Author: cjwright
Date: 2006-11-26 20:01
"Vibrato has obviously evolved to a much more relaxed type of sound thanks to Tabueau, but the Dutch and English schools prefers to retain the singing quality of the Stotijin and Goosens tradition."
I would disagree with you on this point, on the basis that Tabuteau had an extreme billy-goat vibrato that never really changed throughout the years. I have his old Casals Festival CDs which were made in the 60s (Mozart Divertimento, Bach Violin/Oboe Concerto) and the Boston Records Tabuteau Lessons and his vibrato doesn't seem that different between the two.
Vibrato certainly has become more relaxed, but I'm not sure why.
All of this is assuming you meant Tabuteau, not Tabueau.
As of recently, (and I'm not sure if it's attributed to Robinson, Mack, or Killmer, or all of the above,) it seems the figures of gouging are closer to a .58-.60 in the middle and .48-.50 on the sides. The idea is thicker sides produce more stability and bigger openings/sound. I know the Ross machines are tuned to .58/.50 and the RDGs were tuned for .58/.48.
My Disclaimer: Mr. Weber scolded me for "throwing around numbers" as he vehemently warned me that numbers mean very little, but it's the curvature of the gouging blade which determines the stability/opening of the reed, which I would agree with. However, for our "ballpark, oldschool" concept, I'm just quoting these numbers to give a general idea.
I think de Lancie purists still stick to .60-.45, however I don't think there are many de Lancie purists left. Even Woodhams isn't very de Lancie-ish in his tone color and ring. (but that comment might get me in trouble with folks out there.)
"Let's see.. I recently bought a RDG to upgrade my Graf, some time back switched from Loree to Covey for oboe ( still Loree e-horn), used to attend De Lancie lectures and concerts around D.C., went to the Mack summer camp in 1980, and used to listen to Mack's Crystal recordings at least once a week for about 20 years."
I think this is the general trend of many oboists nowadays. The nice thing now is that we simply have so many options for equipment nowadays. Joe used to say the reason why Mack insisted on Grafs were:
1. There weren't many others out there readily available in the states.
2. They were cheap (like $100 back in the day)
3. They were adjustable in many ways (could adjust the sides with offset blade)
4. They forced students to play around with gouging
Nowadays, there are many available, there are NO cheap gouging machines (Ross is the cheapest I've found, but it doesn't allow you to adjust the sides) several allow you the adjust the sides (graf, Barr, Opus 1, and the Ferillo but its $1400!), and students can play around with all of them.
Furthermore, as you mentioned, there are so many great oboes out there to play around with, Loree has lost its grip as the "premiere" oboe.
Just a note, and this might raise a LOT of controversy, (and if so, people should start another thread on it, but since we're talking about the "darkening" of the American sound,) but part of the reason why Loree oboes have gone out of fashion as the "premiere" oboe is that they weren't built to have the "darkened" tone that everyone nowadays is running around looking for. Laubins and Marigauxs are some of the darkest instruments I've tried, and I believe are made with that concept in mind. The Loree, on the other hand, was famous not as "the best oboe in the world" but for having "The Loree Ringing sound," the concept that with the correct reed and a Loree, you can have the most "ringing, singing" tone/sound in your playing. People now say that this is a myth, but it is quite evidenced in Tabuteau's recordings, along with some recordings of de Lancie. That "Loree ringing sound" was the brightness that so many oboists now turn away from! It seems that the majority of North America has now turned away from the Loree Ringing sound and driven itself straight up the "muffled clarinet" road as Gillet put it.
I am a huge de Lancie fan, and I listen to his Mozart Concerto/Sinfonia Concertante/Strauss/Ibert/Francaix recordings at least once a week. But I frequently wonder: If de Lancie tried to get a professional job in an orchestra today, would he win? I doubt he would win in one of the Big Five (Philly, NY, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago). From everything that I've heard about him, he was extremely uncompromising when it came to his sound/tone/vibrato/pitch placement, and didn't give a darn about what others thought, so I doubt he would adjust to what the orchestra wanted.
Oh geez, again I ramble like an old man.
Blog, An Oboe In Paradise
Solo Oboe, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra
Post Edited (2006-11-26 20:25)
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