Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2011-03-22 04:20
I played the clarinet for something like 47 years, and hated every day of it. It never spoke to me. Didn't feel right. Didn't sound right. Didn't have the literature I liked. My parents had chosen it for me when I was a kid, and that was that. I would have liked to have switched to oboe early on, but it was not in the cards.
About six years ago, going on seven now, I had sort of an epiphany. "In which lifetime," the little voice in my head asked, "did you intend to play the oboe? Because if it's this one, you'd better get busy!"
So I did. And I am glad. The oboe suits me ever so much better than the clarinet ever did. It is moody like I am, and I do love the little (and sometimes big) solo licks that I get. (Here's one of the really big ones: Italian in Algiers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l__q96RpeW8) I get just an indescribable kick hearing that sound emerge from the mix and float above it all.
I also started playing Cor Anglais about four years ago. That has likewise been a very gratifying experience. If oboe players are somewhat uncommon commodities, the Cor Anglais player (at least, somebody who actually owns one!) is downright scarce. What has been very cool is that the directors I am playing for, knowing that they have the Cor available, will chose repertoire to feature it. Just did Alfred Reed's "Russian Christmas Music," which has to be the biggest Cor piece in all of the wind ensemble literature, and the Dudamel Danzon #2, in the version that has a verse featuring the Cor. Whee!
Susan
Post Edited (2011-03-22 04:33)
|
|
The Oboe BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
