UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

Date: 5-May-2010

I, Mary L Campbell Bailey , hereby submit this original work as part of the requirements for the degree of: Doctor of Musical Arts in It is entitled: Léon Goossens’s Impact on Twentieth-Century English Oboe Repertoire:

Phantasy Quartet of , for Oboe and Strings of

Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Sonata for Oboe of Student Signature: Mary L Campbell Bailey

This work and its defense approved by: Committee Chair: Mark Ostoich, DMA Mark Ostoich, DMA

6/6/2010 727 Léon Goossens’s Impact on Twentieth-century English Oboe Repertoire: of Benjamin Britten, Concerto for Oboe and Strings of , and Sonata for Oboe of York Bowen

A document submitted to the

The Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

in the Performance Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of

24 May 2010

by

Mary Lindsey Campbell Bailey

592 Catskill Court Grand Junction, CO 81507 [email protected]

M.M., University of Cincinnati, 2004

B.M., University of South Carolina, 2002

Committee Chair: Mark S. Ostoich, D.M.A. Abstract

Léon Goossens (1897–1988) was an English oboist considered responsible for restoring the oboe as a solo instrument. During the Romantic era, the oboe was used mainly as an orchestral instrument, not as the solo instrument it had been in the Baroque and Classical eras. A lack of virtuoso oboists and compositions by major composers helped prolong this status.

Goossens became the first English oboist to make a career as a full-time soloist and commissioned many British composers to write works for him.

This document examines the result of Goossens’s impact on his contemporaries and

English oboe literature by focusing on Benjamin Britten’s Phantasy Quartet, Ralph Vaughan

Williams’s Concerto for Oboe and Strings, and York Bowen’s Sonata for Oboe. In addition, it explores why Goossens’s playing style was so different than his predecessors, as well as how it shaped the compositions written for him. Each work examined shows the characteristics of

Goossens’s style found in the work and discusses the resulting influence it had on English oboe literature.

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my thanks to Dr. Mark Ostoich, who served not only as my advisor but also as my primary teacher since 2003. I would also like to thank Dr. bruce d. mcclung and Professor Rodney Winther who have served as my reading committee through this process.

I want to particularly thank my parents who have always stood behind me and have encouraged me to keep going even when I did not want to.

I would like to sincerely thank my husband, Jason, for his tireless enthusiasm for this project as well as for my success.

I extend my thanks to my former teachers Dr. Rebecca Schalk Nagel for her guidance,

Tess Miller for her kindness and inspiration, and Frank Miley for both introducing me to

Goossens and for being there for me when I need him.

Finally, I would like to thank the publishing houses of Boosey & Hawkes,

University Press, and Novello for allowing me to reprint excerpts from the three pieces discussed in this paper. COPYRIGHT PERMISSIONS

Bowen, York. Sonata for Oboe and Pianoforte, Op. 85 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by permission.

Britten, Benjamin. Phantasy, Op. 2 © Copyright 1935 by Hawkes & Son () Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd. Used by permission.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Concerto for Oboe and Strings © 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Table of Contents

PREFACE...... 1

CHAPTER

1. BRITISH MUSIC AND THE OBOE ...... 3

The Land Without Music ...... 3

Folksong in English Music...... 8

Oboe Music in before 1930 ...... 12

2.GOOSSENS’S INFLUENCE...... 19

Stylistic Playing Features of Goossens.....19

Tone Quality...... 19 ...... 27 Long Musical Lines...... 30 Imitation of the Human Voice .....32 Tone Coloring...... 34 Imperceptible Changes in Breathing and Phrasing . . . 38 Soloistic Approach to the Instrument.....43 British Oboe Music 1950 ...... 48

The Importance of the Pieces to Be Examined ....52

3. PHANTASY OF BENJAMIN BRITTEN...... 59

Background and Reception ...... 59

The Oboist as Soloist in the Quartet Setting .....61

Evidence of Goossens’s Virtuosity in Britten's Quartet: A Performance Guide 63 Sustained Melodic Lines...... 63 Vibrato...... 79 Technical Passages Requiring Agility ....84 Important Non-Virtuoso Elements .....88 Summation of the Evidence of Goossens’s Influence . . . 94

4. CONCERTO FOR OBOE AND STRINGS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS 95

Background and Reception ...... 95

The Oboe asa Soloist...... 97

Evidence of Goossens’s Virtuosity in the Concerto....99

Long Musical Lines...... 99 Technical Virtuosity ...... 113 Vibrato...... 125 Shifting Between Octaves and Registers ....131 Limited Dynamic Variation ...... 138 Important Non-Virtuoso Elements .....142 Summation of the Evidence of Goossens’s Influence . . . 150

5. SONATA FOR OBOE AND PIANO OF YORK BOWEN . . . 152

Background and Reception ...... 152

The Oboe as a Soloist With Piano ...... 154

Evidence of Goossens’s Virtuosity in the Sonata....156

Long Musical Lines...... 157 Vibrato...... 170 Technical Virtuosity in a Soloistic Approach to the Oboe . . 178 Imperceptible Changes In Breathing.....186 Non-Virtuoso Elements and Other Difficulties in the Sonata . 191 Constant Fluctuation of Rhythm....192 Stylistic Contrasts...... 195 Interaction Between the Oboe and Piano . . . 201

Summation of the Evidence of Goossens’s Influence . . . 207

CONCLUSION...... 209

BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 211

DISCOGRAPHY OF LÉON GOOSSENS’S SOLO RECORDINGS . . . 218

WORKS WRITTEN FOR LÉON GOOSSENS ...... 220 List of Musical Examples

PHANTASY OF BENJAMIN BRITTEN

FIGURE

1.1...... 64 1.2...... 65 1.3...... 66 1.4...... 67 1.5...... 69 1.6...... 70 1.7...... 72 1.8...... 74 1.9...... 75 1.10 ...... 77 1.11 ...... 78 1.12 ...... 79 1.13 ...... 80 1.14 ...... 81 1.15 ...... 83 1.16 ...... 84 1.17 ...... 85 1.18 ...... 86 1.19 ...... 89 1.20 ...... 91 1.21 ...... 92

CONCERTO FOR OBOE AND STRINGS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

FIGURE

2.1...... 100 2.2...... 101 2.3...... 102 2.4...... 103 2.5...... 104 2.6...... 105 2.7...... 106 2.8...... 107 2.9...... 108 2.10 ...... 119 2.11 ...... 110 2.12 ...... 111 2.13 ...... 112 2.14 ...... 114 2.15 ...... 115 2.16 ...... 116 2.17 ...... 117 2.18 ...... 119 2.19 ...... 120 2.20 ...... 121 2.21 ...... 122 2.22 ...... 123 2.23 ...... 124 2.24 ...... 126 2.25 ...... 126 2.26 ...... 127 2.27 ...... 128 2.28 ...... 129 2.29 ...... 129 2.30 ...... 130 2.31 ...... 132 2.32 ...... 135 2.33 ...... 136 2.34 ...... 145 2.35 ...... 147 2.36 ...... 149

SONATA FOR OBOE AND PIANO OF YORK BOWEN

FIGURE

3.1...... 158 3.2...... 159 3.3...... 160 3.4...... 162 3.5...... 162 3.6...... 163 3.7...... 164 3.8...... 167 3.9...... 168 3.10 ...... 169 3.11 ...... 176 3.12 ...... 180 3.13 ...... 182 3.14 ...... 184 3.15 ...... 205 1

Preface

The name Léon Goossens is one that oboists learn at a young age. When working on oboe literature, particularly English oboe literature, students see his name so often at the top of the page as the dedicatee that it becomes synonymous with English oboe literature and playing.

Goossens was the first English oboist to be successful as a full-time soloist and was the muse for the oboe compositions of his contemporaries. The amount of English oboe music prior to his career in contrast to the dramatic output written during his lifetime is extraordinary and shows the interest English composers had in writing for solo oboe that had not been seen since the days of the Baroque era.

While there are books and articles about Goossens’s life and career, there has been little discussion of his relationship to the British composers who composed pieces for him to perform.

His legacy of inspiration has been passed down mostly orally and assumed as fact. The three works discussed in this document, the Phantasy Quartet of Benjamin Britten, Sonata for Oboe of

York Bowen, and Concerto for Oboe and Strings of Ralph Vaughan Williams, have such importance in the oboe repertoire that it is curious secondary literature rarely discusses the relationship Goossens had with the composers.

I examine these three works to show how Goossens’s idiomatic style of playing is found in each of these works as well as to explain the significance of these elements in the development of the art of oboe playing. With these three pieces, each of a different genre, I intend to bring to light the elements of Goossens’s style of oboe playing that influenced the piece and illustrate the resulting effect it had on compositional style in twentieth-century English oboe literature.

I examine each piece by looking at the melodic themes, virtuosity of the oboe part, and any important stylistic features (i.e., folksong, dance music material, pastoral qualities) that are 2 typical of the English musical renaissance of the early twentieth century. I then examine elements of the work that highlight the characteristics of Goossens’s virtuoso playing, such as lyrical and pastoral melodic passages that showcased his revolutionary tone color, sustained passages requiring strong breath control or circular breathing he was known, and where the trademark of his playing, vibrato, would have been most noticeable.

I will then examine technical passages that allowed him to display his virtuosic facility of the instrument. I will also describe any non-virtuoso elements of the work characteristic of

Goossens’s playing style, one of which being technical and difficult low register passages that require secure control over the instrument. To an extent, I compare these works with other compositions by the same composer (i.e., Britten’s Two Insect Pieces and Temporal Variations, which were composed around the same time, Vaughan Williams’s and other , and Bowen’s other wind sonatas) in order to show writing for Goossens did somewhat change their composing style, though not completely. For example, Britten’s Phantasy Quartet is one of his earliest works, so his style changed as he reached his mature compositions, but the demand on the performer is greater in this piece than in his other oboe works.

With these pieces thoroughly examined, I then compare these features to the development of British oboe literature of the first half of the twentieth century, showing Goossens’s influence during this important time. With this information I am be able to demonstrate how Goossens’s playing influenced twentieth-century English oboe literature. 3

CHAPTER 1

BRITISH MUSIC AND THE OBOE

The Land Without Music

At the turn of the twentieth century, a book by the German scholar Oskar A. H. Schmitz was published entitled Das Land ohne Musik1, translated as “The Land Without Music.” The book is a harsh anti-Anglo criticism of the English society as troubled and unsophisticated compared to German society, but why the book has remained in discussion for the last century is due to its title and a few inflammatory remarks about how England had unsuccessfully produced composers of the rank and stature of those in Continental Europe. Those countries, particularly

Germany, were considered more musically civilized and cultured than England because of their national composers and the international fame they enjoyed. Schmitz was bold enough to suggest that England in fact had no music of its own, writing:

I searched for a long time…and finally I found something the English from all other cultural peoples with respect to almost amazing measure differ, a lack, which everyone admits—thus no new discovery—its consequence but probably yet stressed is not: The English are the only cultural people without their own music…That does not mean only that they have less fine ears, but that their whole life is poorer.2 Though England had a large wealth of , this was not considered by Schmitz to be part of the musical culture, thus leaving England in a state of exile.

This lack of internationally successful British composers was not something that happened overnight, but a condition that had been developing for a few centuries. Prior to

Schmitz’s accusations, the last great British composers were the late Renaissance composers

Thomas Tallis, , and John Dowland, and Baroque composer .

1 Oskar A. H. Schmitz, The Land Without Music (München: Georg Müller, 1914).

2 Ibid., 30, translated by the author. 4

London was an attractive place for concerts, but “from the late seventeenth century and well into

the nineteenth, English musical culture depended in no small measure on the importation of

foreign musical styles and musicians.”3 William Croft, John Stanley, William Boyce, and

Thomas Vincent, for example, were English contemporaries of George Friedrich Handel and

Johann Christian Bach, but are not necessarily names that spring to mind when thinking of the

great English composers during the eighteenth century; it is even harder to call to mind the

names of English composers during the nineteenth century. The success of Handel, J. C. Bach,

and Josef Haydn in England belittled the successes of the native composers. “Unable to

overcome the force of this great foreign influence, native composers lost a healthy contact with

their own tradition and looked instead to the Continent for musical inspiration and education.”4

British composers had access to the changes in current musical styles when Continental

performers and composers visited England, but they failed to adapt their compositional styles to

keep up with the changing fashions of their Continental counterparts. This inability to adjust to

changing musical trends was quite detrimental to the reputation of English composers. As a

result: “The stylistic developments of the Continent for the most part left British music behind,

trapped in Mendelssohnian classicism. The excesses of the Romantic vision did not catch on....”5

Those few who were successful in the nineteenth century, such as Sterndale Bennett

(1816–1875) and (1784–1853), who was actually of French birth but whose

father was English, were so because of their musical experiences abroad, which had shaped their

approach to composition. Otherwise, English composers, “unless like Sterndale Bennett they

3 Geoffrey Burgess and Bruce Haynes, The Oboe (New Haven: Press, 2004), 197.

4 Robert P. Morgan, Twentieth-Century Music: A History of Musical Style in Modern Europe and America (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1991), 128.

5 Chris de Souza, “An Outline History of British Music,” BBC Radio 3 English Music Day (accessed 21 May, 2009), http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/britishcomposers/historybritmusic.shtml. 5

studied abroad, tended to be limited in their vision.”6 When a harpist performed a few English

pieces in Prague in 1836, the critic described the compositions as “a totally different kind from

those of France and , but, what is still worse, they closely resemble what was in vogue

ten years ago, and are now quite out of date.”7 Compositional style in England was not able to

keep up with the musical tastes of audiences either in England or the Continent.

It could be said that English composers were in a lull. Their music was not considered to

be on the same level as the Continental composers, even by the English public itself. As English

music critic Stephen S. Stratton pointed out in 1881, “The English musical public came more and

more to appreciate European composers and performers to the detriment of those born and

trained in England….”8 Concerts usually did not to contain English music, which led to an

“undoubtedly great neglect of native composers.”9 Performers were much more likely to

program a piece of French or German origin before choosing an English composition. Music

schools as well were not willing to push students to learn works by their native composers,

helping to reinforce the stigma that “everything foreign is superior, and that British composers

are not worth playing or listening to.”10 As a result, even the English began to take the

Continental approach and think of their composers as unmusical. Stratton lamented the British’s

unenthusiastic approach to their fellow countrymen’s compositions by saying, “We English have

6 John Caldwell, “England,” The Oxford Companion to Music, ed. Alison Latham; Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e2264 (accessed 23 May 2009).

7 Unknown author, quoted in Stephen S. Stratton, “English Composers and Their Claims, Past and Present,” The Musical Times 22 (1881): 428.

8 Caldwell, “England,” http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e2264 (accessed 23 May 2009).

9 Stratton, 428.

10 H. C. Tonking, “British Composers,” The Musical Times 56 (1915): 284. 6 become so accustomed to be called unmusical that we seem to present native works in a manner that savours of the apologetic.”11

However, what had become a slump in Britain’s musical history was slowly taking an upward turn while few were looking. The most remembered English composer of the nineteenth century may well be (1842-–1900), known for his work with librettist W. S.

Gilbert in operettas such as The Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance, but others in this new generation of composers were working to bring English music out of the obscurity into which it had fallen. (1848–1918), Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924), and Alexander

Mackenzie (1847–1935) are those most noted for laying the ground work for the English musical renaissance that took place in the early twentieth century. Though their names may not be quick to roll off the tongue, their influence on the English composers of the early twentieth century cannot be forgotten. Mackenzie’s overseeing of the as its principal and Parry’s and Stanford’s work at the helped to make London a highly sought after place for musical education. This was the first step in bringing England out of its status as a musical backwater.

However, it was Sir (1857–1934) who became the leader of the English music renaissance and the figurehead for a renewed interest in English music. He was not formally trained in composition and learned about music in his father’s music shop and while working as an and violinist, composing when he could. His fame though as “the pre- eminent figure in British music”12 was not cemented until the late 1890s, particularly with his

11 Stratton, 429.

12 Michael Kennedy, “Elgar, Sir Edward (William),” The Oxford Companion to Music, ed Alison Latham, Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e2232 (accessed 22 May 2009). 7

Enigma Variations of 1899. Educated largely by personal study of the music of Continental composers, Elgar’s music has the unusual feature of sounding both German and English, though the English features tend to overshadow the foreign ones:

Though Elgar’s music is heavily indebted to the more conservative currents of late German , its dignified expansiveness and nobility…sound peculiarly English, strongly evoking the optimistic character of English life during the Edwardian years immediately preceding World War I.13 He did not teach, but his music and success both at home and abroad led the way for “the amazingly productive phase of composers born [after] 1870,”14 including Ralph Vaughan

Williams (1872–1958), (1874–1934), and (1883–1953), to name a few.

These composers were living and working at the time of the publication of Schmitz’s book, though they were perhaps too young to have yet made truly significant achievements.

However, Elgar was already considered a national treasure and the breath of life so desperately needed to revive the musical culture in England. Parry, Stanford, and Mackenzie had worked to educate a new wave of composers who would prove that Elgar’s success was not a chance of fate but the beginning of a new era in English music. With the help of Elgar, Vaughan Williams, and others working in the first half of the twentieth century, English music underwent a renaissance and was able to repeal its perceived status of The Land Without Music.

13 Morgan, 129.

14 Edwin Evans, “Modern British Composers. Introductory Article,” The Musical Times 60 (1919): 11. 8

Folksong in English Music

The turn of the twentieth century brought a new surge of English music due, in part, to

the success of Elgar, whose musical education was in England, as well as to a renewed interest in

creating music that sounded English. This characteristic sound was created mostly through the

use of English folksong, folk rhythms, and pastoral elements. As one writer in the early

twentieth century wrote, “The English countryside is singularly rich in traditional melody, and

the revival of interest in these tunes has unquestionably had considerable influence on the

younger groups of composers.”15 Using nationalistic features in art music was not uncommon,

as it had happened in almost every country in Europe during the nineteenth century, but the use

of it in England during the early twentieth century helped to reconnect audiences to their native

composers and to create a new sense of value in their music at home and abroad.

It was in the music of Vaughan Williams, “whose works contain in an exceptional degree

elements which have come to be regarded as characteristically English,”16 that folksong became

an important ingredient of the English musical renaissance. Vaughan Williams had developed an

interest in folksong around the turn of the century and was a member of the Folk-Song Society in

London, which had been founded in 1898 by Vaughan Williams’s composition teachers Parry

and Stanford, among others.17 In 1903 he heard an old shepherd named Charles Pottipher sing

the folksong “Bushes and Briars,” an experience that “changed the course of Vaughan

15 Ibid., 12.

16 Ibid., 11.

17 Alain Frogley and Maud Karpeles, “English Folk Dance and Song Society,” Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/08822 (accessed 25 May 2009). 9

Williams’s life.”18 Vaughan Williams realized the way to successfully write English music was to embrace folksong, the country’s richest source of music. Vaughan Williams felt folksong was the musical expression of national identity, writing:

…The same circumstances which produced our beautiful English folk-songs also produced their music, founded as it should be on our own history, our own customs, our own incomparable landscape, even perhaps our undependable weather and our abominable food.19 It was “through folksong he arrived at a kind of musical speech which was as natural as his native language, and through which he could express not only his own individuality, but the individuality of his country.”20

He reintroduced folksong to the general populace with his 1906 English Hymnal, in which he implanted folksongs he had collected as well as some of his own works such as “Down

Ampney” and “Sine Nomine.” Though not a religious man, he believed “hymn tunes contained a similar communal potential since, in his view, the music of the Church—notably plainsong, but also psalmody and hymnody—had directly evolved from folk-song.”21 Vaughan Williams believed folksong was an integral ingredient in English culture:

For Vaughan Williams, nationalism was fundamentally a cultural matter, a question of shared language and tradition, and his transformation of folk-songs into hymn tunes was much more than an attempt self-consciously to create a “national style.”22

18 Michael Hurd, Vaughan Williams (London: Faber and Faber, 1970), 25.

19 Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst, Heirs and Rebels: Letters Written To Each Other and Occasional Writings on Music, ed. Ursula Vaughan Williams and (London: Oxford University Press, 1959), 99.

20 Hurd, 26.

21 Julian Onderdonk, “Hymn Tunes from Folk-songs: Vaughan Williams and English Hymnody,” in Vaughan Williams , ed. Byron Adams and Robin Wells (Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2003), 104.

22 Ibid. 10

Vaughan Williams was not the only English composer during the early twentieth century to take an interest in preserving and composing with folk music. (1859–1924), founder of the English Folk Dance Society, was very much interested in preserving the legacy of the English folk song “when, in searching for suitable material to use in singing classes, he had begun to explore the rather spare collections of ‘national’ songs that had been published during the nineteenth century.”23 Also interested was (1885–1916), who worked with Sharp collecting folksongs and who had most likely been introduced to folksong by

Vaughan Williams.24 Though his life was short, a great deal of his music used folksong quotations and pastoral elements, which Finzi described “sums up our countryside as very little else has ever done.”25 Holst, a close friend of Vaughan Williams, also shared in the rediscovery of English folksong. Though he did not use it to the extent of Vaughan Williams, he did use folksong in his music, such as A Somerset Rhapsody (1907) and the song “I’ll Love My Love,” which serves as the basis for the second movement of his Second Suite for Military Band (1911).

The reawakening of the country’s musical identity was a turning point for England, whose people came back to the appreciation of their native composers in a way that had not been seen since the days of Purcell. What had once been a country that neglected its native composers was one that now appreciated the nationalistic Vaughan Williams, whose musical style was not rooted in “imitating foreign models, but in a regenerative use of native sources.”26 It is not to

23 Hurd, 27.

24 John Rippin, “George Butterworth: Part 2,” The Musical Times 107 (1966): 769.

25 , quoted in Stephen Banfield, “Butterworth, George,” Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/04467 (accessed 25 May 2009).

26 Hugh Ottaway, “Ralph Vaughan Williams,” in Twentieth-century English Masters, ed. (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1986), 98. 11 say that the English then resisted foreign composers or their works, or that English composers turned away from traditional forms or techniques of the past. Much of the music from the

English musical renaissance can be closely associated with Romantic compositional style. Most notably is the nationalist element, but also the use of programmatic music, such as Vaughan

Williams’s Sea (1910) and Gustav Holst’s (1916), as well as using thematic material in multiple movements of a symphony.27 Nonetheless, the music, particularly that of Vaughan Williams, has “an underlying Englishness, with harmonic and melodic transformations that could be traced back to the Tudors…and is, in the best sense of the word, original.”28

The English musical renaissance relied heavily on the use of folk music and on Vaughan

Williams, who was

o much the most commanding personality in English music…that it is difficult to imagine that the English musical renaissance could have happened without him. Perhaps it would, if more slowly; but certainly there is no one man to whom English music owes so much, not only for his creative work, but for the importance of his part in the re-establishment of the English Tudor heritage, and of British folk music behind that—branches of his activity from which his creative work can hardly, of course, be separated.29 English folksong relies heavily on the pastoral, which is integral to its depiction of the people and countryside from whence it came.

The oboe and English horn “have an ongoing association with the pastoral,”30 since the oboe, from its earliest days, was associated with shepherds and rural country life. The instruments became closely associated with folksong in the music of Vaughan Williams and his

27 Morgan, 133.

28 Harold C. Schonberg, The Lives of the Great Composers (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1970), 495.

29 Wilfrid Mellers, Studies in Contemporary Music (London: Dennis Dobson, 1947), 181.

30 Burgess and Haynes, 216. 12 contemporaries since they were often given the melodies of the folksongs collected from rural shepherds and villagers. Works such as Vaughan Williams’s (1909) and

English Folksong Suite (1923), Holst’s A Somerset Rhapsody and Second Suite for Military

Band, and Delius’s A Mass of Life (1909), among many others, reflect the oboe and English horn’s long associated pastoral connection in the early twentieth century, as the oboe concertos of Eugène Goossens (1929), (1937), Ralph Vaughan Williams (1944),

William Alwyn (1945), and Cyril Scott (1949) show towards the end of the first half of the century.31 English oboist Neil Black refers to the early twentieth-century British oboe repertoire as “British Cow Pat Music, because it tends to be rural and pastoral. Some of it very beautiful.

[sic] Vaughan Williams’ Concerto is the embodiment of that style of music.”32

With the help of Vaughan Williams and his contemporary British composers, combined with the rising quality of musical education, England was ready for a new era of music. The oboe greatly benefited from an outstanding output of literature in England during the first half of the twentieth century. However, it took the rise of the oboist Léon Goossens (1897–1988) for the compositions to begin flowing.

Oboe Music in England before 1930

Up until the English musical renaissance, oboe music in England had always relied heavily on French performers and composers. The instrument came into being in France just before 1660, and in 1673 England was the first country where the new instrument was exported,

31 Ibid., 241–2.

32 Neil Black, “An Afternoon’s Conversation with Neil Black,” interview by Aryn Day Sweeney, The 28 (2006): 107. 13 with French players in tow.33 From the very arrival of the new instrument and the French musicians who had mastered it, England long suffered from an inability to produce oboists of the quality found on the Continent. Though there were English oboists who were active in performing during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but they “did not always stay abreast of developments on the Continent”34 and, as a result, fell behind the level of foreign oboists who made successful careers in England.

The last successful English oboists prior to the English musical renaissance were William and Thomas Ling, (1775–1830) and (1787–1851), respectively, and William Thomas Parke

(1762–1847). Thomas Ling “gained notoriety through his reed-making”35, not through his playing, while his brother both wrote and performed oboe concertos but is seldom remembered when compared with oboists from the Continent. Parke served as principal oboist of both

Covent Garden and Vauxhall Gardens, but despite his and the Ling brothers’ success, none of these oboists left a suitable English successor after their retirements, and “these circumstances forced London entrepreneurs to look abroad for oboists.”36

The oboists with the most influence and stature in England were from France, such as

Appollon Marie-Rose Barret (1804–1879) and Antoine-Joseph Lavigne (1816–1886) who played for in London and the Hallé in , respectively. During his tenure at Covent Garden, Barret wrote his tutor A Complete Method for Oboe,37 which is still

33 Ibid., 40-1.

34 Ibid., 145.

35 Geoffrey Burgess and Peter Hedrick, “The Oldest English Oboe Reeds? An Examination of Nineteen Surviving Examples,” The Galpin Society Journal 42 (1989): 35.

36 Burgess and Hayes, 146.

37Appollon Marie-Rose Barret, A Complete Method for Oboe (London: Boosey and Hawkes, 1880). 14

used today by oboists. The tradition of importing French oboists continued in England with

Desiré Alfred Lalande (1866–1904) and Belgian oboist Henri de Busscher (1880–1975), who

were “remembered for their exquisite playing, with pure, steady tone.”38 The Belgian oboists in

particular have been given “credit for establishing technical standards of an international class,

even if only by example (for I have never heard that they actually taught anyone).”39

When considering the state of English composers before the twentieth century and the

lack of quality native oboists, it is not surprising that there is virtually no English oboe literature

after the turn of the nineteenth century. These two ingredients are coupled with the fact that it

has long been believed the oboe fell out of favor in the nineteenth century all together as “there is

a dreaded lack of important solo music written by major composers.”40 As such, “The paucity of

Romantic oboe music has led to the belief that there was simply no solo repertoire at all.”41

There were several reasons for the decline of the solo oboe repertoire in the nineteenth century:

The , with its rounded tone, expansive compass (in both pitch and dynamics) and superficially more facile technique was better suited to the new Romantic long-lined cantabile style. Indeed, alongside the clarinet the oboe was something of an ugly duckling….Deemed too delicate for military music, too difficult for the amateur player and too brash for the domestic salon, the oboe ceased to have a prominent solo existence and, with the waning popularity of the woodwind concerto, the travelling virtuoso oboist became all but extinct.42 Of what there is in the field of oboe literature from this period, the French rather

dominated, particularly those who were associated with the Paris Conservatoire, and who were

38 Anthony Baines, Woodwind Instruments and Their History (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1963), 329.

39 James A. MacGillivray, “Review: [untitled],” The Galpin Society Journal 10 (1957): 93.

40 Nancy Bonar, “The Evolution of the Mechanized Oboe and its New Music,” The Double Reed 6 (1983), 14.

41 Burgess and Haynes, 129.

42 Ibid., 128. 15

oboists writing for other oboists.43 Gustave Vogt (1781–1870), who taught at the Conservatoire

and played for the Opéra, composed a significant amount of music for the oboe, and was

“certainly the most prolific composer for the oboe of the century.”44 Henri Brod (1799–1839)

was viewed as Vogt’s successor and composed quite a lot of oboe music in his short life, though

he may be remembered best for his Méthode pour le hautbois.45 The amount of repertoire for the

solo oboe declined after the tenures of Stanislas Verroust (1814–1863) and Charles Colin (1832–

1881), who both continued in the tradition of writing solo oboe music, as their successors to the

Conservatoire post, Georges Gillet (1854–1920) and Louis Bleuzet (1874–1941), turned their

focus to writing etude books.

