In the spring of 2020, musicians worldwide faced an unprecedented crisis. Live performances and rehearsals were abruptly canceled, collaborations halted, and a profound sense of uncertainty and isolation cast a shadow over every aspect of life. As loved ones were separated and a new virus spread relentlessly across the globe, fear, stress, and anxiety seeped into every corner of daily existence, reshaping how we lived, worked, and connected with one another.

Amid this upheaval, we were fortunate to have one another. Our nightly walks through the neighborhood became a lifeline, sparking ambitious creative projects that kept us engaged, motivated, and connected. Gardners at Home is the result of those ideas—an anthology of projects born from the uncertainty of those times and fueled by our shared passion for collaboration and artistic expression. It represents our collective effort to adapt, create, and continue to grow, even in the face of the unknown.

 

Label: Soundset Recordings
Item Number: SR1184
Format: Download
Year Recorded: 2022
Recording Engineer: Joshua Gardner
Mastering Engineer: Nathan James
Artwork Designer: Qiudi Zhang
Producers: Joshua & Stefanie Gardner

Gardners at Home. Égide Duo: Joshua Gardner, clarinet; Stefanie Gardner, bass clarinet. A. Bazzini/arr. D. Puccio: La Ronde des Lutins, op. 25; J. Love: The Threshold of the Year to Come; N. Rimsky-Korsakov/arr. Égide Duo: Flight of the Bumblebee; G.J.B. Chamorro: Ambos for two bass clarinets; J. Steinmetz: Songs and Dances; A. Temple: This Changes Everything!. Soundset Recordings, SR1184.

La Ronde des Lutins, op. 25 by Bazzini (arranged by Dan Puccio) is a fantastic display of technical virtuosity and command of the extreme ranges and multiple articulations from both the clarinet and bass clarinet. This recording sounds effortless and serves as a delightful opening to the album. Joel Love’s The Threshold of the Year to Come is a four-movement work commissioned by the duo. While the piece is extremely virtuosic, it is destined to be a part of the standard duo clarinet repertoire. The first movement, “Anxiety,” features unpredictable rhythmic interplay that effectively evokes the unsettled character suggested by the title. The performance is stellar and lets the music speak for itself. The second movement, “Anger,” features harmonic glisses and
singing while playing. One striking aspect of this performance is the immediate shift between extended techniques and traditional clarinet playing. Those shifts are executed flawlessly and are a testament to the mastery the performers have achieved. The third movement, “Hope,” highlights the lyrical prowess of Stefanie Gardner on bass clarinet. She performs the sweeping melodies with a grace and nuance that are breathtakingly beautiful. In the final movement, “Joy,” the playful interplay between the clarinet and bass clarinet creates complexity of texture that is hard to believe comes from only two players. This is a wonderful contribution to the repertoire, and the
performance here is a stunning offering by the Égide Duo.

The next track, Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov (arranged by Égide Duo), features Joshua Gardner on the clarinet and is a perfect interlude between the heavier works on this album. It is performed with a facility that must be heard to be believed.

Ambos for two bass clarinets by Gabriel José Bolaños Chamorro is a very interesting work which explores the spectral interplay between the timbres of the two bass clarinets. The colors that result from the microtonality and multiple sounds are very compelling. This recording is certainly expertly performed, but I can imagine that the timbral experience of hearing it live would be particularly special; in works like this, the resonance of the hall itself often becomes an equal partner in the performance.

The music of John Steinmetz is consistently excellent, and this work is no exception. Songs and Dances is an adaptation of the original version for oboe and bassoon and was commissioned by the Gardners. This piece is nothing short of delightful—it is certainly challenging but not out of reach for serious students, and the writing works quite well for each instrument—with each having an equal artistic voice. All the movements are interesting and performed expertly, but the fourth movement, “Dance Song,” is particularly memorable and its groove may be impossible not to love.

This Changes Everything! by Alex Temple is a work for clarinet, bass clarinet, and electronics which combines a lot of disconnected material and sounds into a single work, but that fact is the point of the piece. It’s one where you never know what to expect or what will happen next, even after multiple hearings. This piece is entirely different from anything else on the album and serves the artistic vision of the album—to explore new ways to collaborate and create art during challenging times particularly well.

The final track of the album, Flight of the Bumblebee, but this time featuring Stefanie Gardner on bass clarinet, showcases jaw-dropping articulation facility that she has developed. I’m not sure if this represents the limit of what is possible on the bass
clarinet, but it certainly seems close.

This album is a triumph of clarinet technical achievement, contributions to the repertoire through notable commissions and adaptations, and artistic expression in an unlikely format of two clarinets. The Égide Duo has again proven that artistic vision and a collaborative spirit transcend instrumental limitations. They bring this music vividly to life, and the album is one that will be appreciated not only by clarinetists but by musicians of all backgrounds.
– Spencer Prewitt (The Clarinet)