Author: JRC
Date: 2012-04-28 13:56
According to Geoffrey Burgess and Bruce Haynes in their book "The Oboe", Boehm oboe was created after the successful Boehm flute around 1830s. The fingering was much like the flute or sax if you wish to look at it that way. It did gave tremendous advantages in fingering agility over the older design that was evolved over centuries.
But he made the Boehm oboe with much the same acoustical tonality principle as the flute. It came out very loud and very reedy sound. The authors give a name of oboist, Lavigne, and describe him as extremely musical and unbelievable fingering. All the oboe music was simply well below his fingering ability. But audience did not like the sound. Simply too much. He had very limited followers. Buffet and Triebert and Rudall-Rose-Carte were mentioned as makers of Boehm oboes in the beginning.
Because of the sound, in spite of the fingering advantage, Boehm oboe did not become popular and therefore makers could not sustain money losing business. So it died. But later, Loree tried to bring back the fingering but the sound according to Robert Howe in his paper in the The Double Reed in early 1900 and still called it Bohem oboe. But it did not catch on as the traditional oboe was preferred by the conservative oboe community. So it did not catch on. Later Loree again tried it targeting military Band and called it a sax-fingered oboe in the 1930s. One could have bought one for $300 in America. One could even special order "sax-fingered" oboe from Loree, presumably in professional quality.
It appears that professional oboists community had been very conservative and traditional. They chose to stay with awkward fingerings of F, Bb and C and rejected the new system. I have been looking to buy a Sax-fingered oboe for many years. I could not find one yet.
On the other hand many oboist overcame the fingering awkwardness and could perform pieces of Pasculli with ease, which I just cannot do. I certainly is not a material for Pasculli for sure. With Boehm fingering, I would have much better chance, however.
Please let me know if you know any one wish to sell Boehm oboe. I am interested.
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