By 1880, the oboe had come to be viewed as an orchestral instrument, not as a solo

instrument. “Few oboists were able to eke out a living as soloists; most took refuge in the more

fertile ground provided by .”46 This was particularly the case in England. The country

had long lacked its own respected composers and formidable oboists who could sustain a solo

career. However, “London music, as it was then, offered opportunities to a young oboist of

ability….”47 There were orchestras in need of good oboists, and French players were highly

sought after. This was the case for French players like Barret and Lavigne in the early nineteenth

century, as it continued to be for Lalande and de Busscher in the sought after positions of the

Hallé Orchestra and the Queen’s Hall Orchestra, respectively.

43 Charles-David Lehrer, “The Repertory of the Oboe Soloist in the : The Hidden Structure,” Journal of the International Double Reed Society 12 (1984): 7

44 Burgess and Haynes, 133.

45 Henri Brod, Méthode pour le Hautbois (Paris: Schonenberger, 1835).

46 Burgess and Haynes, 191.

47 Philip Bate, The Oboe: An Outline of Its History, Development and Construction (London: Ernest Benn, 1975), 204. 16

English oboists were also working in the orchestras, though they have mostly been forgotten. However, a few are worth noting. The first is William Malsch (1855–1924), who had a short career in the 1893 season of the Queen’s Hall Orchestra, but was replaced by Lalande and later took up the position as principal oboe with the London Symphony Orchestra. He has been best remembered for his teaching positions at the Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of

Music, Guildhall School, and Trinity College of Music, and was considered “the most influential oboe teacher of his time in England.”48 The most notable of these English players was Charles

Reynolds (1843–1916), a member of the Hallé Orchestra from 1871 to 1916, who “played beside

Lavigne for six years, and it is not impossible that he was a good deal influenced by this partnership.”49 Reynolds later became the orchestra’s principal oboe and the first professor of the Royal Manchester College of Music in 1898. He was described as “the only great English oboe player of his generation.”50 His impact on the British oboe world was perhaps more important than his French counterparts due to the success of his students.

This leads us to the state of oboe music in twentieth-century England prior to the 1930s.

As most of the oboists were working as orchestral players, there was not a lot of opportunity for solo oboe recitals or concerto performances. Those in teaching positions concentrated on etudes and technical exercises with their students, not on solo literature. What solo literature oboists did perform would have been French and in the style of the solo de concours of Vogt or Colin, or arrangements of works from eighteenth-century composers such as Bach and Handel.51 But bringing back music from the eighteenth century during the time the Neo-Classical movement

48 Ibid., 206.

49 Ibid.

50 Barry Wynne, Music in the Wind (London: Souvenir Press, 1967), 44.

51 Burgess and Haynes, 207. 17 swept through Europe led to a renewed interest in solo literature for the oboe. What started as a revival of German Baroque and Classical music led to a growing interest for new music for the oboe by contemporary composers, and as a result, an oboe soloist.

Léon Goossens (1897–1988) has been credited as being “responsible almost single- handedly for putting the oboe back on the map as a solo instrument.”52 Born in , he began his career in the Queen’s Hall Orchestra at the age of sixteen and was principal of the

London Philharmonic Orchestra at its founding in 1932 before he embarked on his solo career.

He was on the faculty at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 to 1939, and at the

Royal Academy of Music in London from 1924 to 1935, teaching students such as Evelyn

Rothwell and Terence MacDonagh who would, in turn, become famous and influential oboists in their own right. Goossens had his solo début at the Queen’s Hall in 1921, performing Bach’s

Suite in G for Organ, Oboe and Strings arranged by Sir . He later became a champion in reviving Mozart’s , KV 370 and Baroque concertos.

However good the works from the eighteenth century may be, they were not enough for

Goossens “who was interested in having modern companion pieces to play with the Mozart Oboe

Quartet [and] led a revival of the genre.”53 As a result of Goossens’s interest, new oboe quartets began to be composed by English composers, beginning first with the oboe quintets of Arnold

Bax (1922) and (1927). These works led to stronger output of oboe quartets in the

1930s and onwards. Also during the 1920s, other works for the oboe as a soloist began to be composed, such as Holst’s A Fugal Concerto for , oboe and strings (1923) and Eugène

Goossens’s Concerto in un Mouvement (1927).

52 Ibid., 196.

53 Ibid., 209. 18

With the help of Goossens, the output of oboe literature began to increase. He wrote about the strides made for the literature after neglect of the nineteenth century, “We have made up for it during my own lifetime with a vast solo and concerto repertoire comparable with most instruments.”54

Thanks to Goossens’s charismatic personality and exquisite playing, the oboe enjoyed a heyday in England. The new works written for him and his pupils did much to bolster the reputation of the oboe in general, but this was still a peculiarly British phenomenon. Nowhere else was there anything like the same upsurge of interest.55 Goossens commissioned works to perform and “the considerable repertory written by

British composers alone, between 1918 and 1938, for the oboe as a solo instrument is entirely due to the art of Léon Goossens.”56 It was the combined successes of a new era of talented

English composers and a great oboist such as Goossens that there was such an outpouring of oboe literature in England after 1930.

54 Léon Goossens and Edwin Roxburgh, Oboe (New York: Schirmer Books, 1977), 158.

55 Burgess and Haynes, 209.

56 Joy Boughton, “Oboe,” The Musical Times 104 (1963): 113. 19

CHAPTER 2

GOOSSENS’S INFLUENCE

Stylistic Playing Features of Goossens

Léon Goossens was the first oboist of stature who had a significant impact on the English

musical renaissance. He was compared to Vaughan Williams in importance in that “if there are

two key figures in this renaissance they would be Léon Goossens for the oboists and Ralph

Vaughan Williams for the composers.”1 He was particularly admired for the beauty of his tone,

which was described as completely revolutionary to the standards of playing at that time. In

addition to his teaching and solo performances, Goossens made numerous recordings during his

lifetime that have reached listeners across the world.2 In order to understand what made his

playing so unique, the qualities of tone, vibrato, long musical lines, imitation of the human voice,

tone coloring, imperceptible changes in breathing and phrasing, and soloistic approach will be

discussed.

Tone Quality

Goossens was admired most for his unique tone quality and idolized for his control over

the instrument in a way that had not been done so before. Rothwell, later Lady Barbirolli,

described her teacher as being the creator of “a new style of playing and a new tone. This was

warm, singing and vibrant, far from the dead, reedy and rather ugly sound which was generally

1 Keith Fraser, program notes in Jeremy Polmear, Sweet Melancholy (London: Unicorn-Kanchana, 1992), DKP(CD) 9121, 4.

2A discography can be found beginning on page 218. 20

accepted before his time.”3 Goossens’s tone was “one of a peculiar sweetness and

elegance…lighter, sweeter, more flexible and softer than the broader and reedier…style of the

day.”4 Composer Edwin Roxburgh may have said it best when he wrote, “The name of Léon

Goossens is synonymous with the oboe—an artist who has transformed the sound of an ‘ill wind

that no-one blows good’ into a rapturous singer, leaving the mark of innovation on its future

evolution.”5 In these descriptions, one can see the English consensus of the tone quality of the

major oboists in England prior to Goossens was not altogether desirable.

Lavigne, for example, was “known for his harsh tone,”6 which was “regarded as too loud

and unyielding. Some critics laid the blame for this entirely in the instrument he favoured,

though his almost fabulous lung power and endurance…may have contributed.”7 With such an

unfavorable tone quality, it is most likely he was so successful due to his excellent technique.8

Barret had a very successful playing career in London despite having a tone quality that was

described as “rather large but more reedy than was popular at the time.”9 The later de Busscher

3 , “Obituaries: Léon Goossens,” (London), 15 February 1988, quoted in Geoffrey Burgess and Bruce Haynes, The Oboe (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004), 197.

4 , “Obituaries: Léon Goossens,” Gazette (London), 15 February 1988, quoted in The Double Reed 11 (1988): 14.

5Léon Goossens and Edwin Roxburgh, xiii.

6 Burgess and Haynes, 162.

7 Bate, 202.

8 Ibid., 176.

9 Ibid., 204. 21

had a tone that has been given favorable praise for being “mellow and beautifully disciplined,”10

but he was also at times “criticized for smallness of tone.”11

English oboists who were active before Goossens were criticized even more harshly for

their tones than their foreign counterparts. George Horton (1820–1892), a member of Queen

Victoria’s consort who taught at the Royal Academy and Royal College, was described as having

“had a very reedy tone and to have been a player of no great refinement.”12 Despite his success

teaching at the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Guildhall School, and at

Trinity College London, William Malsch’s “broad, powerful tone was not universally

admired.”13 Goossens recalled in his lessons with Malsch, “I knew enough of what I wanted in

the way of sound…and he was kind enough never to correct my sound.”14 Goossens’s first

teacher, Charles Reynolds, played beside Lavigne in the Hallé Orchestra and it is most likely the

result of this partnership that Reynolds developed “a very large and broad tone.”15 Goossens

described his first teacher as having had the similar feature of Lavigne: “Good technique—

though rather a heavy tone.”16 His large tone projected strongly and caused him the need to use

10 Wynne, 64.

11 Bate, 203.

12 Ibid., 205.

13 Philip Bate, “Malsch, William,” in Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/17570 (accessed 29 May 2009).

14 Léon Goossens, “Interview with Léon Goossens and Edwin Roxburgh,” interview by Nora Post, The Double Reed 5 (1982): 43.

15 Bate, The Oboe,206.

16 Goossens, quoted in Post, “Interview,” 39. 22

“a handkerchief draped below the music desk of his stand to dampen the sound in the long

pianissimo sections of Wagner’s .”17

Malsch and Reynolds seem to have had similar tones from their descriptions, though

Reynolds felt Goossens should not try to copy Malsch’s when he left to study with him at the

Royal College of Music in London. He wrote to Goossens’s father to remind his son not to play

too loudly: “He has a tendency to play too loud….Mr. Malsch, his new teacher, I am afraid does

the same, therefore you must remind Léon from time to time.”18 Goossens’s brother, Eugène,

claimed Reynolds to have shaped Goossens’s sound, saying, “Thanks largely to his influence,

my brother possesses the tone which makes his playing so distinctive and personal.”19 However,

Goossens’s tone was described at times as bright due to his “light, limpid, and seemingly

breathless style,”20 never the heavy tone Goossens claims Reynolds had.

Goossens was most influenced not by his English teachers, but by listening to the Belgian

oboe players of his father’s orchestra, the Opera Company, and particularly by

de Busscher, who Goossens called “my favorite oboe player.”21 de Busscher was playing in the

Queen’s Hall Orchestra when the Goossens and his family moved to London, and “night after

night he sat in the audience learning to emulate his idol.”22 To Goossens, de Busscher was

17 Goossens and Roxburgh, 52.

18 Charles Reynolds, quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 34.

19 Eugène Goossens, and Beginners, A Musical Autobiography (London: Methuen and Co., 1951), 55.

20 Jerold A. Sundet, “Léon Goossens—Master Oboist”, To The World’s Oboists 2 (1974): 1.

21 Goossens, quoted in Post, “Interview,” 39.

22 Rosen, 36. 23

undoubtedly the finest oboist that the young student had ever heard. In a way it was an unsettling experience for the young musician, who did not believe that he was capable of reaching such perfection.23

However, Goossens did not point out de Busscher’s influence on his own playing until much later in life, as he most likely wanted “to affirm his role as founder of a new British school of oboe playing.”24

Despite having external influences, Goossens produced a characteristic sound of his own.

“Goossens developed his own idea of how the oboe should sound and deliberately set out to achieve in practice the standard of tone and fluency which came from deep within himself.”25 It can be heard in his recordings, which have been “treasured by connoisseurs for the sweetness of his tone in solo passages. All over the world players lift an oboe to their lips; but only Léon

Goossens can produce that tone.”26 This can be best described by Goossens’s reflections on playing different instruments: “I couldn’t think what was different, they were so alike. It’s what

I produced through them, you see. I didn’t realize it at the time. I wanted to get a sound like that, So [sic] I got it!”27

Goossens broke from the English tradition of a heavy, reedy tone by using a lighter, more singing sound. His tone has been described as “a silvery, -like sound.”28 The violin comparison is not unexpected, since Goossens said of the two instruments, “ and

23 Wynne, 64–5.

24 Burgess and Haynes, 198.

25 Raymond E. Cooke, “Léon Goossens C. B. E., b. 12th June 1897. An Appreciation,” in “Léon Goossens Memoriam,” The Double Reed 11 (1988): 12.

26 Barrie Hall, “Pen Portrait: Léon Goossens,” The Musical Times 101 (1960): 295.

27 Goossens, quoted in Post, “Interview,” 40.

28 Baines, 93. 24

were born in modern form at about the same time in history, and thrived on a close musical

partnership….”29 Natalie Caine, a student of Goossens, described his tone as “much more

expressive, because of his use of vibrato. It sounded like a violin.”30 The violin-like sound can

also be attributed to the close relationship he had with the violinist , who

complimented Goossens by saying “If there’s one thing more than another I enjoy playing in the

whole violin literature, it’s the andante from the Brahms concerto with Léon Goossens playing

the oboe.”31

Much has been noted of Goossens as an expressive player with a revolutionary tone quality. Part of the way in that he was able to create his sound and reach the utmost range of expression was through his style of reeds. He used a short scrape reed, or what Goossens and his pupils referred to as a U scrape and “provides a lighter and sweeter sound”32 than the heavy and

broad tones of those before him. The U scrape reeds are “so light that the resistance is

practically non-existent,”33 unlike the long scrape reeds, or V scrape, that American players use,

which are “as hard to blow as a four ply veneered board; it is exhausting and allows for little of

the bravura style of playing.”34 Goossens felt these heavier reeds “lacked flexibility and simply

required too much effort to get the job done.”35 Using the U scrape reed, he was able to create

29 Goossens and Roxburgh, 198.

30 Natalie Caine, quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 140.

31 Fritz Kreisler, quoted in Eugene Goossens, Overture, 109.

32 Goossens and Roxburg, 87.

33 Jerold A. Sundet, “Lady Evelyn Barbirolli, ‘The Companion to Oboists’,” in To the World’s Oboists 4 (1976): 1.

34 Ibid.

35 Jerold A. Sundet, “Léon Goossens – Master Oboist,” 1. 25 both the tone quality he wanted and the ability to be expressive without straining. In his book,

Goossens laid out what a reed should be capable of doing:

Tone. It must be possible to achieve extremes of dynamic range while sustaining a good tone quality. Tongue. The reed must be hard enough to give substance to the tone, but soft enough to retain freedom to tongue easily and quickly. Projection. This is always important whether playing soft or loud passages. Breath Control. The reed must always be responsive enough to meet the constant air-pressure controlled by the diaphragm. Embouchure. To take all these points into account, all conditions must make it possible to sustain a relaxed embouchure. No performer can learn the endurance demanded of the Strauss Concerto with tight or stiff lips.36

Goossens, though able to make his own reeds, relied for most of his career on the reeds of other makers. The most important maker for Goossens was the legendary Thomas Brearley of

Liverpool. Brearley had studied with Reynolds in Manchester and filled in for Reynolds in the orchestra and at times in Goossens’s lessons. Goossens praised his reeds by calling him “a maker who possessed qualities of genius....No-one has surpassed the consistency of quality which his green fingers could mould from a piece of cane.”37 He went on to say: “I consider myself very lucky to have learned to play on the softer, more lucidly expressive reeds he designed for me….Control of articulation and dynamics is more easily attainable on this kind of pliable reed.”38

While Goossens did know how to make his own reeds, he stopped making his own in

192639 when his playing engagements came to take up the majority of this time. He went back to Brearley for reeds and had his students follow suit. He recalled later in life, “I introduced

Brearley’s reeds to the London players when I was busy with , and couldn’t keep up

36 Goossens and Roxburgh, 31–2.

37 Ibid., 44.

38 Ibid., 52.

39 Sundet, “Léon Goossens,” 1. 26 with the reeds.”40 Goossens’s students became very dependent on Brearley, almost to their disadvantage as they did not bother with trying to learn how to make reeds for themselves. As

Lady Barbirolli remembered, “While we were young, we were guaranteed good reeds by

Brearley; with his death the younger players were forced to make their own reeds sometimes without much success.”41

Goossens on the other hand was fortunate “because he received reeds from admirers all over the world.”42 The reeds also lasted a long time, which allowed Goossens even more advantage by always having reeds at his disposal. Neil Black recalled making reeds for

Goossens in his late age:

I remember him in his later age, of course, when I used to make his reeds for him. In those last years he went through his supply of reeds that were made by other people. He bought an enormous consignment just before the war when he realized that France might be cut off. When he had run through those, which was probably by about 1970, he suddenly had no reeds left. He bought about 100 I think—bought the shop out. So when those were finished, I used to go over and have lunch with him, and make him a few.43

Goossens is noted for having “transformed the oboe from a necessary, but often unpleasant, bleating noise in the orchestra to an instrument capable of producing unimagined refinement and beauty of tone.”44 Rothwell described the influence of Goossens on the development of the oboe as a soloist as such: “He really changed the oboe sound. He made people realise that the oboe could be a beautiful instrument and a solo instrument.”45 His tone

40 Goossens, quoted in Post, “Interview,” 44–5.

41 Sundet, “Lady Evelyn Barbirolli,” 1.

42 Ibid.

43 Neil Black, quoted in Sweeney, “An Afternoon’s Conversation,” 108.

44 Rosen, 125.

45 Ibid., 134. 27

was an important ingredient of his success and his students emulated his tone quality to the

degree that it became a feature of a new English school of oboe playing, as those they taught

carried on the Goossens tone quality. Though his lovely tone was perhaps the most important

feature in which he received praise, it was not the only feature of his playing that garnered him

fame and success as a soloist. He was well known for his addition of vibrato to orchestral

playing as well as to using it constantly as a soloist.

Vibrato

Vibrato, which until around the 1920s was used rarely, was an important ingredient of his

timbre, acting as a sort of musical fingerprint of his sound and style. While oboists today do not

think twice about using vibrato, Goossens was seen as a revolutionary to incorporate it into his

playing instead of using it as an ornament or other embellishment. He has been given credit as

“the first oboist to adopt breath vibrato as a conscious adjunct to tone production. Indeed,

vibrato was to become something of a Goossens trademark.”46 Neil Black, an English oboist

who made a career as a soloist in the second half of the twentieth century and who studied with

Goossens’s student MacDonagh, spoke of the direct impact Goossens’s vibrato made on the

English oboe style:

Prior to Léon Goossens, English oboists played with a very plaintive, rather straight, edgy sound without vibrato. Having heard one or two recordings of English players at the time, I can quite see why so many oboe players were imported from other countries. Léon Goossens was the first to bring a fantastic colour, sweetness and lightness to oboe playing that nobody in living memory had heard here in Britain. His vibrato, which was more or less invariable, nevertheless gave life to the sound that it had not had previously.47

46 Burgess and Haynes, 262.

47Neil Black, quoted in Sweeney, “An Afternoon’s Conversation with Neil Black,” 105. 28

Vibrato was not something that other musicians and conductors, much less audiences, were accustomed to hearing from wind players, much less from oboists. With no one else using vibrato so regularly, it was particularly a way in which Goossens set himself apart as not just another orchestral player. However, it was not without initial difficulties. He was using vibrato from the onset of his appointment to the Queen’s Hall Orchestra in 1915 and described the atmosphere as such:

The fashionable woodwind sound in the early days of this [twentieth] century was more wooden. Vibrato was rarely, if ever used, and certainly not as a fundamental aspect of tone production. Those first days at the Queen’s Hall Orchestra represented for me a period of isolation from the prevalent style of sound reproduction. I suffered a great deal of abuse and jibing from other players at this time for persisting with my own concept of a beautiful oboe sound incorporating vibrato as an essential aspect of its singing quality. However, critics were favourably disposed and conductors liked it; so my confidence in the approach was ultimately justified.48

While not something that went over smoothly in the beginning, vibrato gave Goossens’s playing a new and fresh quality to the listener, bringing the oboe out of the background of orchestral settings and into the spotlight as an engaging soloist. Indeed, vibrato helped Goossens stand out in his solo playing. He said: “I found that for solo playing, especially, you needed just a little more than oboe tone, like that. It’s got to live.”49

Goossens believed vibrato to be “an expressive inflection of musical personality and sensibility.”50 He played with vibrato speeds appropriate to the style of the music that was being performed. Of this he wrote, “One should be able to switch it on or off according to the character of the music, as well as being able to determine the speed of the cycles.”51 Goossens

48 Goossens and Roxburgh, 87.

105 Goossens, quoted in Post, “Interview,” 44.

50 Goossens and Roxburg, 87.

51 Ibid., 88. 29 divided vibrato into three kinds: slow, medium, and fast, each with their own sound qualities.

Slow vibrato has warmth to the sound, medium vibrato is the “most basic form of vibrato and should be thought of as an intrinsic part of fundamental tone quality,”52 and the fast vibrato is vibrant and has a brilliant quality to its sound.53 With a palette of vibrato, Goossens could choose the right one for the right piece of music. If the music was fast, the vibrato also would be fast and vibrant, whereas slow music used the warmer slow vibrato. As Goossens said: “It becomes interpretive when the music demands it. …That’s how it should be!”54

Despite the different speeds, vibrato was always present in Goossens’s playing. He was considered “the master of modulating vibrato to enhance the shape of the music.”55 Through his teachings and recordings, the use of regular vibrato was considered standard practice. This is most noticeable in the playing style of English oboists who have been known for using a

“slower, incessantly-continued tremulant”56 type of vibrato. This constant vibrato use had become so standardized in Britain by the 1950s that Rothwell wrote, “You should not have to think about making a vibrato, but about stopping it!”57 Clearly Goossens’s introduction of vibrato had a significant impact on the approach to oboe playing in the twentieth century.

Long Musical Lines

52 Ibid., 91.

53 Ibid., 90–2.

54 Goossens, quoted in Post, “Interview,” 44.

55 Burgess and Haynes, 265.

56 Baines, 93.

57 Evelyn Rothwell, Oboe Technique (London: Oxford University Press, 1953), 13. 30

Goossens exploited the flexibility and expressiveness of the instrument, making the audience feel as if they were hearing the oboe for the first time. The legato style, which he used for playing in both the orchestral and solo literature, helped to define his characteristic approach to the instrument with the use of long musical lines. Rothwell said of her teacher, “His was always a beautiful sound with a lovely long musical line.”58 After hearing him in concert, one critic wrote, “He almost beguiles the listener into imagining the oboe to be capable of voicing long-sustained melody without breaks.”59 Edwin Roxburgh, Goossens’s co-author for his book

Oboe, described Goossens’s attitude as “very similar to that of Casals, thinking of the line, the phrase.”60 Of his approach to the musical line, Goossens said:

I can only say that what the violinist gets out of the violin with legato I try to get in the same way out of the oboe. Hence the importance I attach to purity of outline and phrasing, though not forgetting the tonal possibilities of the instrument and what the Americans like to call “dynamics”.61

Phrasing indeed was very important to Goossens, as too much shaping could spoil the beauty and simplicity of the melodic line the composer had written. For example, using too many crescendos and decrescendos to create phrasing in a long melodic line would become a distraction from the line itself. As Goossens wrote, “Ultimately it is what can only be described as a sense of line which matters most in the dynamic shaping of such phrases.”62 His sensitivity to the musical line earned him a reputation for magnificent phrasing.

58 Rothwell, quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 134.

59Unknown source, quoted in Wynne, Music in the Wind, 10.

60 Roxburgh, quoted in Post, “Interview,” 40.

61 Goossens, quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 141.

62 Goossens and Roxburgh, 85. 31

Goossens’s beautiful phrasing of long musical lines led composers to write long, lyrical melodies in their oboe music. York Bowen (1884–1961) composed his Sonata for Oboe and

Piano for Goossens and “the lyrical oboe part seems designed specifically for Mr. Goossens’ masterful style.”63 Another example is (1892–1983), who composed his Oboe

Sonata for Goossens though he did not perform it, and included such long melodies that it has been viewed as problematic for performers. The sonata has “a seamless flow of melody, and is perhaps harking back to the endless flow of plainsong, or the flow created by the interplay of voices through counterpoint.”64 The Interlude for Oboe and of Gerald Finzi

(1901-56) was composed for Goossens and “typifies the ‘pastoral’ style of English music…the melodic lines are long…”65

The long musical line became a standard of British oboe repertoire due to the playing style of Goossens, and can be especially heard in the oboe works of Vaughan Williams, Britten, and Bowen. It can really be no surprise that the oboist associated with the English musical renaissance would be given long musical lines by his contemporary composers, as the origins of the renaissance had been in folksong. The vocal line of the folksong complimented Goossens’s sense of the long musical line quite well, and even when not used in direct quotation, the folksong quality became important to the compositions written for Goossens to show off his sense of the long musical line, such as with the Quintet for Oboe and Strings of both Bax and

Bliss and William Alwyn’s (1905–1985) Suite for Oboe and Harp. However, it was not just

63 Charles Lehrer, back matter to Charles Lehrer, Sonata for Oboe and Piano: (1944)/York Bowen (Malibu, Calif: Orion, 1982), ORS 82432 Orion, vinyl recording jacket.

64 Paul Spicer, Herbert Howells (Bridgend, Wales: Seren, 1998), 128–9.

65 Terry Blacker, “Review: [untitled],” Tempo 154 (1985): 56. 32 folksong that had an impact on their oboe compositions. The connection between vocal song and

Goossens’s sense of phrasing were very much intertwined.

Imitation of the Human Voice

Goossens’s technique was flawless and his control over the instrument was so strong that it seemed the oboe was not just an instrument, but was an extension of Goossens’s voice.

Composer Edwin Roxburgh wrote, “The name of Léon Goossens is synonymous with the oboe—an artist who has transformed the sound of an ‘ill wind that no-one blows good’ into a rapturous singer, leaving the mark of innovation on its future evolution.”66 Goossens was often compared to a singer and often thought of phrases like a vocalist. For example, when discussing how one should approach the oboe solo in Brahms’s , Goossens references the manner in which a singer would approach the solo. “Suppose the melody to be set to the words

‘dans la mer.’ The singer would elide the three words without any consonant interruption of the sound.”67

Goossens collaborated frequently with singers in the works of Bach and became known as “the supreme exponent in this field, unsurpassed in the rapport between voice and instrument.

His playing became a feature of the Bach ’s annual performance of the St Matthew Passion in the Queen’s Hall.”68 His vibrato was seen as something singers should try to emulate, as he was praised by a vocal critic writing about proper vibrato use who wrote, “I feel sure that Mr.

Léon Goossens could teach us a lot about its proper use.”69 He worked with singers of

66 Goossens and Roxburgh, xiii.

67 Ibid., 90–1.

68 Rosen, 127.

69 H. C. Stewart, “Vibrato Versus ‘Wobble’: Some Impressions,” The Musical Times 74 (1933): 467. 33 international fame when they were in London and recorded with them as well. His first marriage to the soprano Fay Yeatman surely had an impact on his concept of vocal imitation, though this has not been proven. Eugène Goossens used his brother’s vocal approach when writing his , which the Boston Globe reviewed saying, “The songful section has intrinsical [sic] musical quality, yet is apt for the voice that sings it.”70

When Goossens performed, “the instrument was not merely played—it fairly sang.”71

His concept of the musical line was a vocal one, as evident in a description of Goossens’s oboe, which was said that “when playing it it becomes, as it were, his voice.”72 He himself even said,

“I look upon the oboe as an extension of the vocal chords, that’s how I treat it.”73 He had also said:

“The reed of the oboe is what the larynx is to the human voice.” The analogy I quote from my biography sums up the most essential aspect of my concept of the oboe. It has been attested by singers who have approached me for help over breath-control problems. Above all, the oboe must sing.74

Goossens’s vocal perspective probably began before he even had begun to play the oboe.

His father, Eugène Goossens, was the conductor of the , and his mother had been a in the opera before her marriage. Young Goossens grew up hearing the opera’s fine singers and the Belgian oboists who played in the orchestra. Goossens himself played for operas such as Boughton’s , operettas at Drury Lane, and symphonic literature as principal oboe at Covent Garden. This combination of direct exposure to

70 Reporter, “Review,” Boston Globe, 26 February 1929, quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 130.

71 Richard D. Freed, “Léon Goossens, Oboist, Appears With Master Virtuosi Ensemble,” New York Times, 26 April 1965.

72 Wynne, 32.

73 Goossens, quoted in Post, “Interview,” 44.

74 Goossens and Roxburg, 37. 34 vocal music both at home and later in his playing career cannot be ignored, as it no doubt directly impacted how Goossens thought of music as well as how he played. Also is the influence of de Busscher, whose playing “had a singing quality and a wonderful sostenuto,”75 and was idolized by young Goossens.

