Oboe

From Freepedia

For other meanings of oboe see Oboe (disambiguation).
Image:Hobo.jpg

The oboe is a musical instrument of the woodwind double reed family. It is a descendant of the shawm. The word "oboe" is derived from the French word hautbois, meaning "high wood". It is so-named because of the instrument's rather high and reedy sound. A musician who plays the oboe is called an oboist. Careful manipulation of embouchure and air pressure allows the player to express a huge range of emotions and moods.

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The instrument

Compared to woodwind instruments such as the flute or clarinet, the oboe is difficult to play and produce a good sound (tone) on. Amateur players often produce a nasal (often out-of-tune) and strident tone that is difficult to blend with other instruments. However, the advanced oboist can produce a rich, warm, and beautiful tone.

In comparison to other modern woodwind instruments, the oboe has a very clear and somewhat piercing tone, owing to the fact that it emphasizes the odd harmonics.[1] Its uniquely penetrating timbre gives it the ability to cut through and be audible over other instruments in large ensembles, making it easy to tune to. Orchestras usually set the pitch (tune) by listening to the oboe playing concert A (earlier 440 Hz everywhere, now only in the United States; in Europe mostly 442 Hz and 443 Hz in Germany). Setting the pitch of the oboe is achieved by changing the position of the reed in the instrument, also by permanently altering the scrape of the reed itself. Subtle changes in pitch are also possible by adjusting the embouchure.

Baroque oboe

The oboe first appeared in French courts around 1650. In the 17th century Jean Hotteterre and Michel Danican Philidor modified the shawm, so that the new oboe had a narrower bore and a reed which is held by the player's lips near the end. Henry Purcell was the first composer to specifically score for it and Johann Sebastian Bach wrote extensively for it. It was the main melody instrument in early military bands until ousted by the clarinet.

Baroque oboes were generally made from boxwood or fruit wood, with a wider bore and wider reed than the modern instrument, giving it a "creamier" and more clarinet-like timbre. In the Baroque era the oboe had two brass keys, one the C-key and the other the E♭-key. This instrument had no C♯4 nor were there octave-keys. Notes in the successive octaves were reached through overblowing. Notable oboe-makers of that period are the German Denner and the English Stanesby. The range for the Baroque oboe extends from C4 to E♭6. In the 20th century, a few makers began producing new Baroque oboes to specifications from surviving historical instruments, for use in the performance of early music.

Image:Baroque oboe.jpg

The Classical oboe

Later, in the classical period, the oboe became outfitted with eight keys, among them the so-called G♯-key and the long-awaited octave-key, which allowed the player to play in the higher ranges without overblowing the instrument. The range for the Classical oboe extends from C4 to F6.


Modern oboe

The modern oboe is most commonly made from grenadilla (or African blackwood) and some manufacturers also make oboes out of other members of the dalbergia family of wood (cocobolo; rosewood; violetwood), or high-quality plastic resin. The oboe has an extremely narrow conical bore. The oboe does not have a mouthpiece like the clarinet or saxophone, instead it has a double-reed consisting of two thin blades of cane tied together on a small-diameter metal tube (staple). The reed is held on the lips. The commonly accepted range for the oboe extends from B♭3 to G6, over two and a half octaves, though its common tessitura lies from D4 to E♭6. Together with the flute/recorder it is one of the oldest woodwind instruments.

The modern oboe has more than 20 keys, usually silver-plated (rarely gold-plated). The oboe is fingered similar to the flute and saxophone. The modern oboe mechanism is mainly of two types: (a) the French conservatoire system and (b) the English thumbplate system. There is also a combination system whereas the French system has a thumbplate added.

Other members of the oboe family

The oboe has several siblings. The most widely known today is the cor anglais, or English horn, the alto member of the family. A transposing instrument, it is pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the standard oboe. The oboe d'amore, the mezzo-soprano member of the family, is pitched in A, a minor third lower than the oboe. J.S. Bach used both the oboe d'amore (as well as the taille and oboe da caccia, Baroque antecedents of the cor anglais) extensively. Even less common is the baritone or bass oboe, which sounds one octave lower than the regular oboe. Delius and Holst both scored for it, but today it is almost a museum piece. Instead, the more powerful heckelphone is used. The least common of all is the musette (also called oboe musette or piccolo oboe), the sopranino member of the family; it is usually pitched in E-flat or F above the standard oboe.

Keyless folk versions of the oboe (most descended from the shawm) are found throughout Europe. These include the musette and bombarde (France), the piffero and ciaramella (Italy), and the xirimia (Spain). Many of these are played in tandem with local forms of bagpipe. Similar oboe-like instruments, most believed to derive from Middle Eastern models, are also found throughout Asia as well as in North Africa.

Classical works featuring the oboe

The oboe in non-classical genres

While the oboe is rather rarely used in musical genres other than Western classical, there have been a few notable exceptions like Rondò Veneziano directed by Gian Piero Reverberi.

Traditional and folk music

Although keyless folk oboes are still used in many European folk music traditions, the modern oboe has been little used in traditional music. One exception was the late Derek Bell, harpist for the Irish group Chieftains, who used the instrument in some performances and recordings. The U.S. contra dance band Wild Asparagus, based in western Massachusetts, also uses the oboe, played by David Cantieni.

Jazz

Although the oboe never featured prominently in jazz music, some early bands, most notably that of Paul Whiteman, included it for coloristic purposes. Though primarily a tenor saxophone player, Yusef Lateef was among the first (in 1963) to use the instrument in jazz performances and recordings. The 1980's saw an increasing number of oboists try their hand at non-classical work, and many players of note have recorded and performed alternative music on oboe.

Other oboists performing in non-classical genres

Famous oboists

See this list of oboists.

Fictional oboist

Oboe manufacturers

A majority of professional oboists favor instruments made by the French company F. Lorée, long considered the premier oboe maker, with other firms producing the instrument including Laubin (United States), Howarth (England), and Patricola (Italy). Following is a list of the major oboe manufacturers.

Notes

  1. ^  This is in contrast to the clarinet, whose tone emphasizes the even-numbered harmonics, giving it a very mellow timbre.

External links

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