From TV theme tunes to a folk-inspired “circle dance on seven notes” by Villa-Lobos, Laurence Perkins, one of Britain’s best-known solo bassoonists, presents a pleasing miscellany of composers and works demonstrating the expressive potential of the bassoon. Perkins gets sterling support from a wealth of fine musicians and ensembles on his eighth album for Hyperion. The program covers a century of music, much of it little known, including several first commercial recordings.

“I chose the name of the short, delightful piece by Ruth Gipps as the title for this album partly because the music that Gipps wrote illustrates the much-discussed aspect of humor and the bassoon in a tasteful and perceptive manner” writes Perkins. “Yes, it has a ‘moo’ in it, just as Alan Ridout’s Pigs contains a few grunts, but these are real pieces where the humor is simply an ingredient in music which is not primarily about creating cheap laughs at the expense of the instrument. The bassoon has such a wealth of characters and expressions (including humor), which I really hope this album demonstrates in its very wide range of moods and styles.”