English folksong was closely associated with the oboe and went hand in hand with

Goossens’s concept of the oboe imitating the human voice. Despite its inability to produce words, the oboe is the best replacement for the voice when it cannot be used. “The oboe’s very inability to convey linguistic meaning is what also allows it to transcend words and communicate more directly through emotion.”76 When coupled with Goossens’s concept of imitating the human voice, one can almost hear the words to the folksong melodies composed in the pieces dedicated to him.

Tone Coloring

Goossens’s beautiful tone had set him apart from other oboists, but the way in which he used his tone to color his solo orchestral passages and literature was just as important. It was not enough to rely on his inherent tone; he would adapt it to what the music called for. Passages of quick and light articulations were played with a light sound, whereas longer, more lyrical passages had a full sound quality. Berlioz could not have had Goossens in mind when he wrote in his Treatise on Instrumentation, “Artless grace, pure innocence, mellow joy, the pain of a tender soul—all these the oboe can render admirably with its cantabile,”77 but these qualities are

75 Melvin Harris “Oboist Extraordinary”, in “Henri de Busscher—1880–1975,” To the World’s Oboists 3 (1975): 1.

76 Burgess and Haynes, 234.

77 , Treatise on Instrumentation, rev. , trans. Theodore Front (New York: Edwin F. Kalmus, 1948), 164. 35 found in Goossens’s use of tone coloring. After hearing him in concert, one reviewer wrote,

“His control of tone and phrasing, the refinement of his vibrato…gave his playing an expressive range that had previously been absent from the instrument….”78 Using a variety of ingredients such as vibrato, circular breathing, and articulation, the tone color could be changed to make a given phrase sound more expressive or interesting.

In regards to using vibrato to color the phrase, he wrote, “By setting out specific possibilities of expressive application, one can be more conscious of the variety of possibilities available to colour the phrasing of each piece tackled.” 79 Vibrato also served as a coloring agent when the level of its intensity was altered within a phrase. Burgess and Haynes described

Goossens’s vibrato use as follows:

He was a master of modulating vibrato to enhance the shape of the music. As he built a phrase, he would increase the intensity of his vibrato; on resolutions and final notes of phrases, his vibrato would melt into a straighter tone, and he would enhance diminuendos on sustained tones with a gradual slowing of his vibrato.80

This concept can be found in his advice to the shaping of the oboe solo in Brahm’s Violin

Concerto, in which he wrote, “Here the vibrato can be intensified to match the emotional heightening of a phrase; then relax again to the original, to colour the serenity of the closing bars.”81 After giving a concert in New York in 1928, an unknown reporter described his use of tone coloring as such: “Léon Goossens is a master of the instrument, for he makes the most of its

78 “Léon Goossens,” The Musical Times 129 (1988): 210.

79 Goossens and Roxburg, 93.

80 Burgess and Haynes, 263.

81 Goossens and Roxburgh, 91. 36 limitations in tone colouring, moodal [sic] expression and technical variety. He has wonderful delicacy in attack….”82

When articulating, Goossens acknowledges the tongue to have an important role in tone and in coloring the sound. In his book, Goossens wrote the following about how articulation can affect the quality of the tone:

How we use it in oboe-playing is a vital part of tone production….A “spongy” tone quality can often be traced to a tongue position which makes the attack directly in front of the reed….A “quacking” sound will easily result from too heavy an action of the tongue, and too short a note.83

He goes on to say that when using double- or triple-tonguing one must aim for a “lucid, expressive articulation,”84 which will not hinder the tone or the musical line. Goossens believes it can best be achieved if one will “approach it with a legato concept,”85 which focuses on tone color instead of the articulation. Keeping the tone color superior to a short articulation gave him a reputation of a master of the fiendishly difficult oboe solos of Rossini. It also kept his staccato phrases from having a pecking tone color, to which so many oboists have fallen victim.

Dynamics also were an area in which Goossens could use tone coloring to bring life to phrases. He cautioned though that “the quality of the tone must remain constant”86 in dynamic changes, not allowed to falter in soft sections and not to become spread in loud passages. The allowance of a change in tone color due to a change in the level of sound was inappropriate and

82 Unknown source, quoted in Wynne, Music in the Wind, 10.

83Goossens and Roxburgh, 76–8.

84 Ibid., 79.

85 Ibid., 80.

86 Ibid., 82. 37 would not allow the phrase to reach its full potential. Rothwell described this effect as “bulging” in her book Oboe Technique,87 which is the term Goossens used in his own book.88

The high register of the oboe has long been a cause of trouble for oboists. 89 It has a tendency to sound thin and weak compared to the lower octave. Bate describes the tone quality of the oboe’s upper range as weaker than the rich middle range, saying, “The instrument is undoubtedly at its best in a medium compass…and in this range its tone is at its sweetest, neither too reedy as it sometimes tends to be lower down, nor thin as in the acute register.”90 To overcome this problem of weak tone in the upper register, Goossens often played these notes with additional fingers in the right hand to strengthen the tone quality. He described the situation as following:

The upper register of the oboe can sound rather thin between a'' and c''' because most of the finger-holes are open, leaving the length of closed-pipe resonance very short. A perfectly legitimate way of giving more substance to [these] notes…is to close certain holes at the bottom of the instrument….These fingerings have the effect of providing extra resonance to the greater length of closed pipe, giving added lustre and projection to the sound.91

Having an enhanced tone color in the upper range allowed him to keep his tone color consistent with “the vocal quality of the middle register,”92 and allowed composers to write melodic lines in this range without fear of a thin sound taking the focus away from the melody itself.

Goossens used tone coloring of phrases to bring out the beauty of his natural tone as well as to be expressive. As he wrote:

87 Rothwell, 11.

88 Goossens and Roxburgh, 84–5.

89 This document will indicate range beginning on the lowest note of the oboe, B-flat1, one whole tone below Middle C.

90 Bate, The Oboe,185.

91 Goossens and Roxburgh, 84.

92 Bate, The Oboe, 185. 38

There are an infinite number of possibilities which affect the interpretation of a piece. The freshness of each performance can only be maintained if the artist is continually exploring alternative avenues of nuance and expression.93

By always being conscious of how to use his instrument to make a beautiful line, Goossens assured each performance would leave the listener feeling as though they had heard not just an oboe being played, but a great artist using the instrument as an expressive device capable of a wide variety of tone colors.

Imperceptible Changes in Breathing and Phrasing

In his book on the oboe, Philip Bate wrote, “It surely goes without saying that a first essential in playing the oboe, as in singing, is controlled and unlaboured breathing….”94 One of the chief features of Goossens’s playing style was his use of imperceptible changes in breathing.

Not allowing the audience to be able to tell when he took breaths was a crucial ingredient to creating the beauty of his long musical lines. As other oboists would be obvious in their breathing, Goossens managed to breathe in a way that supplied him the air he needed but not cause a break in the musical line or distract from the phrase. As his brother, Eugène recalled,

“He puffs himself up like a great ox and then he produces this endless stream of the most beautiful tone. He doesn’t seem to breathe again for hours!”95 One reviewer from Goossens’s debut concert in New York commented on his breath control by writing, “His breathing is managed with such imperceptible changes that he almost beguiles the listener into imagining the

93 Goossens and Roxburgh, 93.

94 Bate, The Oboe, 178.

95 Rosen, 343. 39 oboe to be capable of voicing long-sustained melody without breaks.”96 This ability to breathe indiscernibly led to his reputation for beautiful phrasing and long musical lines.

One of the ways in which Goossens managed to visually conceal his breathing was with the use of circular breathing. It is a technique oboists have used for centuries, and the oboe is well-suited to the technique “because the reed provides sufficient back pressure to form a stable reservoir of air in the mouth and sustain the sound while the player inhales.”97 Goossens’s first teacher, Reynolds, “was a much-respected player who used it…at a rehearsal of Tristan at

Covent Garden,…playing the famous solo in the third act without any apparent pause for breath.”98 According to Goossens, Reynolds “had perfected this form of nose-breathing”99 and he learned the technique directly from him. Goossens’s sister, Marie, recalled this in her memoirs, saying, “It is interesting to know that Mr. Reynolds living near St. Helens, learnt

‘double breathing’ from a glass blower – he passed on the art to Léon who uses it to this day.”100

Circular breathing provides the oboist with the ability to play for as long as they wish without having to stop or break a phrase to catch a breath. Some feel this to be detrimental to the musical line, believing it “counter to the true sense of cantabile, as it suppresses the breathing points that would come naturally to a singer, thereby transforming the lyrical oboe into a breathless .”101 Though this can be the case in players who do not have a clear concept of phrasing, as Bate says and as demonstrated by Reynold’s legendary Tristan solo, “Certain

96 Unknown, quoted in Wynne, Music in the Wind, 10.

97 Burgess and Haynes, 255.

98 Bate, The Oboe,180.

99 Goossens and Roxburg, 169.

100 Marie Goossens, Life on a Harp String (London: Thorne Printing & Publishing Co., 1987), 19.

101 Burgess and Haynes, 255. 40 oboists have used it to produce a quite phenomenal sostenuto.”102 While Bate does not actually reference Goossens by name, the reputation he had for his seemingly endless phrases has its basis in circular breathing.

Goossens’s early solo performances were of Baroque music and circular breathing was an excellent tool for Goossens to “negotiate the long lines in Baroque music that seem to take little account of the physical needs of the player.”103 Fritz Spiegl wrote, “His marvellous breath- control in the recording of Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring opened many a pair of ears to the music of Bach.”104 The “highly individual stamp of his Baroque playing,” 105 for which he was known, was in a large part due to his “wonderful breath control which went on forever.”106 Being able to breathe in a way that is imperceptible to the audience gave Goossens an advantage in his phrasing and a strong reputation for interpreting Baroque concertos and the obbligatos in the major works of Bach. This is evident in the following recollection of his reputation:

He regularly appeared on concert posters of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in equal billings with the great singers of the time (“With Léon Goossens, Solo Oboe”) and all for just one oboe obbligato, “I would beside my Lord,” which any respectable orchestral principal could take in his stride, then or now.107

It was not just his seemingly endless musical lines in performances of Baroque music that

Goossens dazzled his audience with, but the manner in which he played a phrase that gave him

102 Bate, The Oboe, 180.

103 Burgess and Haynes, 255.

104 Fritz Spiegl, “Obituary, Léon Goossens, Legendary Oboist,” Guardian (London) 15 February, 1988, quoted in “Léon Goossens Memoriam,” The Double Reed 11 (1988): 11.

105 John Warrack, “Obituaries: Léon Goossens,” in “Léon Goossens Memoriam,” The Double Reed 11 (1988): 14.

106 June, Marchioness of , quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 396.

107 Spiegl, “Obituary, Léon Goossens,” 11. 41 such a legendary reputation. He had an “intuitive understanding of musical phrasing,”108 which drew praise from critics and fellow musicians. He gave recitals and even lecture recitals, which drew from the whole range of oboe literature and were described as “beautifully phrased, fastidious performances: marked by a breadth of control which seemed miraculous.”109 James

Brown, who played second oboe to Goossens in the in 1955, described how

Goossens’s phrasing affected him:

He was wonderful to work with. It was a revelation to me how he phrased. I’d always admired his flow of sound, the way he made the instrument sing. His rubato sounded quite right and natural when he did it and quite wrong when anyone else did.110

Goossens approached each phrase as unique. In repeated phrases he brought out different aspects of its expressive qualities so it felt new each time it was heard. In other words, when listening to him play one heard “Goossens’s ideas about how to vary the expression of the phrases and melodies, whether through inflection, rhythm, vibrato, or dynamics.”111 This set

Goossens on a high plane of respect and admiration, and his intuitive manner of phrasing became one of the trademarks of his characteristic style and approach to the oboe.

Though “the distinctive charm of his phrasing”112 was considered to be one of

Goossens’s greatest attributes, he did not describe his approach to phrasing in any great specifics except to say, “Dynamic range is a vitally important element of phrasing….”113 In his book he describes how one should play various excerpts, but does not give a detailed or uniform approach

108 Cooke, “Léon Goossens,” 12.

109 Unknown, “Obituary, Mr. Léon Goossens, Prince of Oboists,” (London) 15 February, 1988; quoted in “Léon Goossens Memoriam,” The Double Reed 11 (1988): 13.

110 James Brown, quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 333.

111 Jeanne Belfy, “Oboe Recording Reviews,” The Double Reed 28 (2005): 143.

112 Warrack, “Obituaries, Léon Goossens,” 14.

113 Goossens and Roxburgh, 84. 42 to phrasing as a whole, as Marcel Tabuteau (1887–1966) did with his numbering system.

Neither did he write the chapter “Playing Baroque Music”114 in his book, which seems surprising considering the laudations he received for his interpretations of the style. It seems strange that

Goossens did not try to explain his approach to phrasing, though perhaps it is not so surprising, as his teaching style gave him the following reputation:

She [Rothwell] found Goossens more of a demonstrator than a teacher in the accepted sense—his own playing was so instinctive and so natural that he often found it difficult to explain anything technical, but he often played the oboe to his pupils so that they learnt by precept and imitation.115

One of Goossens’s earliest pupils, Helen Gaskill, recalled his emphasis on phrasing in her lessons, “If he was coaching me for any particular piece he was very careful about phrasing. The way he used phrasing was lovely and his use of tonguing was very, very subtle.”116 Goossens felt the oboist’s personality affects their performance, as he said, “I think one’s got a feeling of what one wants to produce—either in phrasing or in tonal effects—that you’ve got to introduce into the music.”117

Goossens’s concept of phrasing was considered to be one of the best of all instrumentalists in his time and was “enough to stamp him as a musician of exceptional sensitivity and charm…. It has been suggested that Beecham learned much of the art of phrasing from Goossens.”118 Delius is said to have taken great pleasure in his old age in hearing

114 Ibid., 97–133.

115 Harold Atkins and Peter Cotes, The Barbirollis: A Musical Marriage (London: Robson Books, 1983), 20–1.

116 Helen Gaskill, quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 134.

117 Goossens, quoted in Post, “Interview,” 42.

118Unknown, “Obituary, Léon Goossens,” The Daily Telegraph (London), in “Léon Goossens Memoriam,” The Double Reed 11 (1988): 16. 43

Goossens perform On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring on a gramophone recording with

Beecham.119 Even Elgar commented on Goossens’s phrasing, writing to a friend, “Léon G’s passages are divine—what an artist!”120

Soloistic Approach to the Instrument

The last feature of Goossens to be discussed is his soloistic approach to the oboe, which was different from the nineteenth-century concept of the oboe being a purely orchestral instrument, where “its place was mainly in accompaniment and the general standard of playing was low.”121 The oboe soloist had come to be viewed as a sort of novelty, both in England and abroad, as one American music critic wrote: “Have you ever heard a concerto for oboe? Such a thing assuredly is a novelty…. I do not recall any programme having been given in this country in which the oboe has been featured.”122

Goossens possessed a charming tone and that had not been heard before as well as a charismatic personality that was appropriate for a soloist. Audiences were curious to hear his sound and his “immense presence and confidence…captured the public’s ears and imagination.”123 It was as if the oboe had been reinvented in the hands of Goossens.

119 Eric Fenby, quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 129.

120 Edward Elgar, letter, quoted in “Obituary, Léon Goossens,” 16.

121 Cooke, “Léon Goossens,” 12.

122 Unknown music critic, quoted in Wynne, Music in the Wind, 98–9.

123 Unknown, “Obituaries, Léon Goossens,” in “Léon Goossens Memoriam,” The Double Reed 11 (1988): 16. 44

However, it was Eugène, Goossens’s brother, who provided the means for his solo début in 1921 at the third of the Goossens Orchestral Concerts,124 a series of concerts produced by an orchestra assembled by Eugène aimed to perform contemporary music. He later arranged for Goossens’s New York début playing the concerto he had written for him, which led to an only greater reputation as a soloist in England. Goossens was a virtuoso in his technique, as his brother recalled, “There was literally nothing in the range of technical complexities he couldn’t cope with.”125 He described how his brother’s incredible technique shaped the composition of his oboe concerto:

Léon, for whom I had written a tremendous display piece, complained that the was not showy enough. I therefore added some coruscations, which he negotiated brilliantly, but which seem to have placed the work permanently out of the range of all but two or three great oboe virtuosi.126

Though his technique was incredibly polished, it was with the combination of the other features previously discussed that made him legendary. Carole Rosen described how

Goossens’s soloistic features shaped not only his reputation but the status of the oboe as a solo instrument:

The virtuoso qualities that he revealed, together with his delicacy of phrasing and richness of sound, put the oboe on the map as a twentieth-century solo instrument in the same way that transformed the status of the and Segovia that of the guitar.127

Goossens brought the oboe and its repertoire into the public view and “in less than two decades, he singlehandedly elevated the stature of his chosen instrument to international prominence.”128

124 Rosen, 125.

125 Eugene Goossens, 241.

126 Ibid., 263.

127 Rosen, 125.

128 Cooke, “Léon Goossens,”12. 45

As the oboe was becoming more accepted as a solo instrument, many reviewers and admirers of Goossens wrote about how he used his characteristic features to enhance his solo performances. After hearing him in concert in New York, one critic described Goossens’s features by saying, “Musicianly taste, perfect rhythm, and flawless fingering are…characteristics of Goossens’s distinguished reed.129 Other praise for Goossens’s soloistic character can be found in the writing of John Warrack, who wrote the following:

As a concerto soloist, he was incomparable. He had the presence, the style, the authority of the true virtuoso; the brilliance of his technique and the seductive beauty of his tone brought distinction to a whole range of music, from neglected baroque and classical works to the new works he championed. His recitals often showed a Beecham-like ability to take some trivial piece and make it sound masterly.130

Warrack was not the only one to write about Goossens’s ability to make any bit of music sound special. One reporter for wrote:

Baroque oboe concertos are not distinguished for their profundity but, in the hands of a master stylist, they can generate enough musical pleasure of an equally valid variety to refresh the mind’s ear long after an ordinary evening of Bach or Bruckner has been forgotten. Such was the effect of Léon Goossens’s playing….131

Goossens was also noted for the attention he gave to each piece he performed: “He would lavish as much care in a recital on a piece dedicated to him by a forgotten minor composer like Walter

Stanton or John Somers-Cocks, as ’s Sonatina or a Schumann ‘Romance.’”132

A mixture of Goossens’s “technical mastery and fastidious musicianship…control of tone and phrasing, the refinement of his vibrato…gave his playing an expressive range that had

129Unknown music critic, quoted in Wynne, Music in the Wind, 10.

130 Warrack, “Obituaries, Léon Goossens,”14.

131 Freed, “Léon Goossens,” New York Times, 26 April 1965.

132 Rosen, 392. 46 previously been absent from the instrument.”133 Composers became interested in writing for the oboe, and “in England alone, Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Bax, Bliss, Britten and many others found their imagination kindled by the qualities of his playing.”134 By the end of World War II,

Goossens had left his orchestral jobs to focus on his solo career, a move that would have been the equivalent of professional suicide just twenty years earlier. Goossens was able to make the move because of his strong international reputation; an unnamed lead oboist in one of the leading opera houses in Italy is known to have said, “I am willing to break my instrument over my knee after listening to such perfection.”135 He had also developed a large arsenal of solo works ranging from small, minor works to large scale concertos that were written for him and that he could draw from.136

Another way Goossens spread his reputation as a soloist was through his recordings. He realized the impact recordings could have for both his career as well as for the standing of the oboe as a solo instrument. Of this he wrote:

The supreme achievement of the oboe in the twentieth century lies in its reassertion as a soloist in the concerto medium. There is no doubt that the facilities of studio recording techniques have done much to encourage the effectiveness of this development.137

He began recording in the 1920s and was dubbed “the recording angel” by , who called him “the easiest person in the world to work with.”138 Even though Richard Strauss did not write his concerto for Goossens, it is said he “preferred Léon’s interpretation and was

133 Unknown, “Léon Goossens,” The Musical Times 129 (1988): 210.

134 Warrack, “Obituaries, Léon Goossens,” 14.

135 Unknown oboist, quoted in Wynne, Music in the Wind, 97.

136 A list of works written for Goossens can be found on page 220.

137 Goossens and Roxburgh, 161.

138 Fred Gaisberg, quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 335. 47 delighted that he was to make the first recording in 1947 with the Philharmonia String

Orchestra.”139 He was heard on recordings with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and heard in films, though as James Brown recalled, “Léon refused to be seen so I was on camera while his was the sound that was heard.”140 He was heard frequently on the BBC, which also spread his playing and his name.

His recordings were a means of helping him distribute his tone quality and soloistic character to audiences unable to hear him perform live. As Black recalled:

It was not just in England that he was such a great influence, as his records (78 RPM) were the only records available of the solo oboist in the world at that time. I’m speaking of the late 1930s and through the ’40s, when concert-going was severely restricted for a kid like me, so we relied on records a lot, and his Mozart oboe quartet and his Handel concertos were the basis of everything.141

American oboists were also using Goossens’s recordings as a model for their own approach to the instrument. Jerold Sundet, a student of Goossens in his later life, recalled his experience of hearing these recordings in his youth:

Whenever I heard a recording of Goossens’ playing I always asked myself how he arrived at such a sound? How did one play with such a flexible line in all styles of music? Why did the sound have such a “spun out” and breathless quality?142

From his initial recordings in the 1920s through the 1940s, Goossens was essentially the only concert oboist and all but monopolized the recording studio. However, the EMI label was under the influence of Sir who “used his influence to ensure that preferential treatment for the oboe repertoire was given to Evelyn Rothwell (Lady Barbirolli) to the detriment

139 Rosen, 319.

140 Brown, quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 333.

141 Neil Black, quoted in Sweeney, “An Afternoon’s Conversation with Neil Black,” 104.

142 Sundet, “Léon Goossens,” 1. 48 of Léon Goossens.”143 Goossens did not record after the 1940s and focused on his solo engagements. However, one finds it “difficult to understand the neglect of his talents by the major companies in the late fifties at a time when improvements in recording techniques clearly demanded the remake of all his major repertoire.”144

Goossens was the first oboist able to make a full-time career as a soloist, and “with his superb artistry and genial platform manner, he captured public imagination and focused attention on the oboe repertoire like no other before his time.”145 His soloistic approach to the instrument had a great impact on his playing, whether in the orchestra, chamber ensemble, or concerto performance. Not only did he change the way oboists saw their instrument, he revolutionized the way in which audiences and composers viewed the former “orchestral” instrument.

British Oboe Music After 1950

Goossens had a formidable impact on the oboe and its literature. Nowhere else is it more evident than in the number of pieces British composers wrote for him to perform. The majority of these compositions were composed before 1950, though composers continued to write for him when he was well into his seventies. Major works continued to be written for Goossens after

1950, such as the oboe concerto by Malcolm Arnold (1952), the Oboe Concerto No. 2 of Gordon

Jacob (1956), and the oboe concerto by Wilfred Josephs (1967), but Goossens relied heavily on the works that he had performed most often, such as his brother’s concerto, when he was touring

143 Rosen, 335.

144 Ibid.

145 Cooke, “Léon Goossens,”12. 49 after the 1940s. He was also uninterested in the new compositions involving extended techniques, which were becoming more and more common. He recalled in an interview, “…I think of the oboe as an instrument of my time; I never had to go in for this sort of hieroglyphics of music. I realize you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!”146 He had made a successful career with the lyrical compositions from the first half of the century and did not feel the need to expand his repertoire.

He also suffered a severe blow to his career when in 1962 he was involved in a serious car crash, which caused him the loss of several teeth and damaged the nerves in his lips. It took two years for him to return to playing, which he did by having to use a completely different embouchure approach than what he had used before the accident. He explained his new method for overcoming the lack of feeling in his mouth:

I now have to bunch up the side muscles so that they push in this way and get behind my lip and force it up to the reed. At the same time, I hug it a bit with the upper lip so that there is pressure all round the reed which produces quite a difference in sound from the old technique.147

He started playing in public again with by playing for film recordings two years after the accident and by 1965 had returned to the solo scene with a concert in New York playing the

Scarlatti/Bryan Concerto in G Major and the Albinoni Concerto in B Flat, Op. 7, No. 3 where he received the following favorable criticism, “His marvelous tone and impeccable technique are as freshly preserved as his unerring sense of style.” 148 Those that knew his playing before the accident described his new tone as “a little smaller but equally fine.”149 Though Goossens had

146 Goossens, quoted in Post, “Interview,” 45.

147 Goossens, quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 391.

148 Freed, “Léon Goossens,” New York Times, 26 April 1965.

149 , quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 391. 50 not lost his edge as a performer, other English oboists were starting to come into their own as soloists after 1950 and provided competition for Goossens.

Rothwell had also become active in recording and was also taking up a successful solo career of her own. Her husband, Sir John Barbirolli, helped her solo career by programming concerts that would feature her in a concerto, as well as to give her an edge at the EMI recording studios. She had begun her solo career in the same manner Goossens had by performing

Baroque works. Sir Barbirolli helped out in this area, as he “made ‘free transcriptions’ of movements and attributions by Giovanni Pergolesi (1935) and Arcangelo Corelli (1945) for his wife….”150 Others followed Barbirolli’s lead and made their own arrangements of Baroque concertos and sonatas for Rothwell, such as who “composed an equally delectable pastiche of movements of keyboard sonatas by Domenico Cimarosa (1939).”151

Though her repertoire began with the Baroque, contemporary composers became interested in writing for her.

Gordon Jacob originally written his Oboe Concerto No. 1 (1933) for her, but Goossens managed to convince him to change the dedication and give the premiere. Rothwell managed to keep the pieces written for her after 1950 and received dedications from major English composers, including Three Pieces by Michael Head (1954), a sonata by

(1959), a sonata by Arnold Cooke (1962), both a sonatina (1963) and sonata (1967) by Gordon

Jacob, Three Bagatelles by (1974), and Study I by Edwin Roxburgh (2007).

Though she served as an inspiration for English composers after 1950, her recordings comprise

150 Burgess and Haynes, 208.

151 Ibid. 51

Baroque concertos, which began her solo career. A recording of the Vaughan Williams concerto is the only exception.152

Janet Craxton (1929–1981) was active around the same time as Rothwell and also had a significant number of dedications. A few of these are the Ten Blake Songs of Vaughan Williams

(1958); a sonata by Lennox Berkeley (1964) as well as his oboe quartet (1967), and later his

Sinfonia Concertante (1973); an oboe quartet by Elizabeth Maconchy (1972) and one by Francis

Routh (1977); and Three Pieces (1981) by her husband, composer Alan Richardson. Craxton founded the London Oboe Quartet in 1968, which continued what had become an almost traditional ensemble for English composers to write for beginning in the 1920s with Goossens.

She also received dedications from non-English composers such as Françaix’s English horn quartet (1971) and Lutoslawski’s Epitaph (1980), written as a memorial for Richardson. Unlike

Goossens and Rothwell, Craxton did not invest a large amount of time in studio recording, as she maintained principal positions in the Hallé Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London

Mozart Players, and later with London and at Covent Garden until her death. A few recordings of hers exist, mainly taken from BBC broadcasts, but nothing to compare to the number of recordings by Goossens or Rothwell.

Rothwell and Craxton were the most successful English oboe soloists apart from

Goossens and were the main inspiration for English oboe compositions after 1950. However,

Goossens had a major impact on the output of British oboe music after 1950 because of what he had done in the first half of the century to popularize the oboe as a solo instrument, as well as in his establishment of a British school of oboe playing. His students and their own students were able to build upon the foundation he laid in terms of tone quality and technique. He had also

152 Ralph Vaughan Williams, Oboe Concerto, Evelyn Rothwell, oboe; London Symphony Orchestra, cond. Sir John Barbirolli, HMV HQM 1016 (1955); vinyl recording. 52 created a new standard for oboe music internationally, and with the arrival of the technical virtuosity of (b. 1939), composers all over the world were beginning to see the oboe as capable of doing even more in terms of extended techniques.

This was true with English composers as well, though the tendency has been to keep the oboe’s lyrical quality while still writing technically challenging music. The music written for

Rothwell generally tends to stay in the lyrical vein of the Goossens compositions, while

Craxton’s compositions, particularly the later ones, tend to be more experimental in the use of dissonance and are more technically challenging. Today, Nicholas Daniel (b. 1962) has taken the reigns of the leading English soloist and has continued to perform what are now considered standards in the English repertoire such as the Finzi Interlude, Howells Sonata, and Alwyn

Concerto. At the same time, he performs works by modern British composers such as Paul

Patterson’s Duologue (1984) and Thea Musgrave’s Helios (1994). Rothwell, Craxton, and

Daniel have been indebted to Goossens, as he set a new standard of what an oboist should be able to do and led the way for compositions of a new standard of virtuosity.

