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Archie Camden

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Archie Camden OBE (9 March 1888 – 16 February 1979) was a British bassoonist, a pedagogue and soloist who won international acclaim. In 1968 The Times said "If the bassoon is no longer considered to be the orchestra's clown, its rehabilitation is the result of Mr Camden's work as an orchestral player, soloist and teacher".[1]

Early career

Camden was born in Newark-on-Trent. He initially attracted attention as a pianist, joining the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester at the age of 14 - but through Hans Richter he soon won the first bassoon scholarship, despite having played the bassoon for only a week prior to the audition.[2] At the RNCM he studied with Egon Petri (piano) and Otto Schieder (bassoon).[3][4] In 1906 he joined Schieder at the Hallé Orchestra, replacing him as principal bassoon in 1914.

These were the Hallé's most famous days, the era of Richter, Hamilton Harty and Thomas Beecham.[5] Harty in particular became a lifelong friend. During this period Camden also played with the Liverpool Philharmonic.[2] In 1933 he moved to the BBC Symphony Orchestra, where he stayed until 1946 when - at the urgent request of Beecham - he took up the same position in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.[6] There was also a spell at the Covent Garden Opera Orchestra.[7]

Teaching

As a teacher, he was a professor of the bassoon at the Royal Manchester (now Northern) College of Music from 1914 to 1933; he later taught at the Royal College of Music in London. His most famous students included Roger Birnstingl, Michael Chapman, Martin Gatt and William Waterhouse. Camden was the first British bassoonist to change from the French bassoon to the smoother, more dry-toned German or Heckel Bassoon.[8] He also cultivated a more restrained vibrato.[5] In 1962 he published his book Bassoon Technique.[9]

He also worked extensively with amateur musicians, most famously conducting the London Stock Exchange Orchestra - but also with the Manchester Orchestral Society, the Bolton Orchestral Society, the Burnley Orchestral Society and the Beethoven Society of Manchester before his move down to London.[5]

Concerts and recording

After years of extensive touring as a recitalist, chamber music player, broadcaster and lecturer, and seasons with Yehudi Menuhin and the Bath Festival Chamber Orchestra, Camden's last post as an orchestral player was with the London Mozart Players, which he joined in 1958.[2] He stayed until 20 March 1968, when the orchestra put on an 80th birthday concert at the Royal Festival Hall, including a performance of the Mozart Bassoon Concerto.[1]

Eric Fogg (in 1931) and Gordon Jacob (in 1947) wrote concertos for Camden, while Arnold Bax composed the Threnody and Scherzo for him in 1936. He was also one of the first bassoonists to experiment with recording. His recordings of the Mozart Bassoon Concerto - a piece he helped rescue from relative obscurity - still remain popular today. He recorded the piece twice - first in March 1926 with Hamilton Harty conducting,[10] then in 1956 with Harry Blech and the London Mozart Players.[11] Another signature piece was his arrangement for bassoon and orchestra of the Jean-Baptiste Senaillé Allegro spirito, which he recorded in 1927.[12]

Personal life

He was married to Helen Joyce (Jan) Kerrison, a cellist, composer, accompanist and arranger. Their two sons both went onto to study at the Royal School of Music, Kerry (bassoon) and Anthony Camden (oboe).[13] He was awarded an OBE in 1969. An autobiography, Blow by Blow (with a foreword by Yehudi Menuhin) was completed just before his death at the age of 90 and published posthumously in 1982.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b 'Archie Camden 80 Today', in The Times, 9 March 1968, p. 19
  2. ^ a b c 'Archie Camden', obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 20 February 1979, p. 14
  3. ^ Obituary, The Musical Times, Vol. 120, No. 1634 (April 1979), p. 331
  4. ^ Kennedy, Michael (1971). The History of the Royal Manchester College of Music: 1893-1972. Manchester University Press. pp. 28–. ISBN 9780719004353. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  5. ^ a b c 'Mr Archie Camden', obituary, The Times, 16 November 1979, p. 29
  6. ^ a b Blow by Blow: the memories of a musical rogue and vagabond, Thames Publishing, London, 1982
  7. ^ William Waterhouse. 'Camden, Archie [Archibald] (Leslie)', in Grove Music Online (2001)
  8. ^ Basil Tschaikov. The Music Goes Round and Round (2006), Ch. 17
  9. ^ Archie Camden. Bassoon Technique, Oxford University Press (1962)
  10. ^ Columbia 67328-D - 67330-D, Masterworks Set No. 71 (78 RPM)
  11. ^ HMV DLP1153 (1956), reissued on Forgotten Records FR1371 (2018)
  12. ^ Columbia L 1826 (1927)
  13. ^ "Obituary: Anthony Camden". The Guardian. 11 April 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
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