PROGRAM NOTES - “Too Many Oboes!”
July 2008

Gosh, is it possible to have too many oboes at one performance? Normally one might say “yes” but not when you look at tonight's specially selected repertoire of Handel, Telemann, and Mozart. Allegro's soprano double reed specialists will be put through their paces with as many as four oboes performing at one time. Sure, it would be easy to take this moment to chastise “the keeper of the tuning note A (440)” but we're all above that here at Allegro. What is the definition of a minor second?...two oboes playing in unison. Instead we respect and admire these woodwind specialists for their dedication to playing such a unique and difficult instrument. How many oboe players does it take to change a light bulb?....only one but he'll go through 30 to 40 bulbs to find one that works. It's OK, these jokes were given to me by a secure, well-humored oboist in this chamber orchestra. Actually most instruments can be substituted for oboe when going for a zingy punch line. But tonight is the oboe's night, first admitted into the orchestras of France in the year 1657. And then there's the English horn. Did you hear the one about.…

Concerto a due cori No. 1 in B-flat Major by G.F. Handel (1685-1759)

Just in case you're wondering what exactly Handel has in mind with the above compositional title, we have the orchestra as a central string group flanked by two ‘choirs' of winds. The occasion: the premiere of his great English oratorio Joshua on March 9, 1748 at Covent Garden . It's somewhat tricky to say that this was a new composition. Perhaps we'd do better to think of this as a new arrangement or transcription of earlier works. Handel liked to ‘borrow' his own (or another composer's) earlier vocal works like Messiah and Alexander Balus to re-compose an instrumental work. The strings retain more of their original guise while the woodwinds take over the music originally assigned to the oratorio singers. The double reeds go from happy woodwind “chirping” in the second movement, to representing a chorus in movement four, to strutting their virtuosic “stuff” in the closing Menuet.

Divertimento No. 1 in E-flat Major, K.113 by W.A. Mozart (1756-91)

This four-movement divertimento is of interest to Mozart groupies for many reasons. First of all, one might think of K.113 as a “foreign” piece since it was composed during November 1771 in Milan , Italy . A young Mozart had just experienced the triumph of his second operatic commission for the city, Ascanio in Alba . For the fifteen year old composer it is an important moment; the point where he ceases to be just a precociously gifted youngster, and becomes a composer with his own recognizable individuality. I know we're here to celebrate the oboe tonight and it is certainly worth noting that Mozart used two oboes and two English horns (rare) for this composition. But perhaps even more significant with the creation of this Divertimento is the fact that Mozart first wrote for the clarinet, an instrument that was to become so important to him in Vienna . On this first occasion, Mozart confines himself largely to the clarinet's bright upper register, but there are several moments that anticipate the great clarinet works to come. Listen for the beautiful melody at the start of the Andante, designed for the clarinet's best cantabile register. Hopefully this one reference away from the oboe section will not cause ill feelings among the woodwinds on this rather peaceful Saturday in July.

Septet (Concerto) for 3 oboes, 3 violins & basso continuo in B-flat Major by Georg Phillipp Telemann (1681-1767)

“Telemann composed music as easily as another man would write a letter” - Handel  

Effortless grace and spontaneous charm and yet with sturdy musical substance, this could very well sum up the compositional talents of Telemann. While Bach produced an impressive 300 cantatas, Telemann's totals are over 1,700 (two per Sunday morning). Bach left us with four orchestra suites, Telemann over two hundred. Simply put, he is the most prolific composer in history. Telemann once declined a Kapellmeister position at Kuhnau but used the job offer as leverage to secure a raise in Hamburg . ( This must be where professional athletes first learned of this ploy.) The position eventually went to a third choice, Johann Sebastian Bach. Did I mention that Telemann's mother pushed strongly for him to become a lawyer instead of a musician? Good thing I refrained from sharing lawyer jokes!

This three-movement gem is in the traditional Italian concerto form of fast, slow, fast. The first movement is very spirited, the second very pensive utilizing stress and release. The third movement has a triple meter feel that could make most folks happy and in need of a dance floor. After listening to this work several times, I couldn't help but covet this piece, wondering how it would sound with three trumpet players replacing the oboes. (This is both wishful and foolish thinking on my part.) Perhaps this is part of the Telemann magic, music that is graceful and charming.

Symphony No. 38 in D Major, “ Prague ,” K.504 W.A. Mozart

  “Mozart seems to have written for the people of Bohemia . His music is
understood nowhere better than in Prague . Even in the countryside
it is widely loved.” – The Prager Neue Zeitung

Looking back on Mozart's short life, commentators too often forget how many popular triumphs he experienced. In late 1786, Mozart took Prague by storm with his newest opera Marriage of Figaro , inciting a kind of “Figaro madness.” (Much like Lancaster experienced with Sex and the City this summer.) At the very same time, “Symphony 38” was introduced, allowing the Bohemians of Prague to assume the piece to be written on the spot for them. So what if both works were premiered a month earlier in Vienna . Mozart was much too competent of a businessman and certainly too polite to contradict the beliefs of Prague 's proud citizens.

The Symphony was penned with the brilliant wind players of Vienna in mind: a pair of flutes, OBOES, bassoons, horns, and trumpets. Timpani were also called for but please note the absence of clarinets. The two most important structural features of the Prague Symphony are, first, the expansive and somber introduction (atypical for Mozart), secondly, the absence of a minuet third movement, in the manner of the Old Italian style. Also notable are the ferocious and clashing seconds in the development of the final movement. (No really, I'm not referring to my tasteless jokes scripted earlier.) If one listens closely, it seems Mozart is hinting at certain sonorities from Marriage of Figaro , so it's tempting to speculate that he was preparing his January 19 Prague audience for the opera performance on January 20. “Mozart is Sunshine” -Dvorak

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So today we unleash the incredibly talented oboe section of Allegro, The Chamber Orchestra of Lancaster. Certainly Brian Norcross has a warm spot in his heart for the oboe, his mother and daughter both fine artists on this very difficult instrument. Thinking back on my undergraduate introductory woodwind class, I'm in awe of folks that master the oboe beyond honking out “The Snake Charmer” tune. Knowing the physical toll involved in playing this pressurized beast, and as a supporter of the arts, you might consider inviting the entire oboe section out for dinner and drinks following today's performance. Can we have too many oboes? The answer: NEVER, or at least not when in the capable hands of Handel, Telemann, and Mozart.

Doug Albert