The Importance of the Pieces to be Examined

Goossens had led a revival of the oboe as a solo instrument. Compositions written for him include both chamber works, such as oboe quartets and sonatas, and solo works such as concertos. He was the principal inspiration for oboe compositions in Britain during the first half of the twentieth century, and of this it has been said:

One remembers that much if not most of the British oboe music of this mid-century era was written for Goossens, and that had relationships with most of these composers. He was there, his playing inspired them to expand the repertoire, and the pieces are a symbiosis of the oboist’s musical personality and the composers’ personal and generational tendencies.153

153 Belfy, 144. 53

Goossens’s influence is most evident in the pieces to be examined. The Phantasy of

Benjamin Britten (1932), Concerto for Oboe and Strings of Ralph Vaughan Williams (1944),

and Sonata for Oboe and Piano of York Bowen (1927) have been chosen to be examined

because of their importance in the repertoire of the oboe. These works were also written for

Goossens while he was in the prime of his career and while the oboe as a solo instrument was

still seen as somewhat of a novelty in England. Knowing that they were written with the intent

that Goossens would perform them, the three pieces have a close association with his style. As

Neil Black wrote about Goossens’s impact on the English composer’s method for writing oboe

works, “His very idiosyncratic style was in the ear of these composers before a note was written,

and in playing the music of this time I for one have found it impossible to forget his

influence.”154

Britten wrote Phantasy, which is most often referred to as the Phantasy Quartet, for

Goossens who had brought the genre of oboe and string trio back to life beginning with the

revival of the Mozart Oboe Quartet. He had new works for the ensemble written for him by

Bliss and Bax, but these pieces were for oboe and string quartet, a slightly different ensemble

than what could be easily paired with the Mozart Quartet. Britten was more likely to have his

piece performed more often if the instrumentation was the same as that of the Mozart Quartet. It

also provides a contrast to the Mozart Quartet in that the oboe, though still the main melodic

voice, partners with the strings so that each voice has an equally interesting part, unlike that of

the Mozart where the strings are involved mostly to provide accompaniment to the oboe soloist.

154 Neil Black, “Double Reed News, Spring 2004,” quoted in “CD Reviews”, Ruth Bolister, http://www.ruthbolister.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/cd%20reviews.htm (accessed 15 June 2009). 54

This also makes for a more interesting and complex work for the ensemble, and would have given the piece more performance opportunities by keeping the interest of the string players.

Britten’s Phantasy Quartet served as a sort of watershed for the genre. The oboe quartets that came after it tended to have a similar formal structure and used the ensemble in a similar fashion. Pastoral elements are used in the quartet, which “echoes the leisurely folksiness of an

Englishry [sic] that Britten had not yet entirely rejected”155 and can be found in the later oboe quartets by English composers, such as in E. J. Moeran’s Fantasy Quartet (1946), and also in the oboe quintet medium, as evident in the oboe quintet by Maconchy (1932). The output of works for the oboe quartet and quintet seem to have a direct relationship to the success of Britten’s quartet, as the quintets of Bax and Bliss (1922 and 1927, respectively) came several years before

Britten wrote his quartet and it is only after his that one sees the oboe quartet become a truly popular medium. It is worth noting as well that Goossens was again the dedicatee of these later quartets and quintets.

Vaughan Williams’s Concerto for Oboe and Strings was not the earliest oboe concerto written during Goossens’s quest to revive the solo oboe but is the one that is the best known and has become one of the major pieces in the oboe repertoire. It is the work of a composer in his musical maturity writing in both his own characteristic style, as it was formed from a scherzo cut from his Fifth Symphony, and in a way that is adapted for the performer for whom he was writing in that “there is more exploitation of the soloist, for whom is written an extremely difficult part.”156 Vaughan Williams’s concerto has been viewed as a piece that “requires a master of the

155 Eric Roseberry, Brochure notes for Sarah Francis, Britten: Music for Oboe, Music for Piano (London: Hyperion 1995), CDA66776: 5.

156 Hubert Foss, Ralph Vaughan Williams: A Study (New York: Oxford University Press, 1950), 170. 55 instrument, a Goossens…, to make the solo part sound effortless rather than awkward.”157 There are elegant, vocal-like melodies for the oboe with virtuosic displays interspersed, and as a whole it embodies Vaughan Williams’s distinctive use of folksong qualities in melodic lines, a reliance on modality, and pastoral leanings, all of which are found in his music and have “been deemed to reflect essential features of the English national character, of the English landscape, and of the

English language.”158

The use of the oboe and draws on the early successes of Goossens’s solo career with the oboe quintets of Bax and Bliss, and the quartet of Britten. The tone color of the oboe blends well with that of the strings, and the lack of winds and percussion allows the oboe’s tone color to shine through and to be heard easily without having to fight for attention, which tends to be the case with Eugène Goossens’s thickly scored concerto. The instrumentation is also in line with the early concertos written for Goossens, such as Jacob’s Concerto for Oboe and

Strings No. 1 (1933) and Boughton’s Concerto for Oboe and Strings No. 2 (1936), which both played on the success of the oboe quartets and quintets written for him. It is as if the oboe was given the comforts of the chamber ensemble setting while being allowed to show off its versatility as a soloist.

Vaughan Williams’s oboe concerto is “one more of the products of the instrumental virtuosity that has marked the English musical renaissance.”159 Both Vaughan Williams and

Goossens have been closely associated with the English musical renaissance for their contributions to English music, so it is not surprising that a concerto was penned by the

157 Michael Kennedy, The Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams (London: Oxford University Press, 1964), 347.

158 Alain Frogley, “Constructing Englishness in Music: National Character and the Reception of Ralph Vaughan Williams,” in Vaughan Williams Studies, ed. Alain Frogley (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 5.

159 , The Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams (London: Oxford University Press, 1954), 117. 56 composer deemed to be the greatest living English composer of the time for the greatest living

English oboist of the era. The result of this combination was an excellent work, which is one of the most standard pieces in the oboe literature. The concerto has a way of showing off

Goossens’s exceptional abilities as a soloist, but it was not a complete departure from Vaughan

Williams’s personal style. It is an important work because it shows off Vaughan Williams’s compositional mastery in his mature period and ability to alter the composition to fit the virtuosity of the soloist.

York Bowen’s Sonata for Oboe and Piano is smaller than the Britten and Vaughan

Williams because of the instrumentation, but it is a complex work that is very challenging for the performer. In some ways it can be more difficult to perform than the other pieces due to the demands it puts on the oboist. For example, the range of the sonata is just under three octaves from b-flat1 to a-flat3, and Bowen often calls for quick shifts between large intervals, covering the whole range of the instrument. The range of Vaughan Williams’s oboe concerto covers two and a half octaves from b-flat1 to e3 and the Britten Phantasy covers the same range with an extension to f3. Neither work requires the performer to shift between octaves to the extent of

Bowen’s sonata. More of the oboe part's difficulties will be discussed later.

Bowen’s sonata also fills in the gap left by other composers who wrote works for

Goossens because it is one of the few sonatas written for him. Most of the works for Goossens were concertos, quartets, quintets, or other pieces to be used in the recital setting. Goossens premiered Bowen’s Sonata for Oboe and Piano on 5 February 1929 in New York, and gave the

English premiere on 28 October 1930, though it had been composed in 1927. The other sonatas written for Goossens by Howells and Cooke came much later in 1942 and 1957, respectively.

The Howells sonata was not even performed by Goossens, who “had serious reservations about 57 the structure of the work,”160 and was not performed until 1984 when it was revived by English oboist Sarah Francis (b. 1938). The Cooke oboe sonata comes much later in Goossens’s career and was not considered by Goossens to be on the same level as Bowen’s sonata, as evident in his description of the Bowen sonata as a substantial concert piece in his listing of works for oboe and piano in his book while not providing the reader with the knowledge of the Cooke sonata’s existence.161

In addition to being one of the earliest works written for Goossens, Bowen’s oboe sonata showcases all of Goossens’s stylistic playing features:

Notably more pastoral in mood than [Bowen’s] other sonatas…. The delightfully singing first movement…exhibits every turn and decoration characteristic of the sound of the instrument…followed by the elegiac Andantino, the oboe singing regretfully, Bowen maintaining a wonderfully wide-spanning lyrical line…the music ends with impetuous passage-work and a vigorous flourish.162

It also is written in the late Romantic style, which was Goossens favored and to which his playing was well-suited. A reviewer at the premiere in New York wrote, “Bowen’s modern harmonic scheme of dissonance overlaid a graceful and musicianly [sic] work of artistic proportions.”163 However, the dissonance referred to is much more gentle than the dissonant styles of other contemporary European composers such as Stravinsky, which Bowen rejected, as he was “essentially a romantic and thus unconcerned with neo-classicism, , or any other theoretical system…so his music…has suffered from the whims of fleeting fashion.”164

160 Spicer, 128.

161 Goossens and Roxburgh, 188–9.

162 Lewis Foreman, program notes in York Bowen, , Endymion Ensemble (Watford: Dutton Laboratories, 2003), CDLX 7129, 8.

163 Unknown, “Goossens Brothers Play: Oboe Virtuoso and Pianist Heard in an Interesting Program,” New York Times, 6 February 1929.

164 Clinton Gray-Fisk, “Pen Portrait: York Bowen,” The Musical Times 98 (1957): 665. 58

Bowen’s Sonata for Oboe and Piano was not published until 1944, the same year as the publication of Vaughan Williams’s concerto, and was the only one of his wind sonatas published during his lifetime. Despite its publication, the sonata fell out of the repertoire for many years, as was the case with the majority of Bowen’s music, and “only in recent years have we realised quite the extent and quality of it.”165 Because it was essentially lost for oboists for about half a century, little research has been given to the piece and its importance in the repertoire. It is the author’s hope that this discussion of the Bowen Sonata for Oboe and Piano will help future oboists and researchers understand the value of the piece and its relationship to the Britten

Phantasy Quartet and Vaughan Williams Concerto for Oboe and Strings.

165 Foreman, Chamber Music, 7. 59

CHAPTER 3

PHANTASY OF BENJAMIN BRITTEN

Background and Reception

Composed in the early autumn of 1932 during Britten’s study at the Royal College of

Music, the Phantasy, Op. 2 is one of Britten’s earliest compositions, juvenilia excluded, and was

penned during a time when Britten focused on instrumental works. Britten began working on the

quartet after the completion of his Sinfonietta, Op. 1, and, like the Sinfonietta, was given a

professional premiere and later published. The piece was composed as a nod to the Cobbett

prize, which required the compositions submitted to be in one movement and to have the old

English spelling for fantasia for a title. Many major English composers wrote pieces entitled

Phantasy, such as Vaughan Williams, York Bowen, Eugène Goossens, and .

However, Britten’s quartet was not actually an entry in the competition, as he had already won a

prize in the competition in May of 1932 for his Phantasy in f minor for .

Britten often composed pieces with specific performers in mind. The result was that

while “the instruments are explored to their innermost recesses, so too are the personalities of the

players, whose techniques had come to fascinate the composer and eventually to prompt him to

write for them.”1 The Nocturnal After John Dowland for guitarist , the

for Peter Pears, and the Sonata in C for and Piano for are a few of

Britten’s works that were inspired by their performers and imitate their personalities.2 Two of

his later oboe works, Two Insect Pieces (1935) and Six Metamorphoses After Ovid (1951), were

written for oboists Sylvia Spencer and Joy Boughton, respectively.

1 Donald Mitchell, “The Chamber Music,” in The Britten Companion, ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 371.

2 Ibid. 60

In the case of the Phantasy Quartet,3 its principal inspiration and dedicatee was Léon

Goossens, who was on the faculty at the Royal College while Britten was a student and in the

midst of a successful career. The Phantasy Quartet was Britten’s “first real chamber work of

substance, over which Britten laboured hard and long, continuously revising and rewriting....”4

Knowing Goossens would be the performer was surely one reason why Britten worked hard to

perfect the quartet. Goossens, a well-known oboist, had already had oboe quartets composed for

him, and his involvement with the quartet was a factor Britten surely knew would be good for his

own reputation and would help his music reach wider audiences than those just at the Royal

College of Music.

Léon Goossens, André Mangeot, Eric Bray, and Jack Shinebourne premiered the

Phantasy Quartet in a BBC broadcast of contemporary music on 6 August 1933. Britten was

quite pleased with Goossens’s performance, as he wrote, “Goossens does his part splendidly.

The rest – altho’ [sic] they are intelligent players, aren’t really first class instrumentalists.”5 In a

letter to Edward Clark shortly after the broadcast, Britten expressed his pleasure with Goossens’s

involvement with the quartet, writing, “I do hope you were able to listen in to Léon Goossens

[sic] beautiful performance of my oboe Phantasy….”6 Three months later it was given its first

live performance in a concert of phantasies in on 21 November 1933 at a meeting of

the Music Society. The Times had the following review in its 25 November issue:

3 The Phantasy, Op. 2 will be referred to hereafter as the Phantasy Quartet to distinguish it from Britten’s earlier Phantasy in f minor for String Quintet.

4 Mitchell, “The Chamber Music,” 372.

5 Benjamin Britten, Letters From a Life, Vol. 1, 1923–1939, ed. Donald Mitchell and Philip Reed (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991), 305.

6 Benjamin Britten, Lowestoft, to Edward Clark, London, 13 August 1933, in Lewis Foreman, From Parry to Britten: British Music in Letters 1900—1945 (London: Batsford, 1987), 166. 61

Of the four works in this form Benjamin Britten’s oboe quartet was the most original. Its material, though not in the least far-fetched, is arresting, and his treatment of the oboe as a kind of melodic marginal comment on the main argument sustained by the strings is also original, but again quite natural and unforced.7

The Phantasy Quartet received its international premiere on April 5, 1934 at the

International Society for Contemporary Music Festival in Florence, Italy with Goossens performing with Sidney Griller, Philip Burton, and Colin Hampton of the Griller String Quartet, although Britten’s submissions of the Phantasy Quintet and Sinfonietta to the ISCM festival in

Amsterdam the previous year had been rejected.8 The addition of Goossens to the program seems to have given Britten the edge needed for a successful entry to the festival. The performance was a success for Britten, as he wrote in his diary, “Goossens & the Grillers really play my Phant. [sic] very beautifully & it’s quite well received.”9 Britten had now been launched to the international stage with the help of Goossens, and the Phantasy Quartet quickly became the standard upon which other British composers modeled their own oboe quartets.

The Oboe As Soloist in the Quartet Setting

The oboe quartet was a genre popular in the Classical era, and came into being during the

1770s. Burgess and Haynes describe its creation during this time by saying, “Many of the solo and chamber genres that had provided showplaces for the hautboy in earlier times had fallen out of favor….They were replaced by the hautboy quartet (sometimes quintet)….”10 The oboe

7 Unknown, “The Music Society,” The Times, 25 November 1933, Arts and Entertainment section, 10.

8 Humphrey Carpenter, Benjamin Britten: A Biography (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1992), 46.

9 Benjamin Britten, quoted in ibid., 55.

10 Burgess and Haynes, 91. 62 quartet was most prolific between 1770 and 1800. Haynes describes these years as “the generation of the oboe quartet; the concerto holds its own, though ebbing after its high point

[1740–1770].”11 The purpose of these quartets, like the concerto, was to show off the virtuosity of the oboist for whom it was written, while the role the strings served was mainly as accompaniment. In regards to the oboe parts, the same is true for the English oboe quartets and quintets written in the first half of the twentieth century.

Goossens was the muse for the oboe quartets written in the first half of the twentieth century, as he wanted new pieces to pair with the Mozart Oboe Quartet. He was given the oboe quintets of Bax (1922) and Bliss (1927), but the most influential work for oboe and string ensemble was Britten’s Phantasy Quartet (1932). It served as the model for the oboe quartets and quintets that came after by composers such as Finzi (1936), Gow (1936), Jacob (1938),

Moeran (1946), Cooke (1948), Wordsworth (1951), and Arnold (1957). As Britten had

Goossens in mind when he wrote the Phantasy Quartet, and as we know Britten often wrote compositions for specific performers, Britten wrote the oboe part in the quartet to show off

Goossens’s virtuosity. Goossens so admired the work that he later asked Britten in 1954 to write him another work that he could take on tour to and New Zealand, but Britten was unable to honor Goossens’s request.12

11 Bruce Haynes, “The Solo Oboe Before 1800: A Survey,” The Journal of the International Double Reed Society 17 (1989): 10.

12 Rosen, 344. 63

Evidence of Goossens’s Virtuosity in Britten's Quartet: A Performance Guide

As Britten wrote the Phantasy Quartet to show off Goossens’s virtuosity, this section will focus on showing the passages written specifically for Goossens’s playing features that were discussed in Chapter 2. The oboe part will be the focus, with the string parts being referenced only when they affect what happens in the oboe part. The discussion will begin with the passages demonstrating sustained melodic lines where the oboe is the dominate instrument.

Though Goossens never recorded the quartet, knowledge of his style and the evidence of its incorporation heard in his recordings provide the perspective of how he most likely performed the work.

Sustained melodic lines

The first example of importance (Figure 1.1) begins with oboe’s entry at Rehearsal 2, at measure 23.2. In the opening tempo, andante alla marcia, the first entrance is a short phrase of three measures and three beats beginning and ending on g1, and is marked pianississimo with a small crescendo to pianissimo in two beats, followed by an indication to play expressively.

When the oboe enters again six measures after Rehearsal 2, the phrase is repeated, but extended to five measures and three beats, with the dynamic raised to pianissimo with a crescendo to piano in two beats and now marked più espressivo. There is also a crescendo to the return to g1 followed by another marking of piano with a four-beat crescendo in the new material and a decrescendo under the last note. The oboe then enters on e2 with another short phrase of three measures and two beats, marked pianissimo again, but with a five-beat crescendo marked molto 64 to mezzo forte, followed by a two-beat crescendo that immediately begins a four-beat decrescendo down to piano.

Figure 1.1 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

This passage is not technically difficult, but allowed Goossens to show off his noted tone quality in a range that is well-suited for the instrument. He most likely colored each phrase differently to show their changes. For example, a new tone color would be heard in the extension of the second phrase and the higher notes of the third phrase, particularly the f2, which is not in the key signature, as well as the progression of dynamics and their shaping. The second phrase, though not overly long, shows the beauty of Goossens’s tone and phrasing when playing long musical lines. Goossens could also employ his signature vibrato on the long tied notes and on the dotted quarter notes in the relaxed tempo. Britten likely wanted Goossens’s vibrato to be present because the first two entries are marked espressivo and più espressivo, respectively. 65

Vibrato was Goossens’s preferred device for expression and by the time the quartet was written was one of his trademarks, particularly in his solo playing, and something of which Britten would have known.

The next example (Figure 1.2) is in similar style to the previous example and follows five measures after the end of the first example, or six measures before Rehearsal 4. It is almost identical to the second entry in Figure 1.1, but is transposed one whole step up, beginning on a1, and covers a wider dynamic range than before, beginning on piano and crescendos to forte in four beats to the downbeat of the second measure, which is accented. The second measure is also different because it is marked cantabile instead of espressivo or più espressivo as the phrases in Figure 1.1 had been. The quarter notes in the second measure are not marked staccato has had been done previously, and the quarter notes in the third measure and the first two of the fourth measure are not slurred, nor are the last two half notes. Britten also writes for the oboe to crescendo on the last note, which is two beats longer than in the previous version, where each other phrase had a decrescendo.

Figure 1.2 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

The same features of Goossens’s tone quality, tone coloring, sense of long musical lines, and vibrato in Figure 1.1 carry over into Figure 1.2, but what sets it apart is the addition of cantabile to the phrase. Goossens was known for his way of imitating the human voice when he played, another feature Britten surely knew when he wrote the oboe part. This explains the 66 removal of the slurs from the quarter notes, as Goossens sense of line coupled with his voice-like approach make them unnecessary after Britten had indicated the phrase to be played cantabile.

The music builds in intensity to Rehearsal 4, so the crescendo to the end of the phrase should be enhanced with vibrato to strengthen the buildup instead of a fading out used in the similar phrase in Figure 1.1.

The quartet is composed in an arc form, and the ending is almost a mirror image of the opening of the quartet. Therefore, the next examples will focus on the treatment of the oboe in end of the quartet. The first of these examples (Figure 1.3) begins at Rehearsal 32 and is written almost exactly the same as Figure 1.2, the exceptions being that now the oboe enters forte and accented, the first crescendo is extended by two beats, and the last note is two beats shorter with a decrescendo.

Figure 1.3 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

Again the oboe is marked cantabile, but the changes in the level of dynamic are not indicated as they were in the similar passage in the opening section. Britten means for the intensity of the return to the original music not to fade quickly, but it also gave Goossens another opportunity to show off his ability to change the feel of a phrase with tone coloring. Where 67

Figure 1.2 began softly and grew to forte and above, Figure 1.3 begins forte and increases its level. Because it is different from its first appearance, Goossens most likely would have played it with a different tone coloring, one that did not begin sweetly but full and broad, while still employing his vibrato and his style of imitating the human voice.

From here, Britten uses the opening phrases in reverse order to complete his arc form, but he also transposes the first phrase down a step and the second by a half step. However, the last of the opening phrases, or the first entry of the oboe in the piece at Rehearsal 2, is on its original pitches, though without staccatos. Both the first and third phrases in Figure 1.4 are longer than their previous versions.

Figure 1.4 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

Though this example is very similar to Figure 1.1, there is variation in the use of dynamics and style indications. The first entrance of Figure 1.4 is marked pianississimo and is 68 written both poco a poco crescendo and given a crescendo to the second beat of the third measure. From here, Britten adds cantabile before the hairpin crescendos, allowing Goossens to exploit his imitation of the human voice in this longer phrase. Goossens also had enough time to establish the speed of his vibrato in the longer duration of the first note to set up the cantabile.

Britten indicates the second entrance piano instead of pianissimo with a crescendo to piano as it was at the beginning, and in this example Britten does not give another dynamic indicator until the end of the last note, which is marked pianissimo. He also indicates dolcissimo instead of più espressivo. This gave Goossens the opportunity to use a new tone color with a slower vibrato speed to show the reflective nature of the ending, where the corresponding section in Figure 1.1 should have a faster vibrato as the main focus of expression to help move the music forward.

The third entrance is also louder than its corresponding section at the opening, now marked pianissimo instead of pianississimo, and with a delay of a crescendo until six beats into the phrase instead of on the first beat of the phrase. There is also not an indication for expression, nor staccato markings on the quarter notes in the third measure as there was at the opening passage, and morendo is written to show the gradual dying away of the oboe part.

Because he approached recurring themes differently each time they were played, Goossens probably used a contrasting tone color and very little vibrato in this phrase to show the changed feeling of the phrase from the opening. A final short phrase at Rehearsal 35 that was not part of the opening section (Figure 1.5) is added, providing one last chance for the audience to enjoy

Goossens’s signature tone, vibrato, and use of tone coloring in a pianissimo fadeout. 69

Figure 1.5 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

Beginning at Rehearsal 20, the next important section featuring Goossens’s approach in sustained melodic lines occurs in what is sometimes referred to as the third movement of the

Phantasy Quartet. Britten chose to leave out the oboe and focus on the string trio until Rehearsal

27. At this point the oboe part, marked ad libitum, mimics a cadenza over the strings, which provide a drone-like . The cadenza in this sense lasts until one measure after Rehearsal

29, where the oboe part becomes stricter in tempo and rhythmically less flexible, while the strings become more active.

In addition to the ad libitum marking at the oboe’s entrance after Rehearsal 27, Britten also included dolcissimo, indicating a desire for Goossens’s vibrato to be present. It also serves as a cue to Goossens to use a delicate tone color in the oboe’s third octave, which tends to have a naturally shrill tone quality. Starting on e3 at a piano dynamic is not easy to do and was a tribute to Goossens’s soloistic approach to the oboe in that he could both do it and produce a beautiful, unstrained tone. The oboe is written to crescendo beginning in the second measure but without indication of an arrival dynamic, only an ending dynamic of pianissimo with a decrescendo.

However, Britten does write tenuto on the third beat of the third measure and espressivo on the downbeat of the fourth measure. Both of these indications were for Goossens to employ his vibrato and to change the tone color used in the high register to a fuller and warmer tone color for the middle and low register. This is seen in the first phrase of Figure 1.6. 70

Figure 1.6 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

The oboe begins on d1 in the second half of Figure 1.6, another very difficult note to start on and especially so when it is marked pianissimo. Though also marked ad libitum, there is not an indication for either dolcissimo or espressivo, showing a desire for Goossens to use the fuller tone color used in the end of the previous phrase and to keep it throughout the crescendo to forte and the descrescendo to pianissimo. Britten also indicates a tenuto on d3, an indication to use vibrato and the sweet tone color of the upper octave used in the previous phrase. Though the phrases are short, the cadenza quality gives the impression of the long musical lines for which

Goossens was well known. Also, both of the phrases end with a dotted half note tied to an eighth note. Goossens likely used vibrato on these notes, as well as his way of imitating the human voice by fading out and using the vibrato as an aid to the release of the note. 71

The second part of the cadenza section at Rehearsal 28, seen in Figure 1.7, is marked con moto and is more rhythmically active initially, but is similar to the first part of the cadenza in that the ends of the phrases are given longer note values than found earlier in the phrase and also has decrescendo indicated. Britten still writes the oboe to play quietly, beginning on pianissimo and not being indicated louder than piano in the first phrase in Figure 1.7. He also provides a tenuto marking on c3 in the third measure and an espressivo marking in the fourth measure, both indications for vibrato. A warmer tone color should be used in the fourth measure rather than a brighter one used in the higher range.

The tenuto and expressive indicators border an arpeggio of one beat and a half in the third measure. The contrastingly accented first note and staccato arpeggio calls on Goossens’s imitation of the human voice in a declamatory style, as if imitating a singer in an important moment in the plot of an opera. This technique is also found in the corresponding passage four measures before Rehearsal 29, here transposed one whole step down beginning on b-flat1. This time though the first note is not accented but written to be less soft than the first arpeggio and leads to an accented downbeat that is not marked espressivo. Britten is calling for Goossens to again change his tone color to one fuller and broader than before, and to use his soloistic approach to open up his sound in the following crescendo to forte passage of three note groups rising, on which the first note of the group is marked with a tenuto. The last half beat before

Rehearsal 29 has the tenuto indication written out instead of using the symbol. Britten writes it out to show its importance over the other tenuto notes, as Goossens had the instinct to stretch this last figure like a singer would do in an . 72

Figure 1.7 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

Between Rehearsal 29 and 31, the oboe part is no longer ad lib but continues to sound like a cadenza while the strings reintroduce their motives from the allegro giusto after Rehearsal

5 on top of the ostinato, as seen at Rehearsal 29 in Figure 1.8. Though the oboe part is still written to sound improvised, the steady rhythm of the ’cello and later the violin coupled with the

Poco a poco accel. e più agitato tempo marking create seemingly less direct opportunity for the expressive characteristics used in the beginning of the cadenza section. The rhythm in the oboe part is more strict and composed in a less florid style than the previous section, but the syncopated entrances, quintuplets, and grace notes continue the ad libitum effect. Britten also continues to write out tenuto instead of using a symbol, such as in the sixth measure after 73

Rehearsal 29 and four measures before Rehearsal 30. However, these indications are enclosed in parenthetical brackets, suggesting time should be taken on these figures to imitate the human voice.

The range of dynamics is also wider and changes occur more frequently than in the previous section. The first entrance three measures after Rehearsal 29 is pianissimo but is più forte two measures later, followed by hairpin crescendos over the tenuto indication before coming down to piano with another set of hairpins to mezzo forte four beats later. Seven measures before Rehearsal 30 Britten transposes the first phrase up a major third and uses the same dynamic markings, but begins piano and does not reach an indication above mezzo forte.

The gradual accelerando and the increasing agitation marked at the beginning of this passage gives the oboe less time for the broad dynamic changes used in the first phrase. More importantly, Goossens presumably changed his tone color for this phrase because it was essentially the second time hearing it, and the slightly higher notes eliminate the need for a dynamic indication because it naturally seems louder.

Britten does not mark the two phrases in Figure 1.8 espressivo or dolcissimo as was seen in the other sections with long musical lines. Nonetheless, they are expressive passages where

Goossens had the chance to display his famously refined tone quality and allow him to show off his flexibility of adapting it to the style of the music. In this rhythmically stricter section,

Goossens was still able to create a cadenza effect and demonstrate his soloistic approach to the instrument with the swells of dynamics, with vibrato on the seemingly long half notes and on the other notes marked tenuto, and change of tone color in the two similar phrases to give them distinction. 74

Figure 1.8 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

In the Sempre più agitato section beginning at Rehearsal 30, the oboe continues the motive from Figure 1.8 but changes it so that the focus becomes on the instability of syncopation and the play of duple figures such as the quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes against the triplet and quintuplet figures. There are even dotted bar lines included in the oboe part for the first five measures showing how the feeling of triple meter is needed to make the fluctuating rhythms work against the strings, which are strongly in quadruple meter. The violin repeats the main 75 theme first heard in the allegro giusto after Rehearsal 5, creating a sense of displacement for the oboe, which is still playing in a cadenza style. Britten wrote the disoriented oboe part shown in

Figure 1.9 because he had a strong oboist who could make it sound easy and unlabored, a continuation of a long musical line begun at Rehearsal 29. It is only in the sixth measure after

Rehearsal 30 that the oboe seems to become aware of the changed character in the strings by using staccatos, but in the next measure continues to explore the slurred quintuplet pattern until

Rehearsal 31.

