Oboe and Piano

For Oboe and Piano, "Bombur's Dream" is a three movement work that is a wonderful recital piece.

Program notes from the composer: 

For those who may need to brush up on their dwarf-lore, Bombur was one of thirteen dwarves featured in J. R. R. Tolkien’s book, The Hobbit. Along with the title character, Bilbo Baggins, and Gandalf the wizard, Bombur and the other dwarves set out on a long and dangerous quest to recover a vast treasure which had been stolen by the dragon Smaug. Along the way, Bombur stumbled into an enchanted river and promptly fell into a deep sleep from which he could not be awakened for several days. This meant that his friends had to carry him along with all their gear. (It should be noted that Bombur had what we might call a keen appreciation for fine cuisine; because of his resulting avoirdupois he was not an easy burden to bear.)

Eventually Bombur awoke but, according to Tolkien, when he learned that there was nothing to eat, he sat down on the ground and wept. “Why did I ever wake up?” he cried. “I was having the most beautiful dreams!”

The first movement of this piece has to do with Bombur’s lovely dreams and the second with his sorrow upon awakening. The third movement, “King Under the Mountain” is a cortège for the dwarves’ officious leader, Thorin Oakenshield. Bombur’s Dream is dedicated to the composer’s wife, the oboist Susan Joyce.

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with Piano

For a few years I have been visiting the Toscana region of Italy with my daughter Sara to attend the famous conducting summer academy at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. During these trips we have enjoyed together the landscape, the culture, the architecture, the gastronomy and above all the music, our shared passion.

This work is born as a reminder of these journeys in which the music of Brahms, Wagner, Stravinsky, etc. is added to the sounds of Sara's daily study with her oboe in the apartament and the bustle in the streets of the city celebrating the famous Palio festivities.

The"Concerto Italiano" for Oboe and Band is structured in the manner of a classical concerto in three movements, alternating solo passages with the Band.

The first movement, La Toscana, is an Allegro Modetrato with a bitematical structure. The first

theme stands out for its naturalness in contrast to a more rhythmic second theme in 10/8. The cadenza shows us the oboe's skills before leading into a final coda that introduces us to what will later be the third movement.

The second movement, Siena, is an Andante affettuoso in which the oboe's emotive melody is interrupted by a sarcastic Allegro in waltz form.

The final Saltarello, represented by a well-known and charming traditional theme, is an Italian dance with a fast and joyful character, complemented by a virtuoso cadenza from the oboe.

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with Piano; solo can be played by either Oboe or B-flat Piccolo Trumpet Learn More

with Piano Learn More

with Piano: In the preface to the score the composer writes, "At the first light of day, before sunrise, the world is slowly coaxed from its slumber." With its quiet, lyrical opening and pauses, this beautiful work embodies this sense of awakening as it gradually becomes more animated and energetic. Learn More

with Piano: This work displays the oboe in a characteristically lyric, songlike style, contrasting with a more active, middle section featuring impressionistic piano arpeggios. The overall mood is one suggesting the bittersweet nostalgia of autumn. Learn More

with Piano

Lon W. Chaffin says, “This set portrays a journey of personal transformation, from solitude and questioning to discovery and interaction. It was inspired by paintings created by a friend and Texas artist, Cathie Tyler, as well as from the writing of Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden. The title of each movement depicts a phase of the journey – Solitude, Mystery, Illumination and Dialogue. The subtitles address artistic aspects of each painting as well as allude to the personal transformation.”

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with Piano: This beautiful work captures the serenity of musing by the sea. On the preface page to the score is printed the following free verse by the composer. It is suggested that the poem be narrated immediately before the performance and/or printed in the program notes to set the mood for the music: “On the shore of eternity swirling currents of liquid chaos gather for and disperse as foam. As rock wears to sand all dissonance transforms to serenity. Time presses no longer.” ©Brixton Publications Learn More

This "Sonata" for Oboe and Piano is in 3 movements and is a nice addition to the college recital repertoire.  The movements are:

I. Prelude

II. Rondo

III. Fantasia

Program notes from the composer:

Brian Joyce’s two sonatas, one for oboe and piano, the other for flute and piano (also published by Cimarron Music Press) are sister works. Both were written in 1971 when Joyce was an undergrad composition major in college and both are reflective of the seasons in which they were composed: the flute sonata, written in Spring, is fresh, expansive and tuneful while the oboe sonata, composed the following September, has a more burnished autumnal quality. About the oboe sonata the composer writes:

“My intention in this sonata was to write a more tightly and economically constructed work than the flute sonata of the previous Spring, while trying out some new ideas I had been considering. The oboe sonata breaks the traditional mold immediately by putting its slow movement first, following it with a galloping rondo, and saving its longest, most complex movement for last.  This third movement has a symmetrical arch-like form in which the key centers of each successive principal section rise by minor thirds. This puts the central slow section (equidistant from both ends of the movement) at a tritone away from the movement’s ostensible key. There is also quite a bit of dabbling with metric modulation and non-tertian harmony. The Sonata was revised in 1992 and received its premiere in November 1993. At that time, the piece was older than I was when I first wrote it.”

The sonata is dedicated to the composer’s wife, the oboist Susan Joyce. 

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Violin, Flute, Oboe, Viola or Cello solo with Organ Learn More

Trumpet or Oboe with Organ or Harpsichord

Subtitled "Sequence" Learn More

Variants on “Our God Almighty”

Trombone or Bassoon or Oboe Solo with Organ

or

Trombone/Bassoon Duet and Organ

or

Oboe and Trombone/Bassoon Duet and Organ Learn More

with Piano; Written for Dr. Richard Kravchak, this three movement work is a challenging work for an advanced high school or college aged player. Learn More

unaccompanied

Stuff is the first of four recital pieces commissioned by and dedicated to 78 adventure-seeking tubists representing 30 states and three countries, who fearlessly joined the 2001 Solstice/Equinox Commissioning Consortium. As each solstice and equinox approached during the year 2001, a new piece was sent out to the participants. All four pieces (Stuff, High Autumn, Just a Thought and Endorphins) now exist in multiple versions for orchestral and band instruments and are programmed frequently at conferences and on student and faculty recitals throughout the year.

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with Piano

Composer Mike D’Ambrosio says, “Super Groove was commissioned by oboist Celeste Johnson Frehner (Oklahoma State University) and was premiered in April 2012. After I sent Celeste an early draft of the piece (about half done at that time), her first response was “This is super groovy!” and thus the title was born. For my part, I was trying to bring together my worlds as composer and music theory professor by taking some of the fun theory topics I get to teach (sonata form, chromatic mediants, ostinato, polyrhythms, and set theory) and squeezing them into a driving, energetic, and highly rhythmic texture. The piece is extremely fun to play and has been very well received by audiences.”

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