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Oboe: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Oboe
The oboe has been described by professional players and devotees as an instrument invented by a sadist, a characterization that speaks to the immense difficulty of mastering its sound. Unlike the flute or clarinet, which can produce a tone with relative ease, the oboe demands a precise, high-pressure airstream to vibrate two thin blades of cane tied together. This double reed is the heart of the instrument's identity, creating a sound that is bright, penetrating, and often compared to that of a duck if the duck were a songbird. The physical effort required to play the instrument is legendary, with the embouchure and air pressure needing constant, subtle manipulation to maintain pitch and tone. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that the reed itself is a fragile, handcrafted component that dictates the instrument's response, making the oboe a unique challenge where the player must constantly negotiate with the physical properties of the cane. The instrument's reputation for being technically awkward and sounding like a wild duck during the first three years of learning has earned it nicknames such as the melancholy reed and the ill wind that blows no good, yet it remains a cornerstone of the orchestral world.
From Zurna to Hautbois
The origins of the oboe stretch back centuries before the Spanish and Portuguese conquests in the New World, with roots linked to ancient reed instruments from Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome. The instrument reappeared in Europe in the 13th century, brought by the Arabic zurna, which itself was influenced by Turko-Arabic traditions. The modern oboe, known as the hautbois, emerged in France during the 17th century, evolving from the shawm, a predecessor that featured a wooden ledge called a pirouette below the reed. The transition to the hautbois involved dividing the instrument into three sections or joints, allowing for more precise manufacture and the elimination of the pirouette. The exact date and location of this evolution remain obscure, with circumstantial evidence pointing to members of the Philidor and Hotteterre families as potential inventors. The name hautbois, meaning high-pitched woodwind, was borrowed from the French and later transliterated into English as oboe. This new instrument quickly spread throughout Europe, including Great Britain, where it was known by various names such as hautboy, hoboy, and hautboit. It became the main melody instrument in early military bands until it was eventually succeeded by the clarinet.
The Baroque and Classical Evolution
The standard Baroque oboe was generally made of boxwood and featured three keys, including a great key and two side keys that could be doubled to facilitate use by either hand. To produce higher pitches, players had to overblow, increasing the air stream to reach the next harmonic. Notable makers of the period included the Germans Jacob Denner and J.H. Eichentopf, and the English Thomas Stanesby and his son Thomas Jr. The range for the Baroque oboe comfortably extended from C4 to D6. The Classical period brought a regular oboe whose bore was gradually narrowed, and the instrument became outfitted with several keys, including those for the notes D, F, and G. A key similar to the modern octave key was added, called the slur key, which was initially used more like the flick keys on the modern German bassoon. The narrower bore allowed higher notes to be played more easily, and composers began to use the oboe's upper register more often in their works. The range for the Classical oboe extended from C4 to F6, though some German and Austrian oboes were capable of playing one half-step lower. Several Classical-era composers wrote concertos for oboe, including Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, with Mozart composing the solo concerto in C major K. 314/285d and a fragment of F major concerto K. 417f.
Who invented the oboe and when did it emerge in France?
The modern oboe known as the hautbois emerged in France during the 17th century. Circumstantial evidence points to members of the Philidor and Hotteterre families as potential inventors of this instrument.
What is the standard range of the oboe and how many octaves does it cover?
The commonly accepted range for the oboe extends from B3 to about G6 over two and a half octaves. The common tessitura lies from C4 to E6.
What material is the standard oboe made from today?
The modern standard oboe is most commonly made from grenadilla also known as African blackwood. Some manufacturers also make oboes out of other species of the genus Dalbergia which includes cocobolo rosewood and violetwood.
Why is the oboe used to tune the orchestra?
The oboe is widely recognized as the instrument that tunes the orchestra with its distinctive A. The pitch is secure and its penetrating sound makes it ideal for tuning.
What is the difference between the oboe and the cor anglais?
The cor anglais or English horn is the alto member of the family and is pitched in F a perfect fifth lower than the oboe. The oboe d'amore is the mezzo-soprano member of the family and is pitched in A a minor third lower than the oboe.
