Reeds in the Wind

Double-reed wind instruments (where the instrument's sound is produced by two carved reeds vibrating against each other) have been around since antiquity; pictures of such instruments date back to 3,000 BC. They were the most highly regarded musical instruments in ancient Greece and Rome, with players receiving high social standing and enjoying great popularity and many privileges.

A wide variety of instruments using this sound production method derived from these ancient origins: bombards, crumhorns, dolcians and even bagpipes (all members of the shawm family). During the 17th century the treble shawm evolved into the hoboy or hautboy (or in French, the hautbois; and finally in English, the oboe), and by the late 1600s the oboe became a standard member of orchestras. From that point on the oboe flourished, its heyday lasting until the end of the 18th century.

As an orchestra member, oboes were initially used mainly to double the violins, although by the Classical period they had asserted themselves and were performing functions of their own. In the opera orchestra they were given their first solo roles (obligatos) in arias. The instrument’s repertoire expanded in the beginning of the 18th century with countless solo sonatas, suites, trios and concertos. And the oboe has held its place through the 19th and 20th centuries as an integral and prominent voice in orchestral music.

All is bringing us to our music selections for today . . .

The year 1849 was one of the most productive years for composer Robert Schumann. In addition to works for solo piano, chorus, and solo voice, Schumann turned his attention to three wind instruments in chamber music settings: the Three Fantasy Pieces for clarinet and piano, the Adagio and Allegro for horn and piano, and the Three Romances for oboe and piano. The Three Romances for oboe were given to his wife, Clara Schumann-Wieck as a Christmas present that year. Though these beautiful pieces do not require a high degree of overt virtuosity, they do demand expert breath-control to bring across their long, lyrical melodies and convey Schumann’s feel for the emotional tone of the oboe.

Here's the first of Schumann's Three Romances performed by Céline Moinet (oboe) and Florian Uhlig (piano)

And if you have time to sit back for 20 minutes, the same lyricism and melancholy that imbues the Schumann Romances is also found in the Oboe Concerto by Bohuslav Martinů, a work written in 1955. The slow movement is an especial favorite of mine.

Bohuslav Martinů: Oboe Concerto (1955)
Diana Danielian (oboe), St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Titov (conductor)