Figure 1.9 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

While no dynamic level was indicated at Rehearsal 30, the oboe continues to play with hairpin crescendos and a forte dynamic for the bulk of the example, only dropping to mezzo forte three measures before Rehearsal 31 to crescendo to a sforzando downbeat at Rehearsal 31. The 76 oboe is written to continue the lyrical cadenza style at the beginning of Figure 1.9 and is only in the sixth measure that the style becomes reflective of the agitato indication with staccatos leading to an accented a2, a moment where Goossens would have been sure to use vibrato to enhance the accented note and the agitated feel. However, Britten writes slurs and tenuto markings on the rest of the notes until Rehearsal 31, save for the accented c1 four measures before Rehearsal 31. This lonely accent is followed by a decrescendo. Goossens could make the decrescendo seem more audible and set up the following softer dynamic if the note where it began was accented in order to not rely on vibrato to create the effect.

After the decrescendo three measures before Rehearsal 31, Britten writes each quarter note with a tenuto, as well as with a legato indication. It is the last vestige of the cadenza as the quintuplet figure is explored for the final time, with the last beat before Rehearsal 31 showing a different interval pattern than previously used in the quintuplets. This change is important due to the connection with the crescendo to the sforzato to create a unified change to the agitated and anxious style of the strings. Britten probably expected Goossens’s tone quality, vibrato, and shaping of musical line to be prevalent in this example, particularly in these last three measures, to show the contrast of the oboe part in relation to the strings, and to show the merging of the lyrical oboe and agitated string styles leading to Rehearsal 31.

From the Molto più presto at Rehearsal 31 to the tempo change three measures before

Rehearsal 32, the oboe part has neither a cadenza style nor a sense of being strictly in time.

Britten composed it to sound improvised and with a feeling of acceleration, and effect achieved by note value and not tempo. The oboe begins on d1 with both forte and sforzato written, followed by a furioso marking and a string of accented notes leading up the range of the oboe in a crescendo to sforzato on d3, with a decrescendo to piano one beat later. This same phrase is 77 repeated with the oboe beginning più forte and sforzato, and the second sixteenth-note passage being replaced with a triplet F-Major arpeggio to d3 instead of a triplet in stepwise motion. A final quarter note triplet on fortissimo leads to an accented f3 two measures before the key change, serving as the culmination of the agitato section, which had begun at Rehearsal 29.

While building energy to the upcoming Tempo I at the upcoming key change, this last triplet leap to f3 would certainly demonstrate Goossens’s control in the high range. The accent on f3 is for both emphasis and a fast vibrato to create tension to be released at the Tempo I.

Figure 1.10 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

Rehearsal 31 is where Britten’s arc form becomes audible in the oboe’s part and is quite dramatic. While at Rehearsal 29 the strings took material from the allegro giusto beginning five measures after Rehearsal 5, the oboe does not join the arc form until Rehearsal 31 where it uses a slight variation of the ad libitum material from Rehearsal 5. Though similar in effect and purpose, Figure 1.11 is more lyrical, free to interpretation by the performer, though the ultimate dynamic is louder and made more aggressive with the use of the trill to sforzato. When seen at

Rehearsal 29 it is not ad libitum and marked furioso with strings and oboe in a unified style. 78

Figure 1.11 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

The oboe part in Figure 1.10 serves as the lead voice in the climatic buildup, but it also shows off several of Goossens’s noted techniques. The range is two and a half octaves and moves around quickly. Goossens was noted for his exceptional tone quality throughout the range of the oboe, but also for how he could color the tone evenly in the different ranges. The sforzato d1 would not sound like the sforzato d3, and the same notes in the repeated phrase would sound different still. Goossens was also able to make the oboe sound as if it was singing, and the oboe part in Figures 1.10 and 1.11 are very reminiscent of melismatic vocal writing. Goossens surely used his vibrato give importance not only to the sforzato notes in Figure 1.10, but to the f3 as well to bring out the accent and to make it shimmer. Goossens soloistic approach to the oboe also gave him the ability to play at the loud dynamic level without sounding strained or restricted in sound. The oboe part between Rehearsals 27 and 31 displayed Goossens’s stylistic features more so than the opening and closing andante alla marcia sections that use his stylistic features to enhance the formal structure.

The last important section of sustained melodic line begins at Rehearsal 19, Figure 1.12, with the oboe gradually getting slower and becoming subdued in transition to the third movement beginning at Rehearsal 20. Britten includes tenuto markings in the second measure of

Rehearsal 19 but chooses to leave them out of the ascending sighing figure that leads to the fifth measure, and also does not use the markings in the Più lento beginning in the sixth measure. The 79 purpose of this passage, as seen in Figure 1.12, is to slow the tempo to set up the third movement, but the oboe is given a sustained melodic line to create a change in atmosphere.

Figure 1.12 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

Using the high range of the oboe, Britten creates an ethereal effect, which is enhanced by the dolcissimo indication at the Più lento. This marking is likely an indication to Goossens to use a sweet tone color in a range where it is not easy to make the oboe sound gentle. It also is an indication for Goossens to use his vibrato, particularly on the occurrences of e3. The first use of e3 has tenuto written above it, indicating the importance of the note. The second e3 does not have the tenuto marking. The soft dynamic level is another difficulty facing the oboist, often resulting in an airy and unsupported tone quality. The e3 can be difficult to speak when played softly, and for Britten to write it pianississmo shows he knew Goossens would have no problem with speaking or tone quality.

Vibrato

The Phantasy Quartet is full of long musical lines that provide the oboist the chance to use vibrato. It was one of Goossens’s most important stylistic features, and there are several other places in the quartet where using vibrato was expected. The first of these points is the short passage between Rehearsals 4 and 5, shown in Figure 1.13. 80

Figure 1.13 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

This passage is an important place for vibrato despite the lack of an indication for

expression. From its entrance at Rehearsal 2, the oboe part has previously been given indications

for espressivo and cantabile in an overall piano dynamic level. This five-measure passage

shows the tension created from the march-like pattern of strings under the lyrical oboe part up to

this point, contrasting in character with the fortissimo dynamic and accents focused in the oboe’s

third octave. Vibrato most likely was expected on the half notes, and it should be a faster vibrato

than what was used in the earlier expressive passages. The faster vibrato gives the notes more

ring to the tone and helps the sound project over the triple and quadruple stops written in the

strings. As Goossens always played with vibrato and had described vibrato speed needing to be

tailored to the style of the music, Britten did not need to write an expressive marking in this

passage because he probably knew Goossens would use his vibrato to bring out the soloistic,

singing quality of the oboe part over the strings in these five measures.

Between Rehearsals 10 and 12, Figure 1.14, Goossens was given several moments to use vibrato to create a brilliant tone color. The most notable place for vibrato is on the sforzato half notes preceded by grace notes. They occur quickly in the cut time meter, but sound like flashes of light in a thickly scored passage. When vibrato is applied, the sforzato note becomes more noticeable and has more importance than if it was written with only the crescendo to forte 81 followed by a decrescendo. Britten did not expressly write to use vibrato here, but Goossens likely used it automatically, imitating the style in which a vocalist would use vibrato to give life to the same passage.

Figure 1.14 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

Beginning four measures before Rehearsal 11, Britten writes descending staccato quarter notes and quarter note triplets leading to an accented staccato quarter note, which is followed by a tenuto quarter note tied to an eighth note. The first quarter note of this recurring passage is preceded by a grace note, the inflection of which creates enough buoyancy to the main note to sound as if vibrato has been applied, though the value of the note itself does not lend enough 82 time for a focused use of vibrato. However, the tenuto quarter note tied to an eighth note that follows the accented staccato quarter note is just long enough for a true vibrato to be used. The tenuto marking is a direct indication for vibrato to be used as an expressive device without having to write con vibrato under the note.

This continues until three measures after Rehearsal 11 where the first note of the repeated passage is given an accent. The accent is an indication for more force to be used, but the grace note has a slur into the main note, creating a need for vibrato to make the extra force audible. A fast vibrato is needed for the short time value and to give the accented note enough of a ringing sound to be noticeably different than when it was written without the accent. The marcato section five measures before Rehearsal 12 also uses this same concept, where fast, shimmery vibrato is needed to give the accented notes extra emphasis.

Rehearsal 17, seen in Figure 1.15, provides the oboe with a long musical line where several different speeds of vibrato enhance both the phrase and the range. The oboe begins softly on pianissimo for six beats with a crescendo to an accented c2 at forte. In these three beats in cut time, the vibrato should become more noticeable to create a build up in the intensity of the dynamic change. This should also happen on the whole notes on d2, which also crescendos to forte to an accented downbeat, and later to fortissimo staccato eighth notes seven measures before Rehearsal 18. Between the shifts from forte to a softer dynamic level at Rehearsal 17 are dotted quarter notes with tenuto markings. The tenuto indicates a strong, present vibrato that will provide a contrast to the shift to piano, mezzo forte, and forte through the course of the phrase. Because there is less time for vibrato due to the short note value, the vibrato on the tenuto notes should be quicker than that on the whole notes. 83

Figure 1.15 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

The vibrato is at its fastest seven measures before Rehearsal 18 on the sforzato b3.

Because of the range, dynamic, and sforzato indication, the vibrato should be fast and sparkling to realize its potential as the culmination of the phrase. It should be slower on the tenuto b2 five measures before Rehearsal 18, and also slightly wider because of the lower range. Beginning three measures before Rehearsal 18, the vibrato on the tenuto b2s should also be slower and increase in speed and intensity in the following measures to show the crescendo and progression to the arrival point of the sforzato b1 at Rehearsal 18 where the vibrato should be full but not too fast. The following accented quarter notes should also have the full and moderate vibrato to show off the tone color of the oboe’s low range. The variation of vibrato from fast and sparkling in the upper register is contrasted with the full, slower speed in the low register, enhancing the changing tone color of the entire phrase. Goossens was very concerned about the direction of a phrase and making it beautiful, and he regularly changed the vibrato speed to match the direction of the phrase. The change in vibrato speeds and style only needed to be written in the form of sforzati, accents, and tenutos. 84

There is one special passage in the quartet where Britten specifically writes for the oboe

to not use vibrato at all. It occurs on the nine measure pianississimo b2 at Rehearsal 15. The

oboe entrance is supposed to sound as if it has come from out of nowhere, as a result of the

fortissimo set up by the viola phrase at Rehearsal 14. The oboe is not the focus from Rehearsals

15 to 17, but merely provides another layer of transparent sound. Vibrato would disrupt this

quality and bring attention to the oboe so Britten chose to write senza vibrato in the oboe part

beginning at Rehearsal 15. Though not indicated in the same fashion at Rehearsal 16, vibrato is

still undesired, and morendo is written instead. That Britten purposely wrote senza vibrato in

this passage is a tacet acknowledgment that he knew Goossens always played with vibrato and that it would always be present unless specifically indicated not to use it.

Figure 1.16 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

Technical passages requiring agility

Goossens was noted for his technique, which was well-known by the time Britten

composed the Phantasy Quartet. In general, the oboe part is very lyrical, often using stepwise

motion and small intervallic leaps. Nonetheless, the technical level is high because of the need

for the oboist to be very agile moving around the ranges of the instrument. Figure 1.17 shows

the first such example at Rehearsal 7, where Britten writes the oboe part in the lowest possible

register. This is known to be both a difficult range for the oboe in terms of tone quality

technique. Berlioz even wrote in his instrumentation treatise regarding b-flat1, “This 85 tone…should better be avoided.”13 This passage, in what is referred to as the second movement of the quartet, Britten creates a focus on a slur from b-flat1 to c1 followed by an unslurred repeat of the note. C1 is a difficult note to speak on its own, and the articulation makes it even harder to be reliable. Britten writes the note with a staccato under a slur, with a tenuto, with only a slur, and with no indication. These four different variations of the same note in the challenging low range suggests that Britten knew Goossens had the flexibility to make these subtle changes noticeable in a register where notes can easily be unresponsive and have a poor, bleating tone quality.

Figure 1.17 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

Figure 1.18 also shows a technically difficult passage for the oboe, one that looks misleading due to its small range and small intervallic pattern. Britten writes the oboe pianissimo and staccato at Rehearsal 9 on pitches that are difficult to make sound even at a fast tempo. The first notes, e1 and f-sharp1, are considered part of the lower range, while a1, b1, and d2 are solidly middle-range notes. When combined with the tempo, dynamic, and articulation, the change of range becomes difficult due to the way the inside of the mouth is shaped to produce the resonance of the tone. The lower register needs a very open oral cavity while the middle range needs a smaller shape reminiscent of the natural resting shape of the jaw and oral

13 Berlioz, Treatise on Instrumentation, 163. 86 cavity. If the mouth does not adjust to the middle range and then back to the lower range, the tone quality becomes poor and the notes sound muddy and unclear. It becomes even more challenging when the repeated figure is extended to the upper range notes a2 and b3 beginning six measures before Rehearsal 10, which needs a smaller oral cavity to produce proper voicing. This example shows Goossens’s ability to move around the range of the oboe easily while still maintaining the staccato articulation and pianissimo dynamic that contributes to the technical difficulty of this quick passage.

Figure 1.18 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

The cadenza section between Rehearsals 27 and 29 is challenging in its rhapsodic construction as well as its use of range. As seen in Figure 1.6, the oboe has the difficult task of starting at a piano dynamic and with a dolcissimo indication on e3, eventually moving down to e1 without a large dynamic change. The oboist must begin with enough tone to avoid sounding airy or strained and keep a steady tone down to the low e without a break in the line. The advantage is the ad libitum marking that gives the oboist the chance to move the lip position on the reed 87 towards the tip to create a larger oral cavity for the lower octave. The same problem results in the next phrase where the oboe begins on d1, now at pianissimo, and must reach the tenuto d3 at a strong dynamic level. The tone of the low range must not be too heavy and the upper octave not too thin. Here the oboist needs to take more of the reed in the mouth without making the pitch sharp or the tone too bright. Again the oboe has the ad libitum advantage of having the time to adjust properly.

The next section of the cadenza at Rehearsal 28, seen in Figure 1.7, also focuses on range, with the changes in range coming sooner. Three measures after Rehearsal 28 the oboe has a tenuto c3 followed by an accented c1. The tenuto on the high c indicates vibrato and a slightly longer value to the note, making the response of the piano c1 more difficult. The advantage of the accent on c1 helps the note speak, but the piano dynamic can be intimidating. It is followed by a quintuplet arpeggio to the middle range, again creating a need to shift the position of the reed to allow the notes to have a full tone. A similar passage is found four measures before

Rehearsal 29 beginning on b-flat1. Here there is no accent to help the response, but is instead replaced with meno piano.

Most of the technical difficulties of the cadenza are the entrances of high and low notes, creating a constant, clear tone throughout the octaves, and being able to adjust to the changes in range quickly while preserving the tone quality. This cadenza would have given oboists of the day quite a challenge, but Britten undoubtedly knew he had the best oboist possible performing his work so he was free to write a difficult cadenza without worrying if it could be well performed. Goossens was capable of making the oboe do what he wanted it to do, even when moving quickly between octaves and ranges. Therefore, the cadenza was a place for him to show off his sense of phrasing, tone quality, vibrato, vocal-like approach, and facile technique. 88

Important Non-Virtuoso Elements

Though the oboe part in the Phantasy Quartet is perfectly suited to the elements of

Goossens’s virtuosity, there are a few notable elements that are not specific style features of

Goossens but are important because they help display his great control over the instrument.

Goossens was known for his graceful approach to the instrument, and Britten was able to use a wide range of articulations, range, and dynamics. These elements continue to give oboists difficulty, and it should be shown how they are related to Goossens’s manner of playing even though they are not considered part of his virtuosic and stylistic approach to the oboe.

The quartet is lyrical and pastoral overall, so for there to be so many different types of articulations is striking. The use of accents throughout the quartet often seems out of place.

Britten uses accents the first time the oboe is used in the opening Andante alla marcia, as seen in

Figure 1.1, when the oboe is marked very soft and expressive. Britten uses the accents at the end of the phrases to serve as a point of direction, marking the height of the phrase and making the decrescendo more audible. In Figure 1.2, Britten adds another accent to the phrase in the second measure, helping reinforce the arrival of forte, as well as to make the rest of the line seem truly cantabile. These accents, which might seem out of place, are indications for extra vibrato and tone color, not a forced use of the tongue to begin the note. Based on his phrasing in his recordings, it is probable that Goossens would not interpret them as hard accents, but moments of accentuating the beauty of the line. The accents are not included in the corresponding section eight measures before Rehearsal 33, seen in Figure 1.4, most likely due to the effect of a large diminuendo to the end of the piece.

This is not to say that Britten did not indicate the possibility of strong accents in this opening section. The accents found in Figure 1.19 should to be strong, with more focus on the 89 tongue than what was previously used. The accents between Rehearsals 4 and 5 help the oboe soar above the strings and capture the intensity of the building up of the march. The accents are an indication to open the tone color to a broader sound and reinforce the march feel before moving into the short ad libitum section of Rehearsal 5. The first measure low octave accents at

Rehearsal 5 are indications of the important notes to bring out, as the accented notes in the second measure follow the same intervallic pattern with an additional note. The third measure accents bring the rising phrase to a head and set up the d-sharp3 trill. The performer must take care to not let the tone color of the low octave accents become brash due to unrefined articulation and improper shaping of the oral cavity, nor let the tone color of the high octave accents become shrill from a forceful use of the tongue. Goossens had precise control over the oboe so that these accents could still sound forceful and fitting to the character of the music, but not become distracting or subtract from the desired tone color of the different ranges.

Figure 1.19 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

As shown in Figure 1.17, Britten writes b-flat1 slurred to a staccato c1 followed by a tenuto c1 in the span of three eighth notes. It occurs quickly in cut time at the very bottom of the oboe’s range. The oboist must be careful not to let the accented b-flat become harsh in tone, nor let the weight of the accent overshadow the following staccato c. This is easily avoidable if the 90 oboist gives weight to the b-flat with more air and tone instead of trying to create an accent with the tongue. The first c can then have enough presence to be heard in the phrase, and the following tenuto c will not sound too loud when articulated. Each time the phrase is heard it is to be louder, though the tongue should still not factor in to the production of the accent. Instead, the oboist should supply consistently more air and tone to create the crescendo. Otherwise, the tone will become spread and the harsh result of the tongue will be audible. Despite the technical challenges this excerpt presents, the focus is to be put on the melodic line and the direction of the phrase to make it sound elegant, which is an important element of Goossens’s style.

Figure 1.14 is an example of a misleading use of articulation. Beginning four measures before Rehearsal 11, Britten begins using staccato indications on the repeated descending figure.

However, five measures before Rehearsal 12 he writes marcato but does not change the written articulation from staccato to a different articulation, such as a pointed staccatissimo marking.

The marcato indicates to use a true staccato that is short and crisp while the indications beginning before Rehearsal 11 signify to the performer to merely separate the notes but still have a light, buoyant tone quality appropriate to the lyrical style of the phrase. This same technique of separating the notes but keeping a focused tone and sense of gracefulness can be found in the third measure of Figure 1.1. Goossens likely made this differentiation between two seemingly similar articulations to keep the oboe line lyrical and not too short until the marcato section where the style changes.

Another issue involving articulation can be found five measures before Rehearsal 14, seen in Figure 1.20. Britten has marked the oboe pianississimo and staccatissimo in the low range of the oboe. Oboists often have trouble playing softly in the low register because the jaw becomes tense from over-preparation and the proper shaping of the oral cavity cannot be attained 91 for the notes to speak with good tone. When the staccatissimo marking is added, the placement of the tongue becomes a further factor in hindering the note from speaking as well as the quality of tone that is produced, sounding accented and heavy. The oboist is the only active voice at this point, so even though the short phrase is not particularly lyrical the dynamic level can be raised slightly to offset the challenge of playing a true pianississimo. The danger of unintentional accenting is still present and the oboist must be cautious not to mistake the staccatissimo for an accented articulation that would be inappropriate. This can be avoided by focusing on the direction of the phrase and slightly increasing the resonance of the staccatissimo notes as they progress. Goossens always thought of the direction of the phrase, so by leading the phrase to the accented f three measures before Rehearsal 14 with a focused airstream and slight bit of resonance, he could avoid an accent on the staccatissimo notes.

Figure 1.20 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

The andante section four measures after Rehearsal 18 (Figure 1.21) is another difficult location for the oboist. Initially, the oboe is marked forte (indicated at Rehearsal 18, seen in

Figure 1.15) with an accent on b1 and indicated sempre molto marcato. This accent, along with the accented trills in the second and third measures, seems to be appropriate, but the lack of other accents in the first measure as well as when the motive returns in the fifth measure, marked sempre forte, makes the initial accent seem out of place and potentially leading the oboist to accent the unaccented b1s, especially when the passage is marked sempre molto marcato. Here, the technique of using more focused air leading towards the trills makes the phrase move 92 forward and the articulation of the b1s present without becoming accented. This, too, may be an example of Britten writing with Goossens’s sense of phrasing in mind.

The ascending b-minor scale in the eighth measure is marked marcato as well as staccato. This issue with this passage is range, as it starts in the very low notes of the oboe with staccato articulation. Articulation in the low range can be very difficult, often sounding messy and unclear. The passage must be played detached but not too short, and the decrescendo should be delayed until the last beat in order to allow the transition between the low and middle ranges to have a full tone. Leading the direction of the phrase to the b2 trill can counteract the difficulty of moving between the ranges. As this scale marks the point where the oboe again is the most important instrument, the tone should be full and broad to properly project. Goossens’s tone was known for its projection in the orchestra and as a soloist, and knowing this and his keen sense of shaping phrases, Britten undoubtedly knew Goossens would not have had a problem carrying and projecting this passage.

Figure 1.21 Copyright ©1935 by Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.

The cadenza section in Figure 1.6 exemplifies of the difficulty the oboist faces with dynamics. The first phrase begins piano in the third octave of the oboe’s range, which can be an uncomfortable entrance, especially if the accompanying strings play too softly. There is danger of the note not speaking due to lack of support as well as danger of the note being too sharp if the 93 embouchure is pinched as the result of trying to use more air but restrict it from creating a loud dynamic. A similar problem is found in the second phrase beginning pianissimo on d1. This note is not easy to begin softly and cannot speak if the embouchure is not relaxed enough to let the reed vibrate. A forced entrance will sound too loud compared to the soft strings. If over- prepared, the note will crack or sound accented. The oboist must not overestimate what is needed to make both entrances sound effortless. Goossens was very confident in his capacities and probably did not have had the same anxiety with these entrances like other oboists. Britten trusted Goossens to approach it as just another passage to make beautiful and wrote the dynamics so softly because Goossens could give it the desired ethereal quality.

Another issue with the cadenza is that the oboe is ad libitum over an ostinato in the strings. It is very easy for the oboe to not coincide with the strings where the ostinato changes at the ends of the phrases on the third beat of five measures after Rehearsal 27, third beat of three measures before Rehearsal 28, third beat of four measures after Rehearsal 28, and one beat before Rehearsal 29. Because the strings are sustaining chords with one voice playing the ostinato, the ensemble can regroup if needed according to the solo oboe line. However, this disrupts the harmonic progression because the chord changes one beat before the ostinato does to set up a new pitch sequence for the ostinato. The oboist, therefore, must be conscious of what is going on around them and not be too free in the ad libitum. It should sound graceful and expressive, something for which Goossens was celebrated. The cadenza was written to display his beautiful playing without the audience realizing the coordinated effort between the oboe and the strings in this section. 94

Summation of the Evidence of Goossens’s Influence

Britten most certainly composed the oboe part of the Phantasy Quartet to reflect

Goossens’s style of playing, as well as his control over the instrument. We know that Britten made many revisions to the quartet, that he was pleased with the way Goossens performed his music, and that Goossens himself enjoyed the quartet so much that he wished Britten had written more music for him. It was one of his earliest works written during a time where he was still impressionable to the pastoral style popular of the day. Britten later rejected the pastoral style, as shown in his later music written for other oboists, such as the Two Insect Pieces for Sylvia

Spencer in 1935, which is focused on syncopation and is not considered a lyrical work but one

“clearly indebted to Bartók and Prokofiev,”14 and also shown in the Six Metamorphoses After

Ovid from 1951 written for Joy Boughton, which only uses the pastoral style in its first movement to represent the shepherd (god) Pan. Britten composed the quartet in a lyrical pastoral style because the work was for Goossens, who was noted for his tone quality, vibrato, long musical lines, vocal-like approach imitating the human voice in phrasing, and soloistic approach to the instrument, features that the lyrical pastoral style embrace and enhance. He could also write other challenging passages that utilized a very wide range, various articulated passages that can be difficult to execute cleanly, and extreme softness in dynamics that need a skilled player to make sound elegant because he was writing for a performer who could make it possible. These examples show that Britten had Goossens and his style of playing in mind when he composed the Phantasy Quartet.

14 Eric Roseberry, “The Solo Chamber Music,” in The Britten Companion, ed. Christopher Palmer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 376. 95

CHAPTER 4

CONCERTO FOR OBOE AND STRINGS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Background and Reception

The Concerto for Oboe and Strings of Ralph Vaughan Williams is considered to be one

of the standard oboe concertos that oboists are expected to know. It is in three movements,

Rondo Pastorale, Minuet and Musette, and Finale [Scherzo]. The oboe is given a different

character in each movement, but has an underlying sense of pastoral lyricism that ties the work

together. The pastoral quality was a part of Vaughan Williams’s folksong approach as well as

the quality that worked so well for demonstrating Goossens’s virtuosity and stylistic features.

Though not his only work for oboe, as Vaughan Williams later wrote the Ten Blake Songs for

oboe and voice in 1958 for , it is the grandest and the most impressive.

Vaughan Williams began the concerto in 1943 after the completion and premiere of his

Fifth Symphony; the latter is “a piece that owes much to the symphony that preceded it, having

grown out of a discarded scherzo.”1 Hugh Ottaway described it as one of the “satellites” of the

Fifth Symphony and that it “is at once capricious, lyrical and nostalgic, and is the composer’s

most successful essay in this form.”2 The concerto is closely associated with Vaughan

Williams’s pastoral style and also with the World War II because of the sense of nostalgia for the

British countryside the work evoked. Michael Kennedy wrote: “Very little of Vaughan

Williams’s music is nostalgic, but here he seems to be yearning for some lost and precious thing.

Characteristically he has put what are some of his most intimate longings into a work which has

1 , Vaughan Williams (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000), 106.

2 Hugh Ottoway, “Ralph Vaughan Williams: Works,” in Diana McVeagh et al., Twentieth-Century English Masters: Elgar, Delius, Vaughan Williams, Holst, Walton, Tippett, Britten (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1986), 124. 96 generally been overlooked.” 3 It is as if one is hearing the reflections of the composer on a time that had since passed.

It was finished in 1944 and was supposed to be premiered at a Promenade Concert on 5

July 1944, but the performance was cancelled due to the threat of the bombings of London.

Instead, the premiere took place in Liverpool on 30 September 1944 by Goossens and the

Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of . It was not heard in

London until 4 May 1945 when Goossens performed it with the Bromley and Chislehurst

Orchestra, conducted by Marjorie Whyte.

In his discussion of the concerto’s premiere, Hubert Foss wrote, “I was unable to go to

Liverpool to hear the first performance, but I hazard the guess, ‘from information received,’ that the printed score has been edited, in some ways reduced (shall we say?) by Mr Léon Goossens,

C.B.E.”4 Foss’s guess is most likely correct since Vaughan Williams and Goossens had collaborated on the work, and Vaughan Williams welcomed Goossens’s input for changes. In a letter to Goossens dated 23 May 1944, he wrote the following:

I hear from the B. B. C. that they have asked you to play my new concerto at the Proms. I need hardly say I am much pleased at the prospect, if you are also pleased—but you had better see it before you make up your mind! I hope to send you the oboe part and a pianoforte reduction of the score in about a fortnight. Of course, I shall welcome any suggestions from you as to making the part more “oboistic.”5 Goossens was quite pleased with the concerto, as he later wrote: “It was finally premiered…with resounding success. This work, too, showed the oboe in all its guises from piping shepherd to brilliant virtuoso.”6 It is certainly a virtuosic work, one that “requires a

3 Michael Kennedy, Works, 347.

4 Hubert Foss, 170.

5 Vaughan Williams, quoted in Rosen, The Goossens, 255.

6 Léon Goossens and Edwin Roxburgh, 159. 97

master of the instrument, a Goossens… to make the solo part sound effortless rather than

awkward.”7 Goossens had extraordinary technique and control over the instrument, so it is not

surprising that Vaughan Williams wrote such a challenging solo part. Goossens recorded and

performed it8 throughout his long career, even after his car accident when he made his

comeback, and performed it at the age of seventy-five for Vaughan Williams’s centenary

celebration concert. Though Rothwell later recorded it as have many others, it has always been

closely associated with Goossens due to his role as inspiration for the piece and as the dedicatee.

