Thoughts on the oboe

Recently we picked up a copy of ‘Masters of the Oboe,’ a compilation set from Deutsche Grammophon (2006).

As the voracious readers of our well-thumbed blog know, the oboe has a unique sound, often likened to that of aquatic fowl. It is a matter of some contention between the august editors of this website as to whether it is closer to the duck or the goose; but we agree that, in competent hands, it is melodious fowl. It also is incredibly temperamental and fiendishly difficult to master. In large part this is due to the reed that generates the oboe’s characteristic sound: being a natural material, its character changes with environmental conditions, and ultimately each reed wears out.

This compilation set offers a wide selection from the oboeist’s repetitore, ranging from the Baroque to the modern. The many moods of the instrument are on display here, at times playful, others plaintive, always sonorous. The oboe shines the most in chamber music, when it is not overwhelmed by hordes of strings, which sound almost pedestrian in comparison. One gem among many in this collection is the finale from the Trio for 2 Oboes and cor anglais in C, Op. 87, a light-hearted conversation between woodwinds.

While stitched together from multiple recordings, the sound quality is even and uniformly high throughout. Quite frequently one can hear little clicking noises in the background, presumably from the keys of the oboe. Some might find this a little distracting, but one quickly becomes accustomed to it and it adds to the charm of the music.

Overall, it fulfills the purpose of a compilation album: to give an overview of the oboe’s repetoire and also to pique the listener’s interest in what is otherwise an obscure but charming instrument.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 14th, 2010 at 23:24:31 and is filed under Instruments, Opinion, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.