Blues, Louie Bellson, Joe Williams, Bobby Shew, Gary Foster, and Carl Fontana.

A former member of the Nevada Symphony Orchestra and the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Bonenfant’s ensemble credits also include the Houston Symphony Orchestra, Abilene Philharmonic, San Angelo Symphony Orchestra, Boise Symphony Orchestra, Nevada Opera Theater, and various groups on the Las Vegas Strip.

In addition to those in the United States, Bonenfant’s has performed internationally in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, and Sweden. His major teachers include Felix Viscuglia, William Powell, Alberto Asercion, Raphael Sanders, Marina Sturm and Michele Zukovsky.

Dr. Bonenfant is currently Professor of Single Reeds at Angelo State University, where he also has taught Introduction to Music, History of Jazz, History of American Popular Music, Survey of Rock and Roll, Improvisation, and Woodwind Methods.