Though a standard work in the oboe repertoire, Vaughan Williams’s concerto continues

to give oboists trouble with its difficult technical passages but is balanced by lyrically pastoral

phrases, which express the beauty of the instrument. The scoring for string orchestra allows the

oboe to shine through without competition from the different tone colors heard when other wind

instruments are scored. Also, the tone color produced by the string orchestra pairs very nicely

with the color of the oboe and continues today to be a popular choice of for oboe

concerto. Its accessibility to audiences and promotion by Goossens helped make it the most

popular English oboe concerto.

The Oboe as a Soloist

The oboe concerto is a genre that has existed around since the development of the instrument, with major composers such as J. S. Bach, Handel, and W. A. Mozart writing oboe concertos as well as a number of minor composers who have been mostly forgotten. However,

7 Kennedy, Works, 347.

8 Ralph Vaughan Williams, Léon Goossens, oboe, Léon Goossens and , Walter Süsskind, conductor (EMI CLP 1656, 1963), vinyl recording. 98 the oboe concerto fell out of favor during the Romantic era as the oboe became viewed as an orchestral instrument incapable of reaching the level of solo stature of the violin or piano. It was not until Goossens began reviving Baroque concertos in the 1920s that composers really began to take note of the instrument and its solo capabilities once again. Though he began his solo career with the all but forgotten concertos of Handel, it was not long before contemporary composers

“began to regard the instrument with fresh favour, and Léon frequently found himself called upon to introduce new works….”9 Holst had written a double concerto for flute, oboe and strings in 1923, but the first true oboe concerto written for Goossens came in 1927 from his brother, Eugène Goossens. Soon other concertos by composers such as (1933) and Rutland Boughton (1936) followed, with many more still to come. By the end of his career,

Goossens had had such an influence on composers who wrote oboe concertos that he was credited with its revival. Goossens enjoyed having new pieces to perform and was aware of the impact he was having on the repertoire:

It is no matter of conjecture, therefore, that a large part of the oboe repertoire, both solo and orchestral, has been created by the influence of individual players like Gleditsch and Ramm. In other words, it is not always the composer who has necessarily extended the expressive and technical range of the instrument at his own whim, so much as the individual players who have demonstrated uncatalogued skills to the composer.10

Though a few oboe concertos had been composed in the early twentieth century, the real turning point of the oboe concerto in the twentieth century is Vaughan Williams’s Concerto for

Oboe and Strings. It was the first oboe concerto written by a major composer since the Classical era and truly marked a change in perception by the public that the oboe could function as a solo instrument in the concerto setting. Before Vaughan Williams composed his Concerto for Oboe

9 Wynne, 102–3.

10 Goossens and Roxburgh, 2. 99 and Strings, the genre was no longer a novelty but it was still not really a standard genre outside the hands of Goossens, but when Goossens’s abilities were coupled with Vaughan Williams’s compositional skills and reputation, the result was a work that finally re-established the oboe concerto as a serious and respectable genre.

Evidence of Goossens’s Virtuosity in the Concerto

Vaughan Williams composed the concerto for Goossens and wrote it specifically for the way he played. It has been noted that the two were in contact with each other in regards to the oboe part, and Vaughan Williams welcomed Goossens’s suggestions and ideas. Goossens was free to make suggestions about the oboe part that would best fit his style and show off his virtuosity. This close collaboration resulted in a concerto tailored around Goossens’s stylistic features, which are noticeable in his recording of the work.

Long Musical Lines

Throughout the concerto, Vaughan Williams gives the oboe long musical lines, which display Goossens’s tone, use of vibrato, sense of phrasing, tone coloring, breath control, and imitation of the human voice. Vaughan Williams gives the solo oboe minimal introduction in the first movement, entering in second measure with a long phrase leading to a cadenza in the tenth measure. Though there are short rests of one beat as well as one half beat, the phrase is continuous and pushes towards the downbeat of the cadenza. Figure 2.1 shows this first long musical line, which is in the well-suited middle range of the oboe where the tone has the greatest potential to be full and warm. The dotted-quarter a1s in the phrase are long enough for Goossens 100 to use vibrato increasing in speed towards the sustained a1 in the fourth, seventh, and ninth measures where he could use a fully developed vibrato.

Figure 2.1 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

Vaughan Williams composed the oboe melody as though it were a folksong, with mostly stepwise motion short leaps in a relatively small range. The breath control then must be similar to how a singer would breathe and be unnoticeable, so it does not detract from the direction of the phrase. The short eighth rest in the seventh measure does not give the oboist enough time for a full breath, and what breath is taken must be very quick or through the nose. As Goossens was noted for his imperceptible changes in breathing, he could make it seem as though no breath was taken until after the cadenza.

The next long musical line is reproduced in Figure 2.2 after the key change, though it is introduced three measures before. Another folksong-like melody is heard, again in a relatively small range from d1 to g2, and is uninterrupted until Rehearsal B. The continuously moving oboe line makes the phrase seem longer than it is, creating a sense of breathlessness. The few quarter notes that occur are opportunities for vibrato, not only because of their relatively long value, but because they are high points in the phrase and moments where expression is needed, particularly 101 the quarter notes on g2. Vibrato is also used on the b-flats beginning six measures after the key change to highlight the expressive quality of the unexpected tone color. Oboists would most likely not breathe until Rehearsal B to avoid breaking the phrase, but this was not a problem for

Goossens because of his ability to circular breathe, thus using imperceptible changes in breathing and eliminating the need to go without fresh air or break the phrase to catch a breath.

Figure 2.2 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The next important long musical line is found at Rehearsal F, see Figure 2.3, and mimics the folksong-like line seen in Figure 2.2. A relatively small range is again used, e1 to a2, and begins with the same intervallic pattern found three measures after they key change in Figure 102

2.2. The pace of this excerpt feels slower because of the use of eighth notes instead of the sixteenth notes of the previous example. Goossens used a style similar to the one in Figure 2.2, but with slightly more expressive quality is due to the cantabile marking. The slower feel and the cantabile marking indicate a different tone color to be used and vibrato to be more apparent than in the previous related section. The phrase direction is also different in that it leads to a tranquillo section that feels like an extension of the phrase begun at Rehearsal F. Goossens circular breathed until the downbeat of the tranquillo section to avoid noticeable breathing and to keep the direction of the phrase moving forward.

Figure 2.3 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The oboe continues the theme introduced at the tranquillo at Rehearsal G, see Figure 2.4.

The oboe is now focused in the upper range and becomes more active as the phrase progresses.

Vibrato is important in this example because it is used in different speeds: slower and more expansive in the longer notes and faster and more vibrant on the unexpected notes such as b-flat3 three and four measures after Rehearsal G as well as at the peak of the phrase on the c3 three 103 measures after the key change. The tone color should also change as the phrase progresses to show the changes in key signature, rhythmic activity of the oboe line, dynamic change from piano to forte, and shift of focus from the high range to the middle range by the end of the phrase. Circular breathing would be best employed here as the only rest is the eighth rest in the measure after the key change, which is not long enough for a proper breath and is disrupting to the phrase if one tries to breathe there. Goossens circular breathed within the phrase to have enough air to keep the tone quality stable in the range changes, to change the tone color throughout the phrase, to use vibrato effectively, to create a smooth transition in dynamics, and to keep a soloistic level of sound to be easily heard above the orchestra.

Figure 2.4 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The remainder of the first movement moves in and out of cadenza passages. Though a sense of long musical line is perceived, discussion of the will be reserved until the discussion on the technical difficulties of the concerto. The second movement is not particularly lyrical, but there are two passages that fall into the long musical line category, the first of which is at Rehearsal F. From the first glance it does not seem like a long musical line, as it is the repeat of the Minuet section of the Minuet and Musette movement and is marked with staccatos.

However, Vaughan Williams indicates cantabile, indicating a desire for a more lyrical style than 104 what would have been used at the beginning of the movement where it is only marked piano (see

Figure 2.34). Vaughan Williams’s indication shows he wanted Goossens to use his vibrato to show the return of the minuet. Goossens also used a different tone color to show the return of the A section in its new style. The staccato eighth notes beginning in the ninth measure are slightly separated and with more depth of tone and substance to keep in line with the cantabile style. Also, since there is no good place to breathe in this phrase, circular breathing is used for imperceptible changes in breathing.

Figure 2.5 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The second phrase showing Goossens’s sense of long musical lines occurs six measures after Rehearsal G where the opening melody is heard for the first two measures in the high range and is then transformed into an elongated cadence. It begins forte and slowly diminuendos to piano, only to have fortepiano hairpins before returning to pianissimo to the end. Goossens began the phrase with a bright tone color and changed it to become darker as the energy of the phrase slowly decreases towards the end of the movement. The change in dynamics through the changing registers shows Goossens’s control over the tone color and quality to be steady throughout the example, and he used his vibrato to show these changes. A faster vibrato was used on at the beginning of the phrase, and became slower and fuller as the range becomes lower 105 and the movement winds down. Since there is again no good place to breathe, Goossens would used his circular breathing skills to make an imperceptible change in breathing to have enough air to properly nuance the phrase with his vibrato, changing tone color, and soloistic level of sound.

Figure 2.6 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The third movement is full of technical brilliance but also has several examples of long musical lines which highlight Goossens’s tone, sense of phrasing and imperceptible breathing, vibrato, and tone coloring. The first passage is seen in Figure 2.7 and begins at Rehearsal G. Up to this point in the movement there has not been a true lyrical phrase, only small phrases that do not last long enough to be considered a long musical line. Here, Vaughan Williams writes a technically easy passage reminiscent of a folksong spanning two octaves from b1 to b3 and is almost completely stepwise. Though the dynamic is not written to be above piano, Goossens used his soloistic approach to the instrument to project a seemingly soft sound above the strings that would be present but not sound strained. As there are no rests or a place to breathe,

Goossens employed circular breathing to supply support for the tone. Vibrato was used on the half and dotted half notes, with the speed of the vibrato becoming faster as the phrase rises in 106 pitch and slower as the phrase descends. Goossens shaped the phrase to follow the direction of the music, that is to say he would crescendo into the third measure, which is a repeat of the first two measures, and also as the phrase rises in pitch on the dotted half notes beginning in the eighth measure after Rehearsal G and decrescendo as the pitches descend. In other words, he imitated a singer in this passage, underscoring the folksong-like quality of the passage.

Figure 2.7 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The next passage, one measure after Rehearsal K, is shorter than the one in Figure 2.7 but is also very much in the folksong vein with a range of one octave that is mostly in stepwise motion. A few small leaps are used and the addition of duplets creates a sense of the oboe imitating the human voice singing an English folksong. Vibrato can enhance the tone color of the half notes and show the shaping of the phrase in a similar fashion to how it was used in the previous example. Since the phrase is short, breathing is not an issue, though circular breathing could be used if necessary to sustain the final note. Again, piano is the only dynamic indicated, but Vaughan Williams did add hairpins without an arrival dynamic, allowing Goossens to decide 107 what sound level would be proper in the peak of the phrase. Goossens did not allow the tone to spread when showing a change in dynamics but kept the tone color consistent while projecting a soloistic volume that would carry the phrase to its peak.

Figure 2.8 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

Midway through the third movement Vaughan Williams slows the tempo to doppio più lento with the quarter note equal to the previous half note. This slow section includes several different melodies. Figure 2.9 shows the first of these, beginning at Rehearsal O. The oboe is marked piano and is unaccompanied until the strings play long sustained chords beginning in the eighth measure until seven measures before Rehearsal P where the oboe again is unaccompanied.

The oboe line does not follow the b-minor key signature introduced at the outset of the Doppio più lento, but instead is modal and creates a sense of tension. Goossens used vibrato on the notes with accidentals to show their expressive quality, and would have changed the tone color as well to increase the tension they create. The dynamic level is marked piano with the only dynamic change being a hairpin under the rise to c3 five measures before the end of the example.

However, Vaughan Williams knew Goossens would shape the phrase accordingly and did not need to include multiple dynamic indications. The second and third lines of Figure 2.9 do not provide the oboist a place to breathe, and in the slow tempo a breath must be taken. The oboist 108 can either break the phrase or circular breathe, which Goossens did to keep the phrase moving towards the c3 peak. Knowing Goossens had a seemingly endless supply of air due to his imperceptible changes in breathing, Vaughan Williams could write a long, sustained line.

Figure 2.9 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

Rehearsal P is similar to the previous phrase using grace notes to provide a sense of sighing, and the phrase does not follow the B-Flat major key signature, but instead focuses on accidentals to provide an expressive modal quality. The tone color would change on the accidentals in this example as had been done in the previous example to show the tension of the appogiaturas; vibrato would have been added as well to enhance the tension. The dynamics are also very similar with only a hairpin change, though Figure 2.10 is written pianissimo instead of piano. Goossens allowed the dynamics to grow as the phrase repeated itself, as seen in the seventh measure after Rehearsal P, and as the phrase ascends in pitch, such as six before

Rehearsal Q. The range is slightly smaller, being only from e-flat1 to a-flat2 whereas the previous example reached a range of nearly two octaves. Vibrato would have been expected on 109 the long notes, and no tenuto marking or cantabile indication is included in the whole doppio più lento because Vaughan Williams knew Goossens would use vibrato where appropriate. Here,

Goossens used it on the long notes, but also used a quicker vibrato to show the rising of the phrase and a slower one as the phrase comes down. Again, there is no appropriate place to breathe after the sixth measure so the oboist must either break the phrase again or circular breathe. As Goossens did the latter, the long musical line was kept intact.

Figure 2.10 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The next example, seen in Figure 2.11, is not particularly long, but embodies all the qualities of a long musical line that the Doppio più lento embraces and for which Goossens was noted. The range is large, from f-sharp1 to d3, and covers a wider range of dynamics than the previous phrases in this section. No dynamic is indicated at Rehearsal Q, though Goossens used a strong and present tone, and the crescendos and decrescendos would be very audible. Vibrato was used to enhance the longer notes as well as on the first notes of the high range triplets in the seventh measure after Rehearsal Q to bring out their expressive qualities. Though accidentals are not a focus in this example, Goossens used a different tone color on the g-sharp2 four measures after Rehearsal Q as well as in the different ranges of the example to keep the tone quality consistent and even. 110

Figure 2.11 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The final phrase of the doppio più lento occurs at Rehearsal R, seen in Figure 2.12, and initially mimics the first phrase seen in Figure 2.9 but begins a fifth lower on c1 and extends the phrase to peak in the high range on at b-flat3. The grace-noted appoggiatura sighing figures reappear but serve to accelerate towards the doppio più mosso (Tempo I). The oboe is again marked piano, this time in the difficult low range, and again only has hairpins without dynamic indications. The oboe is unaccompanied after the downbeat of the second measure and does not have the strings to compete with so the dynamic level does not need to be as loud as it was in

Figure 2.11. Vaughan Williams knew Goossens could reach a dynamic that was both expressive and appropriate so he had no reason to include a dynamic indication. He also knew Goossens would use vibrato to enhance the accidentals, main note following the grace notes, and long notes so he had no need to write cantabile, tenuto, or other expressive indication. In fact, the

Doppio più lento is quite unadorned to allow Goossens the freedom to use the stylistic features of his playing as he wished. 111

Figure 2.12 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The last important long musical line Vaughan Williams composed in the Lento after

Rehearsal V, see Figure 2.13, is the most lyrical of all the long musical lines in the concerto and it has been said that “the serene folk-like tune that emerges from the maelstrom of prestidigitation at the end of the last movement seems to represent the sense of comfort that the

British people desperately sought in nature.”11 It is very much in the folksong vein, with the range of only an octave and is mostly stepwise with a few small leaps. The oboe’s melody is also very pastoral like an English folksong, since it focuses on repetition and triplet figures, which are “essential components of pastoral style, because they are such important constituents of folksong.”12 Two measures prior to the start of the Lento, Vaughan Williams wrote cantabile to indicate the oboe to truly imitate the human voice as if singing a folksong. However, he did not include tenutos, dynamic indications reaching above piano, or other specific guidelines for the oboe to follow, leaving the expressive features of Goossens’s style to be employed as he saw fit. As Goossens’s vibrato was a natural part of his playing and his shaping of phrases

11 Burgess and Haynes, 242.

12 Tedrow Lewis Perkins, “British Pastoral Style and E. J. Moerans’ ‘Fantasy Quartet,’ A Lecture Recital, Together with Three Recitals of Selected Works of J. S. Bach, B. Britten, L. Foss, G. Handel, A. Marcello, E. Rubbra, C. Saint-Saens, and Others” (DMA lecture-recital, North Texas State University, 1986), 5. 112 instinctive, he found it unnecessary to add these expressive features into the oboe part because he would do them naturally. This is the case throughout the concerto, but it is most noticeable here when Vaughan Williams is writing in his idiomatic style.

Figure 2.13 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

All of Goossens’s stylistic qualities can be found in this example. It is a long musical line that is written in a good range for the oboe where the tone is most full and warm. Goossens also changed the tone color at different parts of the phrase to be expressive, particularly when the phrase is repeated three measures before Rehearsal W. Vibrato was used on all the long notes, as well as on the first note of the triplet figures to show the different rhythm, and the leaps to g2 to imitate how the human voice would treat these notes. There is no good place to breathe since there are no rests, so Goossens again circular breathed to avoid breaking the musical line. The phrase is also at the end of the concerto, when the performer is tired and more likely to back off in tone and presence due to fatigue. That Vaughan Williams chose to save his most expressive phrase until the end of the piece shows Goossens’s soloistic approach to the instrument by being able to keep a full and soloistic tone quality and level of playing throughout the piece. 113

The dynamic and expression markings in these examples of long musical lines are so

scarce that it is logical to believe Vaughan Williams did not add more specific markings for the

phrases because he let Goossens decide how they should be shaped.

Technical Virtuosity

Goossens was known to have incredible technique and control over the instrument in a

way that previously had not been seen, prompting his brother to say there was nothing in the

range of technical difficulty that he could not master. He was able to make the most difficult

music sound easy and could make Vaughan Williams’s concerto sound tailor-made for his

personal style. It also helped that Goossens assisted Vaughan Williams in writing the oboe part to work well for the oboe. There are many passages in the concerto that showcases Goossens’s incredible display of technical control, which in the hands of a lesser player sound clumsy and unrefined.

The first of these passages is found in the first cadenza of the first movement, ten measures after the beginning of the concerto, and is seen in Figure 2.14. It is followed by an A

Tempo, which leads to a peak on a forte e3. The cadenza is modal, focusing on the notes a, b, c,

e, and f-sharp in just under a two-octave range. Vaughan Williams uses sixteenth notes, thirty-

second notes, and sextuplets to create a virtuosic wash of sound, which contrasts with the

opening lyrical cantabile. There are repetitive patterns in the cadenza but they are still

challenging to manage and to make sound smooth in the changing range. The following A

Tempo does not appear difficult, but it is easy to let the e3 become sharp in pitch as a result of the

crescendo into it, so the oboist must be careful to keep the tone centered and not become bright

or sharp. This example is the first time Goossens’s prodigious technique is displayed, showing 114 that he could make a florid cadenza like this one sound like an extension of the pastoral lyricism set up in the first nine measures.

Figure 2.14 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

Rehearsal D, see Figure 2.15, shows where the style of the movement changes from pastoral and lyrical to staccato and aggressive as it the next part of the rondo form. This example uses a very large range of two octaves and a third, from c1 to e-flat3. The focus of the example is a return to c, whether it be c2 in the first four measures or c1 in measures four through six. It is written like an etude where the focus would be to tune the intervals in relationship to the anchor c, but Goossens’s used it to demonstrate his ability to move around the range of the instrument easily while showing off his technique. In performance, it is still important to make sure the intervals are played in tune. 115

Figure 2.15 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

Playing the c1 in measures four through six are the most challenging of the passage, as their tone color has a tendency not to blend into phrase and the staccato articulation can lead to unintentional accenting if the performer is not cautious. Therefore, the staccatos on these low notes should be less short than those of the middle and upper range in order to focus the tone color into the rest of the line and avoid accenting. Quick vibrato would have been used on the eighth notes of the passage to give these notes expression and a shimmering tone color to avoid sounding static and to help shape the phrases. As was the case with the long musical lines examples, Vaughan Williams writes very few indications for dynamics or expression in this passage, using only the beginning dynamic of piano and a crescendo to the third octave at the end of the passage. Goossens shaped the phrase in regards to the shape of the line and would not have suggested additional markings when he found them unnecessary.

A short lyrical passage follows and leads to a return of the staccato passage, this time focused in the upper range of the oboe (see Figure 2.16). The lyrical passage allows Goossens to display his vibrato, particularly when c3 is used. Though only piano is marked, the second statement of the lyrical passage in the fifth measure would be played louder and fuller to peak at 116

the c3 before settling down to repeat the staccato motive. It first focuses on downward thirds

leading to e3. After reaching e3 the motive returns to an anchor note focus, first on a1 and then

changing to e2 and then a3, leading up to e3 where the pattern changes to build up to the final

forte e3. The oboist must be in constant adjustment of the placement of the reed in the mouth to

successfully transition between the high, middle, and low ranges. The fingers can easily get tied

up and there is a tendency for the staccatos to not line up with the fingers if the oboist is not

careful. Goossens was able to make constant adjustments to keep the tone clear and focused during a technically difficult passage with ease, and the minimal use of dynamic and expressive markings suggest he followed the direction of the line to bring out the shape of the phrase.

Figure 2.16 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

As seen in Figure 2.17, from Rehearsal H until six full measures from the end the oboe

plays several cadenzas using the structure from the first cadenza and the first theme of the

movement. Though Vaughan Williams does not mark the seventh measure after Rehearsal H a

cadenza, it is essentially one because the strings sustain an a-minor chord until two measures

before Rehearsal K when a change to sixteenth notes creates tension to be resolved in the next 117 cadenza. The oboe is only constrained by rhythm in the first two measures of Rehearsal H and the first three measures of the following Tempo; the remainder of the example is to be played at the discretion of the performer.

Figure 2.17 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

This example uses a wide range from c1 to e3 with quick shifts in octaves and registers, most noticeably in the cadenza at Rehearsal K. The tone must be kept consistent throughout 118 these changes without allowing the passage to sound awkward. These cadenzas are similar to the first one in that it is modal, but with slightly different pitch patterns than used before. Vaughan

Williams evidently composed it to sound improvisatory, so the oboist must be flexible with the speed of the patterns so that it sounds natural and unforced.

These cadenzas highlight Goossens’s sense of long musical line while providing technical challenges. Goossens played the sextuplets quickly to create a rush of sound but used vibrato on the longer notes and the notes of the third octave to be expressive. He also kept the tone quality consistent between the changes of range while still coloring important notes not in the key signature, such as the longer valued f-sharps to highlight their expressive role in the phrase. There are minimal markings between Rehearsals H and K, consistent with the rest of the first movement, but at Rehearsal K, Vaughan Williams is more direct with dynamics to shape the phrase. It is possible that Goossens included these, or that they were added after the first performance and before the concerto was published to follow Goossens’s phrasing, the latter being most likely as the dynamic indications follow the direction of the line by being louder on the higher pitches and softer on the lower ones.

The second movement is not as technically challenging as the first movement, but there is one passage in particular that demonstrates Goossens’s talent. It is found six measures after

Rehearsal A where the key changes from c minor to , seen in Figure 2.18. At first glance it does not appear to be difficult because the rhythm is straightforward and the phrase is focused mainly in the middle range of the oboe. What makes it challenging is that it does not establish a consistent pattern. Descending thirds are mixed with neighbor tones so that the performer must be solid in where the changes happen so the fingers do not become tangled, as they say. Also, the key signature changes twice before the end of the example, providing another element for 119 which the oboist must be aware. The tonguing must be light though it is not indicated to be leggiero. If the articulation is too staccato the phrase will sound awkward and the effect of graceful technique will be lost. Goossens had a keen sense of articulation and how to make it sound appropriate for whatever style the music presented. While tricky for other oboists, he made it sound like the graceful minuet it is.

Figure 2.18 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The third movement, on the other hand, provides several passages that are technically demanding of any performern. From the first solo entrance of the oboe in the tenth measure, seen in Figure 2.19, the oboe puts on a technical display that sounds like a flourish of sound, almost cadenza-like. This effect is reinforced with the swell of sound created by the quick hairpins. The range constantly shifts from the upper register to the middle and lower registers, also adding to the swell of sound and cadenza quality. This example is also modal, focusing on the pitches a, b, c, d,e, and f-sharp again as in the first movement cadenzas. This passage is so 120 quick that it does not provide enough time for nuance; it is merely an example to showcase

Goossens’s technical abilities.

Figure 2.19 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The next passage of difficulty is the b-flat minor section after Rehearsal E, seen in Figure

2.20. It is difficult because the key signature creates the need to use the alternate e-flat fingering, which can become awkward at a very fast tempo. Vaughan Williams also added accents on every other beat to create a hemiola effect and offset the meter. While there was a clear sense of being in one, here there is a feeling of being in two that is unsettled from the start by not beginning on the downbeat. The accents also provide a problem. If they are too hard, the following notes do not come across clearly. Goossens used a very fast vibrato on the accents to give them importance but not to overshadow the surrounding notes. It is also used for the 121 accents that are slurred into. The quick vibrato sets the accented note apart just enough to be noticeable but not detract from the rest of the line.

Figure 2.20 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

There is a cadenza eight measures after Rehearsal M, just before the doppio più lento section. Though it is not indicated as a cadenza, the oboe is unaccompanied and therefore free to play the passage ad libitum. This passage, see Figure 2.21, is reminiscent of the opening of the movement, though Vaughan Williams uses more of the drastic changes in range here than was used in the opening and also explores the low range to a greater extent. The oboe is marked forte with only a crescendo to fortissimo on the very last beat, indicating a very soloistic sound should be used, which Goossens had no trouble creating. In the 1963 recording, Goossens’s treatment of the cadenza is interesting in that he relaxes the tempo in the eleventh measure of Rehearsal M, followed by a subsequent accelerando rushing towards the doppio più lento, counter to the marking of Vaughan Williams. 122

Figure 2.21 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

In Figure 2.22, there is a return to the original tempo at the doppio più mosso and a few of the themes and motives heard in the first section of the finale movement return. The motive from Figure 2.20 returns in a different key, which is technically easier than those before but the motive changes to become even more challenging than when it was first heard as the phrase is extended. Vaughan Williams extends the range to e-flat3 while modulating to e-flat minor through accidentals, all while the oboe has a hemiola against the strings. The oboist must be rhythmically secure, keep a consistent tone through the changing octaves, not harshly articulate the accents, and use enough vibrato to make the slurred accents noticeable, all while making a lyrical phrase. Where less adept players would struggle with this passage, Goossens’s technical facility allowed him to focus on making the phrase sound lyrical and shape the change of the direction of the melodic line accordingly. 123

Figure 2.22 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The final example showing Goossens’s facile technique, see Figure 2.23, is the most difficult of the movement and comes at the coda. The presto after the final lyrical lento employs similar material to the first thematic area of the movement in its initial structure, but by the seventh measure develops into a virtuosic display of technique, displaying extreme changes in range, articulation, and awkward fingerings in a hemiola. The last five measures are a written out ritardando slowing the motion to the end, so the beginning of the presto should be played brilliante in order for the ritardando to sound appropriate. 124

Figure 2.23 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The extreme register changes make it difficult to keep the tone quality consistent, and it takes a performer with solid technique to not allow the tone to be shrill when leaping to the high register or brash when playing in the low register. The rhythm shifts in the tenth measure from a sense of being in one to a hemiola effect for two measures with a crescendo to forte. The pulse is also offset eleven measures from the end of the example where the staccato articulations begin. A four-note pattern of d, e-natural, g, and a-flat in the staccato passage creates another hemiola effect, and the underlying hairpins increase this feel, particularly under the second hairpin, which leads to a downbeat that does not feel like either a downbeat or the peak of the crescendo. There is also a frequent use of octave displacement between e-flat2 to d3, which creates an awkward fingering combination. The e-flat must be played with the left-hand fingering because it is both preceded by d2 and followed by d3, which makes the regular right hand fingering almost impossible to use. Since d3 needs to be played with the c key depressed in the right hand, the switching from left-hand to right-hand fingerings can result in clumsy 125 fingering and will be problematic if the tempo is too fast or the performer is insecure in their technique.

When Vaughan Williams wrote the concerto these passages would have been difficult for any oboist who attempted them. Vaughan Williams wrote them knowing Goossens could play them and make them beautiful. Even with Goossens’s suggestions, these passages continue to challenge oboists.

Vibrato

Though Goossens’s use of vibrato has been briefly discussed in the previous sections, there are several passages that do not fall into either category, but seem as though they were meant to be enhanced by Goossens’s vibrato, as evident in his recording of the concerto. The first of these passages comes at Rehearsal B in the first movement and is seen in Figure 2.24.

