Inordinate Affection

An overview of the oboe, with JENNIFER PAULL

<< Continued from page 3

In French, the oboe d'amore or alto oboe is called an 'hautbois d'amour'. Good Heavens-we can't possibly have that in our Anglo-Saxon prudishness. Let's leave it in Italian where its sensuality can appear 'foreign'. Personally, I think the 'sensual love' ancestor is reincarnated here. Surely the melancholy of the Hebrew folk music and lament is in built into its soul !

Every rounded instrument used to be called a horn. The oboe da caccia (in F) of Bach's writings was an instrument supposedly for the hunt. As it was rounded, it therefore eventually fell prey to the name 'horn'. In order to hold it and play it with more ease, the instrument was bent or angled, becoming an 'angled horn'. A spelling mistake crept in and the 'anglé' or 'angled' became 'anglais' or 'English' because it sounded the same in pronunciation. So our tenor oboe became known as an English horn without being either !

The bass oboe is an octave lower than the oboe (in C) and is called a 'baryton' in France !

How sad it would be to think that the oboe means just one instrument. In Western music it implies a family of 5 contemporary instruments. I have always worked for the survival of the oboe d'amore in the music of today so that it does not remain abandoned as a baroque voice of the past. Since the 1980's, I have added the entire oboe family as an ensemble to my mission. When these instruments are played together the timbre is magical, rather like a mediaeval pipe organ

Those fortunate enough to have taken part or listened to a performance of such works as the Christmas Oratorio of Bach will know the delight of a kaleidoscope of oboes.

Jennifer Paull's recordings of baroque, modern and oboe ensemble music can be purchased directly on-line at www.amoris.com For further information concerning CDs and publications, contact Amoris International, 81-36 192nd St. Jamaica Estates, New York 11423. Tel: +1 718 464 7464 Fax : +1 718 464 7477 e-mail info@amoris.com