James Ostryniec, oboe; Charles Wuorinen, piano; Noah Chaves, viola; David Bakkegard, horn
George Rochberg's La Bocca Della Verita (“the mouth of truth”) was written in 1958-59. The title refers to a legend that in neolithic times a shaman stood behind a huge open-mouthed mask of stone to deliver oracular sayings. The title was given to the composition after it was written, but not to suggest a program. The music is highly chromatic, consistently atonal, and observes no conventionally formal principle of structure. Instead it is a fantasia in several sections with the very last section echoing the opening phrases.
Ruth Crawford Seeger's Diaphonic Suite No. 1 was first published in New Music in 1953. Charles Seeger, in American Composers on American Music, describes the third movement as a little passacaglia with its pitch organization dictated by rotating the initial seven tone motive seven times. He characterizes the fourth movement as an organization of phraseology, where the balance of phrase lengths constitutes a successful experiment in structure. A similar organization of phraseology occurs in the first movement; the second is rhapsodic and thematic.
Ralph Shapey's Rhapsodie for oboe and piano is highly poetic in nature with haunting, sustained episodes for the oboe in contrast with more active, angular material for the piano. The dominant principle used through the composition is repetition with variation; when an event is repeated, either the motive will be slightly altered or the setting will have changed so that the effect will be new and fresh. The result is a thoroughly organized composition with a strong sense of direction.
Gunther Schuller's Trio is in three movements: the first essentially a pensive, melancholy Andante mesto relieved by a brief agitated Vivo middle section. II is a playful and lighthearted Allegretto scherzando except for a somber, poignant interlude. The last movement presents the oboe and horn in lyrical arching lines. Towards the end of the movement the music evaporates in wisps of Webernesque pointillism — the composer's first use of this style.
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Music for Oboe
| MP3/320 | $7.99 | |
| FLAC | $7.99 | |
| WAV | $7.99 | |
| CD-R | $7.99 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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La Bocca Della Verita
George Rochberg
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Diaphonic Suite No. 1: I. Scherzando
Ruth Crawford Seeger
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Diaphonic Suite No. 1: II. Andante
Ruth Crawford Seeger
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Diaphonic Suite No. 1: III. Allegro
Ruth Crawford Seeger
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Diaphonic Suite No. 1: IV.Moderato ritmico
Ruth Crawford Seeger
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Rhapsodie
Ralph Shapey
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Trio: I. Andante mesto
Gunther Schuller
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Trio: II. Allegretto scherzando
Gunther Schuller
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Trio: III. Lento e tranquillo
Gunther Schuller
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Wave Canon
Joseph Julian
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Work
Lawrence Singer
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