The oboe line is written mostly in triplets and is accompanied by slow moving half and whole notes in the strings in the first three measures. As a result, the oboe line is free to be flexible in tempo for expression in what is a quasi-cadenza. Goossens used vibrato on the a1 at the beginning of the first triplet figure to give it importance and on the b3 of the next triplet to show it is an arrival point. Vibrato is also used on the same notes when the figure repeats in the third measure. The first b2 of the last triplet in the second measure has vibrato because it marks a return to the triplet figure after a beat of sixteenth notes. Goossens also used vibrato on the last note, the culmination of the phrase. 126

Figure 2.24 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The return to tempo is the coda of the first movement, see Figure 2.25. It is reminiscent of the previous themes used in the rondo and is another place where Goossens used vibrato.

Coming out of a cadenza, the final measures seem tame and almost as though the oboe has become tired of technical display as the note values slowly become longer towards the end.

Vibrato is used on the tied e-flat2s in the first and second measure to enhance their tone color in the phrase, and on the c2s in these measures to show their place as small points of arrival. The half notes three and four measures after tempo would have vibrato that increases in speed with each half note to lead to the final sustained e2. Goossens used noticeable vibrato on the last note as the oboe fades to silence. He did not return quite to the original tempo of the opening in his recording, but resorted to a slower tempo than expected in order to be more expressive with his vibrato and depict the reminiscent quality of this ending.

Figure 2.25 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved. 127

The Musette in the second movement is a place where Goossens’s vibrato is not expected since the oboe serves as a drone and secondary role to the strings in this section while holding sustained and accented fortepiano notes in the low register. Seen in Figure 2.23, the oboe imitates the musette instrument, but Goossens used a slight vibrato in his recording to contrast the articulated notes that follow. Since he always used vibrato this is expected, and here it serves to enhance the tone color of the oboe’s low register.

Figure 2.26 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

Figure 2.27 shows that the oboe part becomes more lyrical after Rehearsal D, but the focus on sustained dotted half notes remains. However, it does not last long before the style changes and active staccato eighth notes are reintroduced to lead the ear back to the minuet.

Though it is short, it is very lyrical and vibrato would have been expected on the tied dotted half notes. Goossens used a fuller vibrato on sustained b2 beginning ten measures after Rehearsal D to give it a noticeable tone color since it is not a pitch used in the key signature. Vibrato was used on the c-sharp3 four measures before Rehearsal E to stress the arrival of the fortissimo and the third statement of the downward scale motive. A wide vibrato was used on the last note after the trill at Rehearsal E to mark the arrival of the phrase and to set up the drone effect once more 128 for the string statement of the Musette theme one last time before it moves back to the minuet at

Rehearsal F.

Figure 2.27 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

Another short example comes from early in the third movement at Rehearsal C. It is a change from the virtuosic display that opens the movement and provides a brief moment of lyricism before being interrupted with trills. What makes Figure 2.28 exemplary for Goossens’s use of vibrato is the use of tenutos on the half notes. In a concerto that is rather bare in terms of expressive indications, these tenutos appear to be rather important. A similar passage using tenuto half notes can be found five measures before Rehearsal S, seen in Figure 2.22. 129

Figure 2.28 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

After the trills is another lyrical passage, which is also interrupted, this time by grace notes and the sighing appoggiatura figure. Vibrato would be used on the half notes in Figure

2.29, but Vaughan Williams left off a tenuto marking here and does not include an indication for expression other than hairpins five measures before the end of the example. In his recording,

Goossens used vibrato on these half notes as on the tenuto half notes in Figure 2.28. It was also used on the main note after the grace note to give it more weight and emphasize the sighing motive.

Figure 2.29 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The last example where Goossens uses vibrato in his recording to enhance the line is the last phrase of the concerto, found at Rehearsal X and seen in Figure 2.30. The oboe has just finished the fiery presto from Figure 2.23 and now is to gently fade away to the end on a high d3 at pianissimo. It is similar to the ending of the first movement, where the oboe seems to run out of energy, but here a sense of peace is created after the technical fireworks of the presto to allow 130 the oboe to drift off to its pastoral conclusion. It is the last chance for Goossens to display his tone quality after the brilliant technical display of the movement. Vibrato would be expected in this passage, with it becoming more intense on the e2 and then even more intense on the g2 of the fifth measure to shape the phrase and backing off in the next measure. The final note also has vibrato used in a similar fashion of a hairpin by slightly growing in intensity and backing off as the oboe fades out on the fermata. The last high d is troublesome because of the high range and pianissimo dynamic, so using vibrato will help enhance the tone color and quality without sacrificing the dynamic level.

Figure 2.30 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

Though these examples are not lengthy, they are moments where Goossens used his vibrato to make the phrase more lyrical and/or expressive. Vaughan Williams does not include any markings regarding the use of vibrato in the concerto, such as senza vibrato seen in Britten’s

Phantasy Quartet. The tenutos in Figures 2.22 and 2.28 are the closest Vaughan Williams comes to openly acknowledging vibrato usage. Since Goossens helped revise the concerto and vibrato was an integral part of his playing style, there would have been no need for an indication to be included, because he would have used it instinctively. These passages show moments where vibrato was meant to enhance the phrase, direction of line, or even the tone color of a single note. 131

Shifting Between Octaves and Registers

Vaughan Williams’s oboe concerto has several moments where the oboe seems indecisive regarding which octave and/or range to be in. Vaughan Williams wrote phrases that seem displaced and somewhat awkward, and require a player with both solid technical skills and keen sense of phrasing to make the passages sound smooth and graceful. In other words, it takes an oboist at the level of Goossens to make them sound beautiful.

The first of these passages can be seen one measure before Rehearsal C in the first movement, shown in Figure 2.31. Here the oboe begins the phrase with downward slurs from the comfortable middle range of the instrument down to the lower range, which can sound awkward if the oboist does not adjust the embouchure and placement of the reed in the mouth.

Shortly after the oboe is in the low register it moves back to the middle range, though is not established in this range as it skirts the upper and lower registers before finally settling back to the low range on staccato eighth notes and are followed by tenuto quarter notes. A repetition of the phrase begins at the key change, now shifting between the upper and middle ranges, but does not last long before changing direction to the high range. The oboe seems to want to stay the high range by going up to c3 but soon after returns to lower range to end on c1. Vaughan

Williams indicates that this passage should be played cantabile, and evidently as gracefully as possible with vibrato on the longer dotted eighth notes as well as the final tenuto quarter notes. 132

Figure 2.31 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

The change of range in this example is a problem for many oboists as it is difficult to make smooth transitions and keep the tone consistent. The staccatos at the end of the first phrase often are too harshly articulated and out of character because of the transition between the middle and low range. However, the staccatos at the end of the second phrase are not a problem because they lay in the comfortable middle range. Making the phrases sound smooth and cantabile is challenging when the range is in constant fluctuation. Goossens made it sound elegant because of his superior control over the instrument, so this constant change of range was not something that was evidently not regarded as uncharacteristic of the instrument.

Rehearsal D also employs the use of constantly shifting ranges and octaves, though here it is written in a staccato manner (see Figure 2.15). The first four measures progress from middle to high range naturally, but in the pickup to the fifth measure the oboe begins shifting between the low range and middle range for six sixteenth notes before it settles into the middle range; the same figure is repeated in the following measure. It is difficult to shift from the low 133 range to the middle or high range and vice versa, particularly when the low range is focused on c1. It is much easier to shift upwards from middle to high ranges or downwards from high to middle ranges because the tone colors are more similar. This shifting pattern highlighted

Goossens’s facile technique as well as his ability to make a potentially problematic passage sound musical.

Figure 2.18 shows another passage where the range affects the ability to produce a beautiful phrase. The phrase starts in the low range on e2 leading the middle range, which here is not a difficult transition due to its stepwise motion. What makes this passage difficult is the descending staccato passage beginning two measures before Rehearsal B. The transition between the middle and low ranges starts simply and then turns into downward fourths that is reminiscent of an etude. The lips must adjust to the tip of the reed to produce the proper shape of the oral cavity for the low notes to be responsive and to have a good tone while the lips must be further towards the heart of the reed to produce the proper sound for the middle range notes. The tongue must remain light and unaffected by the change of the oral cavity or the staccato notes will become sluggish and the tone will be hollow. All this must be achieved while playing a piano dynamic level. It is not difficult for this passage to sound pedantic and uninteresting unless the performer can incorporate these fundamentals of sound production in the changing ranges to shape the phrase towards the c1 at Rehearsal B. Good technique combined with superb phrasing was a noted feature of Goossens’s playing.

Vaughan Williams composed the opening of the third movement to sound like a fantasia, resulting in the oboe having to shift between ranges very quickly (see Figure 2.19). The oboe does not stay in any range for very long, so the oboist must constantly be adjusting the position of the reed in the mouth and the shape of the oral cavity in order for the tone quality to be 134 consistent in ranges. Vaughan Williams did give the oboe the advantage of the melody being slurred so articulation is not a factor for the quality of tone produced in the different ranges.

There are also hairpins under some of the larger leaps to help the upper notes have enough support for tone. In his recording, Goossens added vibrato to the notes at the peak of the hairpins to help color their range and their function as a point of arrival in the dynamic structure.

However, leaps that would benefit from hairpins, such as f-sharp1-d2-f-sharp1 between the second and third measures and the leaps in the tenth measure of the example, do not have these markings, making it necessary to disguise changes in dynamics to help support the leaps. The presto tempo can create the effect of just busy sound without discernable pitches to demonstrate technique, but an oboist of the caliber of Goossens could make each note clear in tone and make the line sound melodic. The wide leaps make it difficult to achieve beautiful phrasing but it can be done and be done well in the hands of a performer like Goossens.

Continuing on at Rehearsal A (see Figure 2.32), the line becomes staccato and the changes in range are more dramatic. The articulation on the upper notes can help the oboist tune them, but articulating the lower notes truly with the staccato indications can make them sound unfocused and the tone quality unclear. Vaughan Williams writes a crescendo in the second measure of the example leading to a fortepiano in the seventh measure where the largest leap from e1 to d3 is found. The following two measures contain the same leap of an octave and a seventh but now must be played at a piano dynamic level and also include the same interval descending shift, creating the need for the oboist to adjust the embouchure on every note of these three measures in order to set up the leaps. All this happens in the feeling of one beat to the measure, so the adjustments must be made very quickly and cannot be underestimated. This passage can easily sound awkward and uncomfortable, and the direction of the line can easily be 135 lost if the focus is solely on the intervals. It takes a player like Goossens who is solid in technique to make each note resonate properly but also have the ability to make the phrase sound like a graceful waltz—not an awkward pastiche of notes in different ranges.

Figure 2.32 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

A brief return to the opening fantasia motive is found five measures before Rehearsal K, but the next important passage showing the quick and drastic changes of range is at Rehearsal L

(see Figure 2.33). Here, the leaps are contained to an octave at the most, but each measure begins in a different range than where the previous measure left off, usually in the very low range. For example, Rehearsal L begins with the oboe playing quarter notes on b1-c1-b2 in the first measure and then c-sharp1 in the next. This intervallic motive is the underlying theme of this section until it is replaced five measures before Rehearsal M with the chromatic motion of the first two beats followed by an upward leap of a seventh, leading to a peak of d-flat3 on the downbeat of Rehearsal M. Vaughan Williams notated this section piano with crescendos under the measures with the original motive for the first two lines of the example. After the tenth measure of Rehearsal L there are no more dynamics or other indications written in the part. This is most likely because Vaughan Williams had established a pattern in the first two lines and 136 deemed it unnecessary to continue such written detail for the rest of the phrase since the oboist would continue the idea, becoming more intense in dynamic level as the music becomes chromatic before Rehearsal M.

Figure 2.33 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

This passage is very difficult for the oboist because the quick shifts between the octaves make it difficult to produce a good tone quality for the notes in either range. The lower notes tend to suffer the most by having a loud and unfocused sound, while the upper notes tend to sound thin. The oboist must be in constant adjustment of the embouchure to create a good tone on each note and to keep the soloistic presence in a passage where it is difficult to sound like the main voice of interest. Goossens had an incredible ability to make his tone carry no matter how softly he played and make it ring regardless of the range of the music. Here, he could make a soloistic sound while giving each note enough tone quality and ring to be important while making the acrobatic leaps sound graceful and musical. He also gave vibrato to the half notes and dotted half note to give them more vibrancy in order to highlight the importance of their range, as each one is written in a different range from where the measure before left off. 137

Figure 2.21 is a blend of the opening fantasia style and the acrobatic style of Figure 2.33.

It shows Goossens’s ability to blend technical difficulties of the two styles while still maintaining a beautiful musical line. The oboe part is unaccompanied to create a cadenza, allowing the oboist more time to adjust in the wide leaps and changes of range. For example, time can be stretched at the beginning of the fourth measure to set up the leap from e-flat2 to c1 on the third beat. Time can also be taken on the triplet figures to set up the leaps of a seventh while making it sound like the oboist is merely showing the difference in rhythm than what was previously used. With this senseof rubato, the oboe part is written to display the flexibility of the performer to move around the ranges of the instrument easily. The risk of a poor tone quality in the range shifts still remains, most noticeably between the middle and low ranges. Also, the fingerings are awkward due to the need to use alternate fingerings beginning in the pickup to the third measure until the c1 on the third beat of the fourth measure. With so many technical issues in this passage it can be easy to lose the sense of musical line by rushing through the passage under the license of a cadenza effect. The direction of the phrase should always be at the forefront of the performer’s mind while still producing a good tone quality throughout the shifting ranges and awkward fingerings.

The last passage where Vaughan Williams exploits the ranges of the oboe is in the final presto between Rehearsals W and X of the third movement. This example, as shown in Figure

2.23, is based on the fantasia effect of the beginning of the movement but is written as a final display of virtuosity, and thus Vaughan Williams exploits the oboist’s flexibility more than he previously had to give the work a fiery finish. The first two measures are focused in the middle range with a solitary c3 at the end of the second measure, while the next short phrase flits between the middle and high ranges before jumping to the low range in the third beat of its 138 second measure and finishing back in the middle range on d2. From here the oboe is constantly maneuvering between the low, middle and high ranges for twenty-one measures. D3 to c3 is interjected throughout, most notably in the forte section, and can sound shrill if the performer is not prepared for the change of range from the middle to high octave.

The length of this passage is taxing on the oboist, as it is imperative to be constantly adjusting the embouchure to keep the tone quality consistent in each range. The shape of the phrase and direction of the line also has a tendency to suffer in this passage if the oboist is too focused on the embouchure and fingering the technically difficult passage. The change to staccato articulations two-thirds through the passage can also hinder the tone quality between the low and middle ranges if the performer is not conscious of how to articulate the staccato notes.

Accents followed by a spread tone quality are easily accomplished in the low register if the oboist does not properly prepare the embouchure and oral cavity. Because this passage comes at the end of the concerto when the oboist is most likely to be tired, the ability Goossens demonstrates to change quickly between the ranges in this passage is very impressive.

Limited Dynamic Variation

The dynamic variation used in the concerto is rather limited. This is not surprising since

Goossens was noted for his elegant phrasing, so Vaughan Williams did not need to include arrival points of dynamic levels or crescendos and decrescendos to guide the phrase because

Goossens intuitively performed as necessary to be expressive. Vaughan Williams notated mostly piano dynamic indications at the beginning of phrases, though periodically forte is employed at the start of the phrase, and a few pianissimo and fortissimo markings when necessary. There is 139 only one use of mezzo forte in the concerto and is found in the second movement. Vaughan

Williams left the majority of the shaping of the phrase to Goossens, who did not need to have strict guidelines for dynamic levels to be expressive or for his soloistic approach to the instrument to allow his lovely tone to carry even in the softest sections.

For example, the first movement has very little in the way of printed dynamic markings and nuances focusing mostly on piano and forte with a few crescendos and decrescendos included. It is a very lyrical movement that is almost bare in its dynamic, relying on Goossens’s sense of phrasing and shaping of long musical lines to shape the line (see Figures 2.1, 2.2, and

2.3). The final cadenza of the first movement, shown in Figure 2.17, is the only place in the movement where Vaughan Williams uses a variety of dynamics to show the shaping of the phrase. Still, he did not introduce a dynamic level at Rehearsal H and did not include a crescendo to the forte in the second measure after the tempo marking. A crescendo is expected at the tempo with the ascending sextuplets but it is not included since Goossens, who made a crescendo to follow the upward direction of the line in his recording, did not need the additional marking.

The Minuet and Musette has more dynamic variation than the first movement, but there still is a noticeable lack of dynamic indication in the long phrases of the Minuet section, shown in Figures 2.18 and in Figure 2.5. Here the only indication is the piano marking at the beginning of the phrase. The Musette (see Figures 2.26 and 2.27) has much more variety than previously seen, including fortepiano markings with accents to create the drone effect for the melody to be heard in the strings. Since the oboe is essentially the secondary instrument in this section,

Vaughan Williams chose to be specific with the dynamic marking nuances to prevent the oboe from overshadowing the strings. However, there are some unexpected exclusions of dynamics. 140

The first fortepiano in the Musette (Figure 2. 26) is preceded by a crescendo, while the other fortepianos that are also introduced with descending staccato eighth notes do not have a crescendo; the final measure of Figure 2.26 uses the same descending staccato eighths does have a crescendo but it leads only to a forte marking. It would be expected that the descending staccato eighth notes would have a slight crescendo to follow the direction of the line, but it can appear that those without the crescendo should remain at the same dynamic level as the notes that precede them.

Vaughan Williams also gives more dynamic shaping in the last phrase of the second movement around Rehearsal H, shown in Figure 2.6. He indicated a forte dynamic at the beginning of the phrase after Rehearsal G followed by a diminuendo marking two measures later.

This leads to a piano marking two measures before Rehearsal H that immediately crescendos to a fortepiano in the next measure, which in turn also immediately crescendos to a fortepiano at

Rehearsal H. A decrescendo comes after the second fortepiano and is followed by another decrescendo to pianissimo on c3. The fortepianos are most likely included to remind the audience of the Musette section but also helps set up the articulated notes in the low range. The pianissimo ending is difficult because if the performer begins too softly in the upper register it will make the lower register challenging to speak clearly despite the lack of articulations. A hairpin should be included to peak under the c2 four measures from the end in order to make the lower register notes in the last two measures sound softer than the previous pianissimo measures.

This was not included in the part because it is something Goossens did naturally to keep the tone quality consistent.

The beginning of the Finale [Scherzo] is another case where dynamic variation is only partially indicated. Figure 2.19 shows the first four measures of the oboe’s solo entrance are 141 forte and are followed by piano to forte hairpins for the next five measures. The peaks of these hairpins come when the oboe part reaches into the upper register on a2-b2-a2, but they are missing when the oboe reaches up to b2-a2 six measures before Rehearsal A and in one measure before

Rehearsal A . Though the first a2 is missing in these measures, the effect is still the same and warrants hairpins to be used here as well. This is another case where Vaughan Williams implied the dynamics and did not find it necessary to include them in the score. Continuing at Rehearsal

A, Figure 2.32, the composer gave the oboe crescendo leading to a fortepiano at the downbeat of the seventh measure. No other indication is given for the rest of the phrase. From this point, the only other dynamics marked up to Rehearsal H are piano (Figure 2.7), save for a hairpin seven measures before Rehearsal E, and five measures before the end of Figure 2.29 are almost always marked at the beginning of the phrase.

Figure 2.7 is another example of missing dynamics. In this long musical line only piano is indicated, and it is written again in the eighth measure despite no indication of dynamic change. These reminder dynamics are really guidelines for shaping the phrase. The piano indication in the eighth measure is the start of a new idea and is so marked as the beginning of each previous phrase since Rehearsal C in the third movement had been marked. It also implies that the dynamics in the previous phrase would have changed and the new phrase should begin piano.The piano one measure before Rehearsal H serves an arrival point, as Goossens applies a natural diminuendo as the line descended.

The next place where dynamic variation is noteworthy is at Rehearsal L, shown in Figure

2.33. Vaughan Williams again begins the oboe at a piano dynamic level, moving forward through the rising figures through the next nine measures with crescendos, though no dynamic level is indicated for an arrival point. Vaughan Williams does not include crescendos on the 142 rising figures when they occur after this point. This again shows that once a pattern was established, Vaughan Williams expected the performer to continue it.

Rehearsal Q is the last point of specific dynamic variation in the concerto, shown in

Figure 2.11. In the recapitulation, the dynamics marking focus on piano and pianissimo to the end of the concerto, even in the expansive lento between Rehearsals V and W (see Figure 2.13).

However, this section is the final point of pastoral lyricism in the work and seems almost heroic in its broad tempo and quarter note triplets. Vaughan Williams notated a crescendo at the beginning of the lento but did not give an arrival dynamic, thus allowing the performer to be as loud and present as desired. It is though Vaughan Williams gave Goossens the license to display his tone quality, sense of phrasing in long musical lines, imperceptible breathing, ability to imitate the human voice, soloistic approach and presence one last time; in other words, to display his stylistic features once more before the end of the concerto.

Important Non-Virtuoso Elements

Vaughan Williams’s concerto provides the oboist with a mixture of pastoral lyricism with technical complexities. While the composer tailored the oboe part for Goossens’s manner of playing, the part also has sections that are challenging for all oboists. A few of these important elements that are not considered to be a part of Goossens’s virtuosic style are the various styles of articulation, the use of the oboe’s extreme range, and the quick shifts of musical styles. These elements help make the concerto interesting and challenging, and Vaughan Williams used them to explore the capabilities of the oboe and not just what Goossens was able to do.

The first movement, Rondo Pastorale, is mostly lyrical and legato, but the push and pull between pastoral melodic lines and cadenza sections creates a feeling of instability. The 143 unsettled feeling is further created with the jaunty melody at Rehearsal C (see Figure 2.31) and the staccato passage between Rehearsals D and F (see Figures 2.15 and 2.16). Vaughan

Williams composed the movement is written in the style of a rondo, so that the lyricism of the cantabile opening returns throughout the movement. However, the oboist must be able to switch quickly between the styles for it to be effective.

For example, the jaunty melody at Rehearsal C is to be played cantabile but is more like a sailor’s sea shanty than a lyrical melody. This is further conflicted with the descending staccato notes four measures after Rehearsal C, which are followed by tenuto low range notes in the next measure. It is as though a singular style cannot be agreed upon so it is changed on a whim. Having to switch from legato to staccato and back again in a short time can result in a messy transition in performance, particularly when leading back to the legato notes in the low range as they have a tendency to follow the preceding staccato style instead of the legato style from the beginning of the phrase. The performer must be able to make the transitions cleanly and effectively without having the quality of tone suffer from the changing articulations or the change in style.

Another complicated passage (see Figure 2.16) begins with the oboe in a slurred lyrical passage borrowed from the melody at Rehearsal C (see Figure 2.31), which is interrupted with a return to the staccato style two measures before Rehearsal E. Though the phrase beginning two measures before Rehearsal E begins after a quick eighth rest to help separate it from the previous lyrical phrase, the phrase is not stable as both entrances of the sixteenth-note figures begin slurred and change to staccato, making it difficult for the performer to feel settled in the staccato style. The figure ends with the oboe slurred from e3 down to a1 in a quasi-lyrical fashion. The 144 performer must be able to make a natural transition back and forth between the staccato and lyrical styles without coming across as unstable.

Figure 2.17 shows another challenging passage from the first movement where the oboe moves in and out of cadenza-like sections. The return to tempo four measures after Rehearsal H only feels in time for one measure, as the fifth measure after Rehearsal H is cadenza-like with its quick shifting between high and low ranges, and extensive use of sextuplets, which is reminiscent of the first cadenza before Rehearsal A (Figure 2.14). This quasi cadenza even ends with the same set of trills leading to e3, which marked the return to tempo in the first cadenza before Rehearsal A; however, Vaughan Williams indicates that it should be played in tempo.

This confusion is continued in the next cadenza at Rehearsal K, where the second full measure uses the sextuplets from the first measure of the previous tempo, making the previous tempo section seem even more like a real cadenza. The performer must be alert to the quick changes in and out of the cadenzas and give the points of regular tempo enough rhythmic contrast so the different sections are differentiated.

The range of the passage shown in Figure 2.17 is a challenge for the oboist, particularly when the melody is focused in the high register. Vaughan Williams marks the oboe part forte when the third octave is used, which is helpful for the performer because it allows the tone to be full and resonant to avoid a strained or pinched tone. However, when the line decrescendos in the high register, as in the second and third measures after tempo and again at Rehearsal K, the risk of a pinched tone is higher if the performer uses the embouchure to change the dynamic level.

The pitch will also be sharp and the tone color inappropriately bright if the oboist tightens the embouchure. This is problematic as the oboe part is written diatonically in the second and third measures after the tempo and Rehearsal K repeats of opening phrase of the movement one octave 145 higher, making the oboist noticeably out of tune with themselves if the pitch and/or tone color changes drastically due to the decrescendos. The performer needs to have a good concept of tone quality in the third octave and must be able to keep it consistent through the dynamic changes without making it seem labored or distract from the intensity of the movement’s climax.

The second movement begins in the middle range of the instrument, and Vaughan

Williams marks it staccato (see Figure 2.34). However, the composer marks the second measure with a tenuto over the dotted half note; the tenuto marking continues to be seen every other measure, sometimes over the first and third beats of the measure. This is unusual since the movement begins as a minuet and tenutos are not expected. On the dotted half notes the tenutos were most likely indications for Goossens to use vibrato, but on the quarter notes they serve to elongate the measure, resulting in a displacement of the light and graceful dance style expected of a minuet. The performer must be cautious not to let the tenuto notes become a distraction to the minuet style but still give the notes enough vibrato and resonance for the tenutos to be noticed.

Figure 2.34 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved. 146

The first four measures of Figure 2.34 are challenging because of the staccato articulations in a variety of registers. There is little time to adjust the embouchure to the low range and can result in staccato articulations that are unclear and a tone that is brash if the performer focuses solely on them. The piano dynamic also creates a natural tendency to tighten the embouchure, which will cut off the resonance and tone of the lower range and potentially create an unresponsive articulation. The performer must keep the embouchure relaxed and the oral cavity open, and should adjust the embouchure in the second measure on the dotted half note, covering any audible alteration of tone color with vibrato.

Figure 2.26 shows an unusual use of articulation in the concerto, as Vaughan Williams employs fortepiano markings coupled with accents to create a drone effect in the Musette section. It is also written in the low range of the oboe, where the tone quality can be poor and the note can crack if the performer is focused only on making a dramatic effect with the fortepiano accents. A balance must be struck to keep a good tone quality while still creating an obvious change in the volume of sound. This demonstrates the performer’s need to have control over the instrument while maintaining the presence of a soloist and not falling into the trap of overdoing the fortepianos and accents as an amateur would. The concerto as a whole is not very varied in its use of articulation, focusing mostly on staccato and legato articulations and slurs, so the use of the fortepiano in conjunction with accents makes this passage very important. The accents were removed when Vaughan Williams wrote fortepiano at the end of the movement

(see Figure 2.6) and is replaced with hairpins for a different effect. Here the performer must be careful not to over-exaggerate the fortepianos and also to use a different tone color than the one used in the Musette section to distinguish the movement’s final cadence. 147

The third movement incorporates a variety of styles, making it necessary for the performer to be on their toes to make smooth transitions between them. One example of this can be seen at Rehearsals C and D in Figure 2.35 where the oboist is required to switch between light staccatos interspersed with tenutos, syncopated-like trills, and a lyrical theme lasting only a short period of time. The oboe part begins with a staccato eight note, leads to a tenuto half note, and continues to switch back and forth between the two styles for seven measures, making the style neither light nor sustained. In the eighth measure of Rehearsal C, the style becomes syncopated as the oboe trills on the second beat to an eighth note on the third beat. This offset feeling last for six measures to Rehearsal D, where the key changes from F Major to b minor and where the oboe part becomes slurred and legato with only the length of the eighth rest on the downbeat to changes to the new lyrical style.

Figure 2.35 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

However, Vaughan Williams does not settle into the lyrical style due to the grace notes that interrupt the phrase in the fifth measure after Rehearsal D. When the phrase is repeated in 148 the eighth measure of Rehearsal D, an anxious and nervous feeling ensues due to the repetition of b2-c-sharp2 and the following eighth notes. The hairpin also makes the repeat of the melody seem both more dramatic and more important than when it was first heard, adding to the change of mood. The lyrical quality is finally abandoned when the grace notes return in the last five measures before Rehearsal E. The performer has to anticipate the changes, particularly going into Rehearsal D, which can be very difficult at the presto tempo of the movement. Changing styles so quickly is difficult and can often result in transitions that are neither smooth nor effective.

Finally, the presto at the end of the movement (see Figure 2.36), Vaughan Williams included one last display of technical virtuosity using the high, middle and low ranges of the instrument in sweeping gestures, which end in a series of four repeated notes marked staccato that gradually ritard by elongating the note values from eighth notes to quarter notes, which split the low and middle ranges, and leads to the sustained dotted half notes that end the concerto.

