O for an Oboe
Featured artist for this concert is baroque oboist Jane Downer, Oxford-based these days. Performing regularly with many European orchestras and ensembles she nevertheless finds time to return to her roots in Australia where she is highly regarded for her exceptional skill and knowledge of Bach. With Thoroughbass’ regular members Shaun Ng (viola da gamba) and Diana Weston (harpsichord) she reveals new aspects of the familiar and the not-so-familiar in works by JS Bach, CPE Bach, Albinoni and others.
The Rose Room, 51F Sunninghill Ave, Burradoo, Saturday May 14 4 pm
St Luke’s Church, Ourimbah Rd, Mosman, Sunday May 15 3 pm
Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1750) Sonata in do maggiore per oboe e basso continuo
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Trio Sonata No. 3 in D minor BWV 527
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) Sonata in G minor for Viola da gamba and Harpsichord Wq 88 Helm 510:
Alessandro Besozzi (1702-1793) Sonata per oboe e fagotto obbligati
Jean-Baptiste Batistin (or Stuck) (c. 1705-?) Duo for Oboe & Bassoon arranged from the cantata Héraclite et Démocrite
J.S. Bach’s Trio Sonata in D minor was originally intended for oboe, violin and basso continuo. In this version, the violin’s part is played in the right hand of the harpsichord with the continuo part solely by the viola da gamba. While Bach may not have written this sonata for this combination of instruments, nevertheless, his three sonatas for gamba and harpsichord are very similar, so there is some justification in adopting this approach. The ‘trio’ of the sonata refers to the number of parts, not the number of instruments (which could be 2 as in this arrangement, or 4 if the original, the continuo being a pair – often harpsichord and gamba or cello).
C.P.E. Bach, always a great admirer of his father’s musicianship despite the elder’s style falling out of fashion, follows suit with his Sonata for Viola da gamba and Harpsichord. The presence of the two treble lines, in effect contrapuntal writing, necessitates clear diction and interconnections between the players. C.P.E.’s reputation as a highly emotive composer is borne out handsomely in this sonata, especially the Larghetto – guaranteed to have his audience in tears.
Long-lived Jean Baptiste Stuck’s Duo for oboe and bassoon is another piece transformed. It started out as a long cantata Héraclite et Démocrite, in which one character represents optimism, the other pessimism – equally apt as the soulful oboe and mournful gamba.
The sonata by Albinoni is in standard ‘continuo’ style – a predominant solo part with accompaniment by a continuo group consisting, in this case, of harpsichord and gamba. But equally effectively – organ or cello could be used depending on availability and suitability. The same method could be used for Besozzi’s sonata, but his subtext ‘per oboe e fagotto obbligati’ suggests otherwise (i.e. a duet with no chordal accompaniment), as does the florid nature of the melodic bass part. Once again gamba seems a suitable substitute for bassoon.