Lesson 2 - The Oboe I ve selected five different CDs for you. Time permitting, listen to each. If your scheduling is tight, select different pieces from each CD ranging from Baroque to 20th Century. BIS-NL-CD-5017 ELEVAZIONE: The Magic of the Oboe Gordon Hunt 8.550556 MARCELLO, A. / BACH, C.P.E.: Oboe Concertos BIS-CD-769 BRITTEN / SAUNDERS / JACKMAN: Music for Solo Oboe Gordon Hunt BIS-CD-428 NIELSEN: Wind Chamber Music Bergen Wind Quintet CHAN8594 VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Symphony No. 3, Pastoral / Oboe Concerto London Symphony Orchestra 01
Transpose and transfer to sketch score each of the examples below. At the Naxos Music Library, listen to the entire movement, then scope down for the example. 15-2: Low Register PROKOFIEV, Peter and the Wolf 15-3: Medium Register RAVEL, Mother Goose Suite, Petit Poucet 15-4: Medium Register BIZET, Carmen 15-5: Medium Register DVORAK, New World Symphony 15-6: High Register RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, Scheherazade 15-7: High Register BEETHOVEN, Symphony #6, 3rd Movement 15-8: Very High Register RAVEL, Rapsodie Espagnole For each of the above examples, mark on your reduced score with a highlighter, which of the Eight Keys are used. 02
Example Number Solo Instrument Range Technique Used Which of the 8 Keys are used? Dynamics for solo instrument Dynamics for ensemble Which instruments are used in the ensemble? What s omitted? Dramatic effect of the accompanying instruments 05
La Mer by Oscar Wilde, should not be confused with Debussy s La Mer. Read about Oscar Wilde at the links below: Official Oscar Wilde Web Site http://www.cmgworldwide.com/historic/wilde/index.php Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/oscar_wilde Your composition must include single tonguing in a musical context, two slurs upward, and a mixture of legato and staccato. La Mer A white mist drifts across the shrouds, A wild moon in this wintry sky Gleams like an angry lion s eye Out of a mane of tawny clouds. The muffled steersman at the wheel Is but a shadow in the gloom; - And in the throbbing engine-room Leap the long rods of polished steel. The shattered storm has left its trace Upon this huge and heaving dome, For the thin threads of yellow foam Float on the waves like ravelled lace. Oscar Wilde Writing Preparation 1. Depending on time and your teacher s instruction, write a solo piece only. Then, time permitting, solo with accompanying ensemble. 2. Can this be turned into a song, or is this an impressionistic piece? 3. What are the coloristic words? 4. What compositional techniques can be used to describe each color word or phrase? 04
Below is an example of your Excel spread sheet for woodwinds and brass. Having now tested your MIDI keyboard controller, now on pages 402, 407-408, and 414 of the Professional Orchestration book, test the Oboe samples in your libraries to determine if they are programmed to execute the tempos listed on those pages. Log the results into the Excel spread sheet. You now have a ready log of what will and won t work when recording your piece. If you lack samples and sample articulations to execute your composition, then do a Revision A for recording purposes. Long Fall / Runs Sustain Legato Staccato ½ Trill Whole Trill Single Tongue Double Tongue Triple Tongue Flutter Short Fall / Runs Instrument & Library 05
Britten - Pan, by Jay Bacal Courtesy Jay Bacal and the Vienna Symphonic Library 1. Go to the Naxos Music Library. 2. Listen to Pan on these two different performances: BIS-CD-737 BRITTEN: Temporal Variations / DORATI: 5 Pieces for Oboe / KRENEK: 4 Pieces for Oboe BIS-CD-769 BRITTEN / SAUNDERS / JACKMAN: Music for Solo Oboe 3. Listen to Pan as recorded and programmed by Jay Bacal using the Vienna Instruments Oboe. (Click Here for MP3 and MIDI file) 4. Import the MIDI file into your sequencer. 5. Listen to the MP3 and compare/contrast to the live players. 6. Study the MIDI file for how Jay edited the performance. 7. MIDI Notes: A. Volume is set to 100 B. Volume changes are handled using the Expression MIDI control filter C. Check Pitch Bend D. Check Velocity for how the line is shaped 8. Look to see how Jay edits the notes for attacks and dynamics. 06