Most professional oboists make their own reeds to suit their individual needs, a process that is difficult and time-consuming but allows for precise control over tone color, intonation, and responsiveness. The reed is considered the part of the oboe that makes the instrument so difficult because the individual nature of each reed means that it is hard to achieve a consistent sound. Slight variations in temperature, humidity, altitude, weather, and climate can also have an effect on the sound of the reed, as well as minute changes in the physique of the reed. Oboists often prepare several reeds to achieve a consistent sound, as well as to prepare for environmental factors such as chipping of a reed or other hazards. The reed is made from Arundo donax cane, and commercial reeds are available in several degrees of hardness, with a medium reed being very popular. Novice oboists rarely make their own reeds, as the process is difficult and time-consuming, and frequently purchase reeds from a music store instead. As oboists gain more experience, they may start making their own reeds after the model of their teacher or buying handmade reeds and using special tools including gougers, pre-gougers, guillotines, shaper tips, knives, and other tools to make and adjust reeds to their liking. Plastic oboe reeds are rarely used, and are less readily available than plastic reeds for other instruments, such as the clarinet, though they do exist and are produced by brands such as Legere.
The Family of Woodwinds
The standard oboe has several siblings of various sizes and playing ranges, forming a diverse family of instruments. The most widely known and used today is the cor anglais, or English horn, which is the alto member of the family and is pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the oboe. The oboe d'amore, the mezzo-soprano member of the family, is pitched in A, a minor third lower than the oboe. J.S. Bach made extensive use of both the oboe d'amore as well as the taille and oboe da caccia, Baroque antecedents of the cor anglais. Less common is the bass oboe, also called baritone oboe, which sounds one octave lower than the oboe. Delius, Strauss, and Holst scored for the instrument. Similar to the bass oboe is the more powerful heckelphone, which has a wider bore and larger tone than the baritone oboe. Only 165 heckelphones have ever been made, and competent heckelphone players are difficult to find due to the extreme rarity of this particular instrument. The least common of all are the musette, also called oboe musette or piccolo oboe, the sopranino member of the family, and the contrabass oboe, typically pitched in C, two octaves deeper than the standard oboe. Folk versions of the oboe, sometimes equipped with extensive keywork, are found throughout Europe, including the musette in France, the piston oboe and bombarde in Brittany, the piffero and ciaramella in Italy, and the xirimia in Spain.
The Voice of Film and Jazz
The oboe is frequently featured in film music, often to underscore a particularly poignant or emotional scene. One of the most prominent uses of the oboe in a film score is Ennio Morricone's Gabriel's Oboe theme from the 1986 film The Mission. It is also featured as a solo instrument in the theme Across the Stars from the John Williams score to the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, and in the Love Theme in Nino Rota's score to The Godfather from 1972. In the realm of jazz, the oboe remains uncommon, but there have been notable uses of the instrument. Some early bands in the 1920s and 1930s, most notably that of Paul Whiteman, included it for coloristic purposes. The multi-instrumentalist Garvin Bushell played the oboe in jazz bands as early as 1924 and used the instrument throughout his career, eventually recording with John Coltrane in 1961. Dave Wild Gil Evans featured oboe in sections of his famous Sketches of Spain collaboration with trumpeter Miles Davis. Yusef Lateef was among the first to use the oboe as a solo instrument in modern jazz performances and recordings in 1961. With the birth of jazz fusion in the late 1960s, the oboe became somewhat more prominent, replacing on some occasions the saxophone as the focal point. The oboe was used with great success by the Welsh multi-instrumentalist Karl Jenkins in his work with the groups Nucleus and Soft Machine, and by the American woodwind player Paul McCandless, co-founder of the Paul Winter Consort and later Oregon.
The Tuning of the Orchestra
The oboe is widely recognized as the instrument that tunes the orchestra with its distinctive A. According to the League of American Orchestras, this is done because the pitch is secure and its penetrating sound makes it ideal for tuning. The pitch of the oboe is affected by the way in which the reed is made, and variations in cane and other construction materials, the age of the reed, and differences in scrape and length all affect the pitch. German and French reeds, for instance, differ in many ways, causing the sound to vary accordingly. Weather conditions such as temperature and humidity also affect the pitch. Skilled oboists adjust their embouchure to compensate for these factors. Subtle manipulation of embouchure and air pressure allows the oboist to express timbre and dynamics. The commonly accepted range for the oboe extends from B3 to about G6, over two and a half octaves, though its common tessitura lies from C4 to E6. Some student oboes do not have a B key and only extend down to B3. The modern standard oboe is most commonly made from grenadilla, also known as African blackwood, although some manufacturers also make oboes out of other species of the genus Dalbergia, which includes cocobolo, rosewood, and violetwood. Ebony has also been used, and student model oboes are often made from plastic resin to make the instrument cheaper and more durable. Conservation efforts in Africa and Central America have contributed to rising costs for grenadilla, cocobolo, and rosewood.