Introducing the Orchestra: The Woodwind Section
There are a lot of different ways to listen to Classical Music. A lot of trained musicians and serious music lovers pay a great deal of attention to the way different pieces of music are structured, often going so far as to sit in their special music-listening chair holding a copy of the printed score, and following the orchestra note for note. I’ve tried this a couple of times, and it’s more fun than it sounds, but not by much. When I first started listening to Classical Music, it was the amazing sounds produced by the orchestra that caught my attention. A modern orchestra playing the music of the Late Romantic Era (late 1800s) can produce an incredibly dense and complicated web of sound that is almost impossible to unravel. One of the rewards of listening in the way that I am about to recommend is that these rich tapestries become more decipherable. Another potential reward is that you’ll be able to say things like “The way that the melody moves from the lower strings through the violins and into the oboes sends shivers down my spine,” which might help you to score with smart people.
What I am recommending is that you try training your ear to pick out the sounds of the various instruments of the orchestra. In my opinion, the easiest way to do this is to listen to chamber music or concertos that feature specific instruments. Chamber Music is music that is written for very small groups of instruments. Popular forms of chamber music include duets for pairs of instruments, one of which is very often a piano, trios for three instruments, quartets for four instrument, and quintets for five. Sonatas can be written for solo instruments, for instruments in duet with a piano, or even for instruments with a small group of accompanists. A concerto is a composition that is written for an orchestra and either one solo instrument or a small group of instruments. Listening to certain concertos and chamber pieces can help you to understand how the different instruments sound, while also exposing you to some of the most gorgeous music ever written.
In jazz, the musicians who are usually considered the best are those who have worked long and hard to develop their own original and distinctive sound. In classical music, the musicians are generally aspiring to create a kind of ideal sound and there is less value placed on originality. What I’m going to do here is give a brief description of each of the major woodwind instruments, and recommend a few pieces of music that feature the instrument, and a couple of musicians whose sound and technical ability are widely admired.
The Key Woodwind Instruments
The Flute
The flute is a small instrument, usually silver, that is held sideways to the mouth and played by blowing across the mouthpiece. The principle is similar to making a sound by blowing across the mouth of a coke bottle. The low notes on a flute sound smooth, soft, and warm, and the sound becomes progressively brighter and more brilliant and lively as the notes get higher.
The piccolo is essentially a smaller flute that plays an octave (eight tones) higher, with a sound that is bright almost to the point of being shrill. The alto flute is a larger instrument that is pitched lower, with a soft and mellow sound.
The Baroque composer George Handel wrote some wonderful Flute Sonatas. Mozart wrote Flute Concertos and Flute Quartets (for three string instruments and one flute, not for four flutes). His Flute and Harp Concerto is one of the loveliest pieces of music that has ever been written. If you prefer crazy modern music, Edgar Varese’s Density 21.5, written specifically for platinum flute, is worth seeking out.
Simon Preston and Lisa Beznosiuk are masters of the wooden Baroque flute. Jean-Pierre Rampal, James Galloway, William Bennett, and Emmanuel Pahud are all much admired for their proficiency on the modern version of the instrument.
The Oboe
Oboes are usually made of wood. Oboes are a double reed instrument, which means that sound is made by causing two pieces of cane to vibrate against each other. The sound of the instrument is thin and nasal, but it can be hauntingly beautiful in the right hands. It is a good instrument to use when trying to create a melancholy mood, or when trying to evoke the feeling of being out in the country.
The oboe d’amore, pitched a little lower, was a popular instrument in Bach’s day. The English horn, or cor angelis is pitched lower still, and it has a haunting and mournful tone that is suitable for long melodic lines.
Albinoni, Handel, Bach, Mozart, and Richard Strauss have all written very nice concertos for the instrument. Strauss’ in particular takes full advantage of the range of expression that is possible on the oboe. I also enjoy the chamber music featuring the oboe written by French composers Camille Saint-Saens and Francis Poulenc. Brahms’ Violin Concerto has a nice English horn solo at the beginning of the slow movement.
David Reichenberg has made some very good recordings with Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert. Robert Bloom, Neil Black, Anthony Camden, and Heinz Holliger are all highly respected oboists.
The Clarinet
Copland and Goodman
The clarinet is a single-reed instrument, which means that the sound is made by making a piece of cane vibrate against a mouthpiece. The clarinet is easier to play than the oboe, and it is capable of making a greater variety of sounds. Orchestral clarinettists usually strive for the purest and cleanest sound possible.
The soprano clarinet is the most common, but there are also alto and bass clarinets. The bass clarinet is pitched an octave lower than the soprano and it had a nice, fat, round sound.
Mozart’s wrote a lot of chamber music for the bassett clarinet, which is lower in pitch and greatly expressive. Beethoven’s Clarinet Trio, Schumann’s Fantisiestucke, and Brahms’ Quintet are all great pieces. 20th Century American composer Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto demonstrates the deeply sad and moving side of the instrument.
Anthony Pay is one of my favourite musicians, jazz legend Benny Goodman made some fine classical recordings, and Robert Marcellus, Thea King, David Schifrin, and Richard Stoltzman are all great clarinet players.
The Bassoon
Thunemann
The Bassoon is a long, narrow double reed instrument that is also usually made of wood. It is much larger than the oboe and it has a deep tone that can be dolorous and sorrowful or bouncy and jocular.
Vivaldi, Telemann, Mozart and Weber all wrote concertos for the instrument that are great fun to listen to, but the sound of the bassoon is probably most commonly heard in Paul Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, as featured in Disney’s Fantasia.
Bernard Garfield, Klaus Thunemann, and Gwydion Brooke have all made recordings that amply illustrate the bassoon’s expressive range.
The Saxophone
Sax on the Beach included a blues version of Ravel’s Bolero
There are only a few compositions that call for one of the many saxophones. Maurice Ravel’s orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition contains a great saxophone line in the section called “The Old Castle.” Branford Marsalis and Eugene Rousseau have both made excellent recordings of classical pieces featuring the instrument.
The Recorder
The recorder was a very popular instrument from the 15th through the early 18th Centuries. David Munrow and Frans Bruggen stand among the best exponents of this underrated instrument.
Pimp Section
If you haven’t already, I heartily recommend that you check out The Swindle Sheet, Bootleg, More Reasons, the Music News, The Comics Nexus, and Alex Lucard.
Next Week: MORE JAZZ
