The romantic composers
did not do very well by the oboe, so
a disc of 19th century music
for oboe and harp must, of necessity,
cast its net rather wide. For this disk
the principal oboe of the Stuttgart
Radio Symphony Orchestra performs a
rather slight piece by Donizetti alongside
more substantial pieces by lesser known
composers – Frenchmen Robert Nicolas
Charles Bochsa and Henri Brod and Italian
Antonio Pasculli. Not surprisingly both
Pasculli and Brod were oboe virtuosi
and Bochsa was a harp virtuoso and son
of an oboe player, so writing for the
instrument was almost inevitable in
each case.
Donizetti’s Andante
Sostenuto is a charming miniature,
a cantabile cavatina that emulates an
operatic aria. But it leaves one feeling
a little unsatisfied, wishing the cavatina
had had its cabaletta as well.
Bochsa’s father was
both an oboist and a music publisher.
Bochsa himself became Royal harpist
in 1813 and managed to maintain his
position even after the return of the
Bourbons. Dodgy business deals seem
to have forced him to flee to England
where he was a teacher and soloist.
In 1839 he ran away with the wife of
the conductor Bishop and the wayward
pair led a vagrant life, Bochsa eventually
dying in Australia. Amongst the many
concert works that he wrote are the
Three Nocturnes Opus 50 for harp
and oboe. The piece is rather like an
operatic pot-pourri, though some of
the themes are explored in a sequence
of variations.
Henri Brod seems to
have been a far more sedate figure.
Younger than Bochsa, he died at the
early age of 37. He was a teacher at
the Paris Conservatory, a famous oboe
virtuoso and author of the ‘Grande méthode
complète pour le hautbois’. He
wrote two Nocturnes for piano
(or harp) and oboe. The emotional Introduction
is followed by an attractive theme and
variations including a variation using
the theme from the introduction in a
minor key. The piece ends with a waltz.
Pasculli was born in
Palermo. He taught oboe and cor anglais
as well as appearing as a virtuoso all
over Italy. He seems to have written
many fantasies on the popular Italian
and French operas of his day and this
Homage to Bellini includes themes
from ‘Il Pirata’ and ‘La Sonnambula’.
The use of cor anglais gives a welcome
change of timbre, though the form of
the Homage is essentially another
pot-pourri.
The Donizetti piece
opens with a long-breathed cantabile
theme for the oboe, supported by arpeggios
in the harp. This basic texture is repeated
throughout all of the pieces on the
disc. The music generally lacks development;
where a theme is explored it is usually
through a sequence of variations. This
combined with the rather similar texture
of the pieces means that the basic musical
material is slight, though charming,
and can lack variety. In such cases,
the performers’ ability to add colouration
and depth is important. Lencses makes
a wonderfully rich and mellifluous sound
on both the oboe and cor anglais, but
both he and Talitman play with a rather
unvarying tone. Though talented and
possessed of fine techniques, they don’t
quite present the pieces in the best
light possible.
This is a charming
record of admittedly slight musical
material. Admirers of this genre or
this combination of instruments should
have not trouble enjoying it.
Robert Hugill
Lajos Lencses (oboe and Cor Anglais) 