NATCHITOCHES – Music from a CD including retired Northwestern State University Professor of Flute Dennette McDermott and Professor of Bassoon Douglas Bakenhus will be played on the NPR program “Sunday Baroque” on Sunday, Dec. 31. The program is broadcast in this region on Red River Radio from 10 a.m. to noon. McDermott and Bakenhus are joined on the CD by Leighann Daihl Ragusa on flute and David Schroeder on fortepiano.
The CD consists of flute sonatas by 18th century Bohemian composer Jiri Čart. McDermott has researched and performed Čart’s work for 25 years. Čart’s work was largely unknown for decades because his compositions were not attributed to him because there were several different spellings of his name in German.
“This music is special and is, in my opinion, the same quality as Mozart or Beethoven,” said Bakenhus.
McDermott published a thematic catalog of Čart. which is the only one in existence. She published an entry on Čart. for the prestigious New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians in 2021. She learned about Čart from Czech music Professor Arnošt Bourek who gave her handwritten copies of flute sonatas by Čart.
“Čart’s flute and violin sonatas are virtuosic in character which may serve as evidence of his musical abilities,” said McDermott. “Leopold Mozart was said to have praised Čart’s violin playing. However, being employed at the Court of Frederick the Great, the king being an accomplished flutist, along with the famous J. J. Quantz as the king’s teacher, may have cast Čart in the shadows as a flutist.
McDermott said Čart’s works are held primarily by libraries in Brussels, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Sweden.
“Some sonatas exist in more than one manuscript copy, display a variety of ornaments, are held by various libraries, and may be seen as evidence of the popularity of these works in Čart’s lifetime,” said McDermott. “These sonatas on this recording inspired me to learn to play the 18th century one-keyed baroque flute in order to experience Čart’s music on an instrument he would have been familiar with and played. It is my hope that others will seek out his music and that it may bring joy to those who listen to these forgotten musical gems.”
Bakenhus said the recording is unique because it is the first recording in the world on period instruments (one keyed wooden flute, baroque bassoon, and an 18th century fortepiano with 66 keys instead of 88) He said two of the sonatas were recently discovered by McDermott and have never been recorded or performed in the United States.
McDermott contacted Suzanne Bona, the host of “Sunday Baroque,” recently about the CD. Bona asked for a copy of the CD and let McDermott know earlier this week it will be on the program.
For more information on NPR’s “Sunday Baroque,” go to sundaybaroque.org. The site has a livestream along with a podcast that can be listened to after December 31.
