Required Rep:
OBOE
Baroque - Allegro
Sammartini, Giuseppe Sonata for Oboe in G, II.
(Sammartini (1695-1750) was a virtuoso oboist. This movement demonstrates the agility of the oboe.)
Baroque – lyrical, legato
Bach, J. S.
Sinfonia from Cantata No. 156
Baroque oboe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrVG7MBG72Q
Modern oboe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeD-cECidPs
(The Baroque oboe had a gentler, less penetrating sound than the modern oboe.)
Early 19th century Italian - double tonguing
Rossini, Giachino
Overture to La Scala di Seta (opening of Allegro)
(This is a notoriously difficult passage to play!)
Solo demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EIgJvYx4AE (4:07 – 4:33)
Performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ6MBf7XjdA (1:21 – 1:49)
19th century - lyrical, legato
Tchaikowsky
Symphony No. 4, II (mm. 1 - 21)
Solo demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EIgJvYx4AE (13:00 – 14:25)
Performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYA5sgmVDn8 (first 45 seconds)
Strauss, Richard
Don Juan (Rehearsal L to M)
(This is a beautiful passage, but has a notable awkward element. The bottom notes of the oboe are not
as sweet sounding as those above, and are difficult too begin quietly. Note the difficulty that these two
oboists have—and they are both members of the Berlin Philharmonic!)
Solo demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EIgJvYx4AE (5:45 – 8:18)
(oboist of Berlin Philharonic)
Performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj3bI1tPyeQ (7:20-8:20)
(Sir Simon Rattle & Berlin Philharmonic)
Strauss, Richard
Don Quixote (Rehearsal mark 2 till Rehearsal mark 3)
Performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZwECNVa6zM
(The oboe has a register break between C & C# on the 3rd space of the treble clef. A slurred jump
from above the break to below can be tricky to do smoothly. You can hear this awkwardness, despite
the high calibre of this player. (Note: slurring upwards is easier to do.))
Extended Techniques - multiphonics
Holliger
Studie über Mehrklänge
ENGLISH HORN
Dvorak
Symphony No. 9 (From the New World), II (opening theme)
Rossini
Overture to William Tell (mm. 176-190)
Performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4PS8-_5UFw&feature=fvwrel
English horn doubling viola at the unison
Tchaikowsky
Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture (mm. 183 - 190)
Required Rep:
BASSOON
Classical era solo bassoon
Mozart
Bassoon Concerto K. 191, I (Solo sections: mm. 35-71, 80-97, 102-152)
(Written by the 19-year old Mozart, this demonstrates the agility of the
bassoon as regards repeated notes, scales, broken chords, and large leaps over
the entire 3-octave range (Bb-Bb) of the Classical-era solo bassoon. (Note: in
orchestral writing, Mozart never wrote higher than A.)
Very high register
Stravinsky
Rite of Spring (introduction)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfg9IIXhcPk (till 1:28)
(Premiered in 1913, this revolutionary work was the first to open up the top
register of the modern bassoon. It goes up to D, a 9th above middle C.)
Written Part:
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bhammel/main/bassoon/excerpts/Stravinsky%20
Rite%20of%20Spring.pdf
Mid-high register
Stravinsky
Middle register
Tchaikowsky
Firebird (Berceuse) (bassoon solo only)
Solo demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzSmZ6iiqBY
(4:00 – 4:25 & 14:00 – 14:25)
Performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph9H17_HPTE (0:30 – 1:37 & 2:47 – 3:35)
(Sir Simon Rattle & Berlin Philharmonic)
Symphony No. 4, II (last 5 bars)
N.B. The final F in this passage is not one of the bassoon’s best notes for
colour. It takes a fine player to make it sound good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYA5sgmVDn8 (9:26)
Low register
Tchaikowsky
Symphony No. 6, I (introduction)
Staccato
Berlioz
Symphonie Fantastique, IV (Rehearsal 52-53)
Double Tonguing
Mozart
Overture to the Marriage of Figaro (mm. 12-15)
N.B. The slurred passages in mm. 1-6 of this excerpt are NOT well written for
the modern bassoon, as switching between C# and D is awkward as regards
fingering.
2 Bassoons in 6ths
Bartok
Concerto for Orchestra, II (mm. 8-24)
Written Part:
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bhammel/main/bassoon/excerpts/Bartok%20Concerto%20for%20Orches
tra.pdf
CONTRABASSOON
Ravel
Mother Goose Suite, IV (Beauty and the Beast)
http://www.bassoonresource.org/ravelgoose.htm
Required Rep:
OBOE & BASSOON DUET
19th Century – lyrical oboe & bassoon duet
Schumann
Symphony No. 2, III (mm. 8 – 15)
Score: http://petrucci.mus.auth.gr/imglnks/usimg/5/5f/IMSLP13112-SchumannSymphony_No.2_III.pdf
Period Performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYTQm1Tk2qM
(John Elliot Gardiner. Start at 20:04)
Modern Performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJL6RpPjU_E
(Nézet-Séguin)