Bassoon Sonata (Saint-Saëns)

The Bassoon Sonata in G major, Op. 168, was written by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1921 as one of his last works. This bassoon sonata is the last of the three sonatas that Saint-Saëns composed for wind instruments, the other two being the Oboe Sonata (Op. 166) and the Clarinet Sonata (Op. 167), written the same year. These works were part of Saint-Saëns's efforts to expand the repertoire for instruments for which hardly any solo parts were written, as he confided to his friend Jean Chantavoine in a letter dated to 15 April 1921: "At the moment I am concentrating my last reserves on giving rarely considered instruments the chance to be heard."

Structure
The work consists of three movements. A performance takes approximately 13 minutes. 1. Allegro moderato

2. Allegro scherzando

3. Molto adagio – Allegro moderato

Reception
The musical scholar Jean Gallois calls the Bassoon Sonata "a model of transparency, vitality and lightness", containing humorous touches but also moments of peaceful contemplation.