The oboe part transitions into the final presto just after the last phrase of the expansive lento with just enough time in between to reset the embouchure and take a breath. Still, the presto feels as if it comes from out of nowhere and can come across as such if the performer is not set for it before it begins. While the presto covers a wide range from c1 to d3, perhaps the most difficult section is the staccato eighth notes. The transition of articulation from slurred to staccato in the low range can result in a messy articulation if the embouchure and oral cavity are not set for the low notes in the previous measure. The hairpins also create a problem when used the second time, beginning eight measures before Rehearsal X, because they do not peak at the top of the range of the eighth note sequence as they did the first time they are used three measures prior.

This can cause the rhythm to feel uneven, and can cause the crescendo not to peak seven 149 measures before Rehearsal X but instead on the a-flat2 in the previous measure, since that is where it peaked before and where it naturally wants to be loudest. The performer, therefore, has to go against the natural inclination of dynamic shape of the line and alter the feel of the beat while keeping the light staccato articulation.

Figure 2.36 “Concerto for Oboe and Strings” by Ralph Vaughan Williams Copyright © Oxford University Press 1947. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.

There is no dynamic level indicated for where the eighth notes slow to quarter notes five measures before Rehearsal X, and no indication for the dynamic level to be soft. However, as the dynamic level at Rehearsal X is piano and the style changes to a lyrical and legato style, the performer is expected to decrescendo to Rehearsal X so that the transition is smooth and the dynamic change not abrupt. A ritardando could also be added before Rehearsal X, though it is not marked, in order to set up the ending’s morendo, allowing the performer to adjust the embouchure and reset for the new legato style and the move from the low range to the middle 150

range. The switch from low range to high range at the end of the concerto can be problematic

and the high range can sound airy if the dynamic level is too soft and/or unsupported. Though a

decrescendo to pianissimo is written in the fifth measure of Rehearsal X, the performer must not

be too soft on the final d3 or the tone quality will be poor and lack resonance. The performer will

most likely be tired at Rehearsal X, which makes the final line difficult to produce with a good

tone quality and soloistic sound. Thus, Vaughan Williams challenges the abilities of the performer up to the very end of the concerto to create a fluid and graceful quality when it is most difficult to do so.

Summation of the Evidence of Goossens’s Influence

Vaughan Williams composed his oboe concerto for Goossens, and the two were in contact about how to make the solo part idiomatic. Goossens had the opportunity to, in a sense, tailor Vaughan Williams’s drafts to his own personal style. However, Vaughan Williams also consciously used Goossens’s renowned stylistic features, such as sense of phrasing long musical lines and vibrato, as a guide point for composing the oboe part. The lack of dynamic and phrase markings show Vaughan Williams trusted Goossens to make a beautiful phrase and knew he did not need guidelines for shaping phrases, while the periodic indications for cantabile or tenutos show his desire for Goossens to change the tone color and vibrato to be more expressive. The long musical lines may have chosen by Vaughan Williams to display Goossens’s famous tone quality and are also places where Goossens used imperceptible changes in breathing to make the phrases seem longer by not being interrupted for a breath. The difficulty of the technical sections is so challenging because Goossens had both incredible technique and a mastery of 151

control over the oboe. The range and style, therefore, could change without notice because

Goossens could make these transitions sound effortless.

Vaughan Williams did not like concertos to be overly virtuosic and in regards to music

for soloists, he “had a horror of professional skill and technical ability.”13 However, he produced

a virtuosic and difficult oboe concerto in which the soloist carefully performs without having it

sounding awkward. The work as a whole shows Goossens’s soloistic approach to the instrument

in that it gave him the chance to display his personal virtuosic style and qualities as well as to

conquer the difficult passages that would challenge any oboist to this day. It also opened the

door for virtuosity to be shown in Vaughan Williams concerto (1954), which has also

become a staple of its repertoire, though its length and magnitude is less than the oboe concerto.

The oboe concerto is also far more complex and taxing on the soloist than Vaughan Williams’s

later Ten Blake Songs (1957), written for Janet Craxton. Though written for solo oboe and solo

voice for the film The Vision of , Ten Blake Songs does not treat the oboe truly as a

soloist by exploring its capabilities but uses it more as background material for the voice as well

as for the film. Vaughan Williams’s oboe concerto displays Goossens’s characteristic playing

style and is representative of a new and different way of writing for the oboe soloist.

13 Donald Mitchell, Britten and Auden in the Thirties: The Year 1936 (: University of Washington Press, 1981), 36. 152

CHAPTER 5

SONATA FOR OBOE AND PIANO OF YORK BOWEN

Background and Reception

Little is known about the background and history of the Sonata for Oboe and Piano by

York Bowen. Information about the sonata is all but omitted from Bowen’s biography,1 and very little more information has been written about why Bowen wrote the sonata and why it was absent from public concerts for so long. Bowen’s oboe sonata never made it to the ranks of a standard repertoire like Britten’s quartet or Vaughan Williams’s oboe concerto. Bowen’s musical style is more closely linked to the Romantic era than the modern era in which he lived, making his music sound old-fashioned even when it was contemporary. His interests were in the

French impressionist style of Debussy and Ravel, and he rejected the modernist styles of

Stravinsky, whose music Bowen openly rejected. This led him closer to a connection with the past style of the Romantic era, and “while his music was usually well-received, as he grew older he was increasingly seen as no longer quite the leading composer he had once been thought to be.”2 This connection to a past style eventually hurt Bowen’s legacy and lasting impact on

British music in the twentieth century, though it does not make the oboe sonata any less important.

Bowen, a virtuoso pianist, was on the faculty of the Royal Academy of Music from

1909–1959. Goossens was on faculty in the years 1924–1935 as part of a shared agreement between the Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music so that neither school lost oboe students to the other. As both Bowen and Goossens were virtuosos of their instruments and

1 Monica Watson, York Bowen: A Centenary Tribute (London: Thames Publishing, 1984).

2 Lewis Foreman, program notes in York Bowen, Chamber Music, 6-7. 153

faculty members of the Royal Academy, the chance for the two to collaborate was great. Bowen

had already worked closely with the violist Lionel Tertis who had been popularizing his own

instrument, so for Bowen to write an oboe sonata for Goossens, who had been working to revive

the solo oboe, seems to have been a natural chain of events. Bowen had also developed a

reputation for being an excellent composer prior to the sonata’s composition, which would have

encouraged Goossens to ask him for a work. He also knew of Bowen’s Romantically oriented

compositional style, which complimented his own characteristic style, and having a sonata

written for him would have given him new music to perform in the recital setting in which he

was becoming active. The last great oboe sonata written before Bowen’s was by Saint-Saëns,

who had remarked that Bowen was “the most remarkable of the young British composers.”3

Bowen composed his oboe sonata for Goossens in 1927 and it received its world

premiere in New York at Steinway Hall on 5 February 1929 with Eugène Goossens at the piano.4

It did not premiere it in the British Isles until 28 October 1930 at a Chamber Music Society

Concert in Cardiff with the pianist Kathleen Markwell.5 It was not published until 1944 and was

the only one of Bowen’s sonatas for a wind instrument published during his lifetime. By the

time it was published, the sonata’s style was more a remnant of a bygone era than a new piece

for the oboe; by the 1950s Bowen’s “late romantic style was considered very old-fashioned.

Bowens’…music had been neglected since the 1940s for this reason.”6 Goossens had many

other pieces written for him after Bowen wrote his sonata, making him more likely to perform a

3 Camille Saint-Saëns, quoted in Watson, York Bowen, 13.

4Unknown, “Goossens Brothers Play,” http://www.proquest.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/ (accessed16 June 2009).

5 Lewis Foreman, program notes in York Bowen, Chamber Music, 8.

6 Lisa Hardy, The British Piano Sonata, 1870–1945 (Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 2001), 51. 154

new piece than Bowen’s older sonata. There are not records showing Goossens performed the

work again, though he felt it to be important for the instrument because he included it in his list

of sonatas that oboists should know.7 Oboe scholar Charles Lehrer described it as “a really

major work,”8 and it was included by respondents to a survey of oboe repertoire as a sonata that

oboists should know after it had been left out of the list of choices.9

The Oboe as a Soloist with Piano

The oboe sonata has existed for almost as long as the instrument itself. The solo oboe

sonata became popular between 1680 and 1710, with composers such as Telemann, Handel,

Hotteterre, Montéclair, and Philidor writing sonatas for the popular new instrument; the oboe

sonata was at this point more popular than the oboe concerto.10 The sonata, at least initially, has

been used to display the qualities and capabilities of the instrument in an intimate setting where

the tone color, technical abilities, and expressive capacity, can be easily heard. As the oboe

became more established, the sonata became a means of displaying the virtuosic characteristics

of both the instrument and the soloist. However, “from about the middle of the eighteenth

century the oboe sonata waned in popularity, and this continued to be the case through the

Romantic period.”11 As the oboe quartet began its rise to popularity in the Classical era, the

oboe sonata began to fall out of favor as the same features could be displayed in the intimate

7 Goossens and Roxburgh, 188–9.

8 Charles Lehrer, “Recital Programs for the ‘New Type of Oboist’,” The Double Reed 3 (1980): 24.

9 Susan M. Lundberg, “What Every Oboist Should Know: Methods and Repertoire Selections,” The Double Reed 24 (2001): 109.

10 Haynes, “The Oboe Solo Before 1800: A Survey,” 9.

11 Burgess and Haynes, 129. 155 setting with the new fashionable accompaniment of the string quartet, which was also experiencing a “parallel popularity.”12

The oboe quartet, therefore, was the most popular platform for the solo oboe in the chamber music setting beginning in the Classical era. The fall from favor of the oboe in the

Romantic era left the instrument with the majority of its sonata repertoire coming from the

Baroque era. It has been said that the reason for the lack of new sonatas by important composers in the Romantic era “was perhaps due at least in part to the limited range and expressive capabilities of the oboe relative to other instruments: it was considered unequal on its own to the aspirations of Romantic expression.”13 The greatest of the Romantic sonatas for oboe was

Camille Saint-Saëns’s sonata, though it was not composed until 1921, when the instrument was beginning its comeback. With Goossens looking back to the Baroque period for music for his early solo performances and the possibility of a great oboe sonata renewed with Saint-Saëns recent sonata, the timing was right for a new British oboe sonata.

Bowen studied all of the orchestral instruments and was aware of their capabilities and temperaments, the result being that “Bowen’s instrumental sonatas are remarkably characterised for each instrument, indicative of a practical musician with first-hand experience of them.”14 In other words, he was able to write well for the oboe because he was well acquainted with it. The oboe sonata also embodies Bowen’s personal musical style, which has been described as a

“gorgeously sensuous late Romantic piece, with undertones of French .”15 It fits

12 Haynes, “The Oboe Solo Before 1800,” 14.

13 Janet K. Page, et al, “Oboe,” in Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/40450 (accessed 24 August 2009).

14 Lewis Foreman, program notes in York Bowen, Chamber Music, 7.

15 Keith Fraser, program notes in Jeremy Polmear, Sweet Melancholy, 5. 156 well with Goossens’s own personal characteristics, allowing his tone quality, sense of phrasing, use of vibrato to come through easily since “the lyrical oboe part seems designed specifically for

Mr. Goossens’ masterful style.”16 Bowen wrote the sonata for Goossens in 1927, the same year that Eugène Goossens penned his oboe concerto. The two works are very similar in that they treat the oboe in a pastoral manner but still provide plenty of opportunity to display its virtuosic capabilities. Bowen’s sonata, however, has not enjoyed the lasting fame of Eugène Goossens’s concerto, most likely because Goossens performed his brother’s concerto when the two performed together, thus allowing it to reach a wider audience and become a sort of signature piece for Goossens. The sonata though is similar to Britten’s quartet and Vaughan Williams’s concerto in that it has the evidence of Goossens’s virtuosity found throughout its three movements.

Evidence of Goossens’s Virtuosity in the Sonata

Since Bowen wrote his oboe sonata at a time when Goossens was beginning to make his solo career, the oboe part is experimental with its capabilities and what Goossens could do with it outside the orchestra setting. It also shows the qualities Goossens was becoming known for, such as using vibrato, his tone quality, phrasing in long musical lines, imitating the human voice, and using imperceptible changes in breathing to sustain long phrases. The sonata is challenging but incorporates the pastoral lyricism popular of the time in addition to Goossens’s virtuosic characteristics, which make it accessible to audiences. Though Goossens did not record the sonata, it is certain that he would have performed the sonata equally to how he performed other

16 Charles Lehrer, back matter of Charles Lehrer, Sonata for Oboe and Piano: (1944) / York Bowen. 157 works of a similar style, with noticeable phrasing of long musical line, vibrato, technical virtuosity in a soloistic approach, and imperceptible changes in breathing.

Long Musical Lines

The English musical renaissance was in full swing when the sonata was composed, and its pastoral lyricism found its way into Bowen’s oboe sonata, which blended with his own leaning towards the Romantic style. One of the most important features of the pastoral style is its use of long musical lines. Bowen also uses shorter lyrical motives that create a contrasting style to the long musical lines.

The first example comes at the opening of the first movement (see Figure 3.1) and lasts for seven measures. Though not terribly long, the style changes enough to make the phrase feel longer than it is. The movement is marked allegretto grazioso and begins in the pastoral style but by the second beat of the first full measures begins to play with the stylistic expectations by adding accidentals to create a different tone color. By the third beat of the first measure it reverts back to the pastoral style, re-emphasized by the tenuto on a1, and stays in this character until the last measure where Bowen once again changes the style to be almost impressionistic with the use of the diminished descending arpeggio on the first beat followed by on the second half of the second beat. Despite the changes of style, the oboe part is very lyrical with its stepwise motion and small leaps. The lyrical quality is kept despite the use of staccatos in the second and fourth measures as they indicate only a light articulation typical of grazioso style, not the actual shortness of the note. The lyrical quality is also maintained even when the oboe is given a decorated rhythm in the sixth and seven measures. The practice of increasing the sound 158 level on the higher notes and quieting it on the lower notes also follows the expected pattern of pastoral lyricism, enhancing the vocal quality of the long musical line. This example displays

Goossens’s beautiful tone quality and use of vibrato, most noticeably on the longer notes.

Figure 3.1 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

The next example of a long musical line is the second theme of the first movement, seen in Figure 3.2 and found five measures after Rehearsal 2. This section is marked poco tranquillo and the oboe line is marked dolce espressivo indicating it is a truly lyrical melody. As with the first theme in Figure 3.1, this example also uses staccatos that can be misinterpreted as a short articulation when in this purpose it is just an indication to separate these notes. The staccato downbeats of the first and second measures are followed by tenutos, where vibrato should be used to bring out the dolce espressivo marking and show the lyrical nature of the theme. The dynamics lead to a peak at on c-sharp3 in the fifth measure of Figure 3.2, which was approached by crescendos and is followed by decrescendos to help show the direction of the phrase.

Sextuplets can be found starting in the fifth measure, and in the sixth measure become more motivic than lyrical, functioning as transitional material to the dotted eighth-sixteenth notes, which bring the exposition of the sonata to a close. Measure six serves as an extension of the previous measure and the seventh and eighth measures seem stylistically unrelated as they are 159

not lyrical. Goossens had a way of phrasing long musical lines so that they seemed endless, and

this example shows how Bowen makes a relatively short amount of music seem longer than it is.

Figure 3.2 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

The development section, shown in Figure 3.3, does not follow the exact melodic pattern

from the beginning of the movement. Instead, the first two measures begin similar to the

opening and are marked dolce to show its lyrical and expressive qualities, but changes in the

third measure to the chromatic and active style expected of a development section. The change

to triplets creates an expansive feeling, further propelled by the espressivo marking that

accompanies it, and the tenutos on the high range notes in the seventh and eighth measures also

give this example an underlying melodic quality. They are also indications for Goossens to use

his vibrato to bring out the expressive nature of the high range. That Bowen chose to use tenutos

on the high notes implies this section of the example was considered to be part of the long

musical line that started the phrase. It also shows that Bowen may have been aware of

Goossens’s ability to bring out the lyrical features of a long phrase that undergoes style changes. 160

Figure 3.3 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

The primary theme of the recapitulation is almost identical to how it was in the exposition, so it will not be discussed. However, the articulation and dynamic markings are different when the main theme returns in the recapitulation and the dynamic structure is slightly changed. While it is still a long, lyrical melody, it shows how the same theme can have a different character by changing a few markings, thus allowing Goossens to use a different tone color and shape of phrasing then what was previously used bring out the contrasting character.

The secondary theme is also virtually identical to how it was found in the exposition, except presented in a different key in accordance with the key structure of . The 161 dynamic markings of the secondary theme are also are changed to create a different effect and character than the one found in the exposition, reminiscent of thematic transformation and showing that Bowen took advantage of Goossens’s ability to give similar material different characterization. It begins with a piano dynamic indication that did not have in the exposition, and Bowen changed the expression marking from dolce espressivo to dolce ed espressivo, requesting a sweeter and more expressive tone color, vibrato, and shaping of the phrase to be used than before to show its different role in the structure of the movement.

The second movement exploits Goossens’s sense of long musical lines more than the first movement did because it is not bound by the strictness of sonata form. The movement is marked andantino espressivo, indicating an overall expressive style to be used throughout the movement.

The first phrase, shown in Figure 3.4, is twelve measures long and is marked dolce. No indications such as tenuto markings or dynamic arrival points are marked, allowing the performer the freedom to be as expressive as desired. There are hairpins showing the direction of the phrase, but after the fifth measure they become more infrequent and less focused on one note as they were in the second and fourth measures. Accidentals are used to create harmonic and melodic tension, particularly in the last three measures before Rehearsal 1. The lack of specific indications is striking since the first movement was meticulously marked; here Bowen is writing similarly to how Vaughan Williams later did in his oboe concerto by allowing Goossens to take charge of the expression of the long musical line and not interfering by adding too many of his own details. 162

Figure 3.4 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

The next statement five measures after Rehearsal 1 is not as long, only eight measures in

length and even less detailed in its markings than the previous phrase. In Figure 3.5, one can see

the phrase begins in a similar intervallic pattern and rhythm as Figure 3.4 but changes in the third

measure to become more chromatic than the previous phrase. It is also marked piano where the

first phrase was not and the expression marking is reserved until the fourth measure where molto

espressivo is marked and chromaticism begins. Bowen uses crescendos throughout the

ascending figures in Figure 3.5 but does not give an arrival dynamic for any of them, giving the

performer the liberty to make his or her own decision to what dynamic level would be

appropriate.

Figure 3.5 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission. 163

One measure after Rehearsal 2, show in Figure 3.6, the oboe begins a very long line lasting until Rehearsal 4 that is motivic and less melodic than the previous two examples, serving as a transition to the lyrical section of Rehearsal 3. The first two measures are really a way of setting up the appassionata beginning in the third measure. The dotted eighth-thirty-second triplet figure of the first beat is the main motive until Rehearsal 3 while the sixteenth notes, quintuplets, and sextuplets are decorative transitions between these statements of the motive.

Though crescendos and a decrescendo are used, there is no other dynamic level indicated after the mezzo forte shown at the beginning of the phrase. The piano subito marked at the downbeat of Rehearsal 3 is really part of the next section of the long phrase. This example shows

Goossens’s ability to make a long musical line out of a phrase that is motivic and not overtly melodic.

Figure 3.6 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

Continuing the second part of the long phrase at Rehearsal 3, the oboe is marked piano subito and an espressivo marking follows in the next measure. This phrase, shown in Figure 3.7, begins in the pastoral style with its focus on triplets that move stepwise and in small intervals, 164 and changes to a more declamatory style in the fifth measure of Rehearsal 3 when the triplets outline arpeggios and extend the range to nearly two and a half octaves. Bowen uses tenutos on these arpeggios to show their new purpose. Despite using crescendos and a decrescendo in the measures leading to the forte in the eighth measure, Bowen does specify a dynamic until the forte, allowing the performer to shape the phrase according to their interpretation of the espressivo marking. However, in the chromatic and transitory six measures before Rehearsal 4, which use the sixteenth-note triplet motive of the previous appassionata section as its focus,

Bowen is specific in the dynamic arrival points of the phrase, going from mezzo forte to mezzo piano to piano as the phrase comes to a close and the A section of the movement returns.

Figure 3.7 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

This example is focused on the use of accidentals that add to the expressive quality

Bowen calls for and provides the oboist with plenty of opportunity to change the tone color.

Bowen indicates that the last two measures are to be played dolce and use tenutos on the first two and last three eighth notes, which intensify this character. It is as though Bowen is politely asking Goossens to use his vibrato and change the tone color to bring the listener back to the main melody of the A section. Though it is not the type of melody that is as overtly lyrical as 165 those heard in the Britten quartet or Vaughan Williams concerto, its use of triplet figures in a wide range with a focus on accidentals, tenutos, and a relatively free dynamic range is typical of the lyrical melodies composed for Goossens.

The return of the A section at Rehearsal 4 is nearly identical to the beginning of the movement, but there are a few notable sections that make it different. The first is the initial dynamic indication of mezzo forte, which was not seen in the first statement, as well as the change from dolce to molto espressivo. Also different is the dynamic structure, which is more flexible and uses less crescendos and decrescendos than in the first statement, giving the performer even more leeway in shaping the phrase. There are also tenuto markings on the eighth notes in the eighth measure, which were not used in the first statement, showing it is more expressive the second time around and highlighting the intensity created by the return of the A theme. With his recordings as a reference to his style, it is likely Goossens used a different tone color in this section than the one he used at the movement’s opening to show the more expressive nature of the theme in its second statement and show the change in character from the style used in Figure 3.4.

The next phrase begins in the same fashion that it did in the A section (see Figure 3.5) but continues the chromatic sixteenth-note figure in order to extend the phrase to a forte rubato section in the eighth measure. No dynamic is indicated whereas it was marked piano the first time, but it is instead marked dolce ma espressivo followed by molto espressivo in the fourth measure. The dolce ma espressivo is a new marking indicating a new tone color to be used than the one from Rehearsal 1. The phrase begins to change with the extension of the sixteenth notes in the fifth measure and is extended into a long phrase that seems to peak on the forte rubato b3 in the eighth measure, but it does not actually peak until the downbeat of Rehearsal 6 on the forte 166 b-flat3, which then winds down in a diminuendo and down an octave to the piano b2 four measures later. The extension of the phrase is both for compositional purposes as well as to highlight Goossens’s sense of long musical lines, tone quality, use of tone coloring and vibrato to bring out important notes and repetition of phrases, imperceptible changes in breathing, and soloistic approach to the instrument. The length of the phrase requires the performer to apply circular breathing here so as not to break the phrase. The expression markings of dolce, espressivo, and rubato coupled with the dynamic markings show Goossens’s soloistic approach to the oboe to make it have the soloistic power associated with the violin and the piano, and the tenutos are written for his incorporation of vibrato to enhance expressive points of the phrase.

The final lyrical phrase of the second movement comes at the dolcissimo poco marcato d3 nine measures from the end of the movement (see Figure 3.8). This phrase is essentially a coda as it is unrelated to the material previously heard in the movement and functions mainly to bring the movement to a close. Tenutos, a sostenuto marking, and hairpins all work together to make this final phrase into a long musical line that is one of the most lyrical in the movement. It showcased Goossens sweet tone quality one final time and allowed his use of tone coloring to be noticeable on accidentals and important points of the phrase with the hairpin crescendos. The dolcissimo poco marcato indication on d3 is somewhat contradictory and seems to be written as an interpretation of how Goossens approached this phrase by keeping the direction of the phrase moving forward and not being completely settled as the final lyrical statement until the sostenuto is reached. The ritardando and morendo of the last three measures both bring the movement to a close and show Goossens’s impeccable control of tone and soloistic presence even in a pianissimo dynamic in an increasingly slower tempo. 167

Figure 3.8 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

The third movement is the least lyrical of the three movements and focuses more on technical agility than on long musical lines. The staccato eighth and two sixteenth-note figure of the opening four measures is the main theme of the movement but is not particularly lyrical and works more to stabilize the rhythm than to be a source of melodic unity. There is a reliance on this rhythm as the phrase begins to become expanded in the fifth measure. It is used in the staccato style of the opening, in a semi-lyrical manner with tenutos three measures before

Rehearsal 1, shown in Figure 3.9, and chromatically one measures before Rehearsal 1 to create tension and intensify the crescendo to fortissimo. The beginning to Rehearsal 1 is essentially one long phrase that has elements of lyricism but is not committed to the style, and instead enjoys the playfulness of the scherzando indication. This opening section shows Goossens’s ability to bring out the lyrical qualities of a technical phrase by focusing on the elements that make it so. Unity is created by the repetition of the eighth and two sixteenth-notes figure and adding vibrato to the tenuto notes, and changing the tone color to draw attention to the role of the accidentals in the phrase enhance the phrase’s lyrical style. 168

Figure 3.9 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

The first phrase that is truly designed to be lyrical section is the poco tranquillo at

Rehearsal 4, shown in Figure 3.10. The rhythm is changed from a focus on sixteenth notes to a contrasting triplet figure, though it fluctuates with the eighth and two sixteenth-note motive of the opening. It is marked mezzo piano at the beginning of the phrase and has a crescendo to an unmarked level in the first six measures, and is marked piano when the main staccato motive returns in the seventh measure; otherwise, crescendo and decrescendo figures are written without dynamic indication until the piano at the end of the phrase at the Tempo I. Bowen includes an espressivo marking in the fifth measure of the phrase leading into the tenuto quarter-note triplets in the sixth measure indicating that the dynamic should be louder here but leaves the choice of the level to the performer. Though the passage has a heavy reliance on accidentals, as most of 169 the sonata does, Figure 3.10 is lyrical in its use of stepwise motion and small leaps, as well as its use of triplets and longer note values that display Goossens tone quality and use of vibrato.

Figure 3.10 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

The final example of long musical line comes at the repeat of the A section nine measures before Rehearsal 7. The phrase starts out much like the opening of the movement (see Figure

3.9) and is identical in pitches and rhythm, but when it returns at the end of the movement there are a few changes that make it unsettled in its style. One measure before Rehearsal 7 has the first two beats slurred and the third and fourth beats staccato, but its corresponding place at the beginning of the movement has the second beat staccato and beats three and four were not given a specific articulation. Though the movement is not lyrical in nature, when the A section repeats the phrase is more lyrical than its first statement, allowing Goossens to emphasize his sense of phrasing long musical lines, displaying his tone quality, and giving him more opportunity to enhance the tone color of the accidentals than in the scherzando style of the movement’s opening. 170

As the phrase becomes extended three measures before Rehearsal 8, the style also become more lyrical as the rhythm become focused on a syncopated eight, quarter, eighth-note figure that helps create a sense of elongation. It becomes even more rooted in lyricism in the third measure after Rehearsal 8 as the rhythm changes to triplets, a feature of English folksong and the pastoral. The lyrical quality is further enhanced in the extended phrase with slurs and tenuto markings, showing the focus is meant to be on Goossens’s changing of tone color to enhance the accidentals and the changes of range between the high and middle ranges. The extended lyrical passage is also marked to be between forte and fortissimo, letting Goossens’s soloistic approach to the oboe be pronounced.

The sonata as a whole is considered pastoral in its treatment of the oboe, though Bowen’s own personal harmonic language is more chromatic than Britten’s quartet or Vaughan

Williams’s concerto. However, this chromaticism highlights Goossens’s use of tone coloring to bring out their importance in the harmonic structure as well as their point in the phrase. The first two movements are primarily lyrical, and though the third movement uses fewer long musical lines, the points where they can be found truly stand out. These long musical lines highlight

Goossens’s tone quality, sense of long musical line, imperceptible changes in breathing, use of vibrato, and imitation of the human voice.

Vibrato

Vibrato was one of the most well-known elements of Goossens’s playing and was the characteristic most associated with him after his tone quality. There are several passages in

Bowen’s sonata that are meant to be enhanced by Goossens’s vibrato even though a direct indication such as con vibrato is not found. Instead, Bowen uses tenuto markings and expressive 171 indications such as espressivo and dolce to designate vibrato usage. As vibrato usage was mentioned in the primary and secondary themes of the first movement in the section on Long

Musical Lines they will not be repeated in this section, though with his recordings as a reference, one can be sure they are places where Goossens used his vibrato to enhance their lyrical quality.

The first passage that focuses on vibrato to enhance the phrase that will be discussed is found six measures before Rehearsal 1 in the first movement. This is the transition in the exposition of the first movement, and Bowen writes tenutos to indicate vibrato, such as the second e2 four measures before Rehearsal 1 to contrast the accent found on the similar syncopated rhythm in the previous measure, as well as on the c-sharp3 at Rehearsal 1, which is an arrival point of the phrase. Tenutos are also used in the first four measures of Rehearsal 1 so that vibrato should be used to bring out the expressive quality of the triplets and the syncopation of the eighth, quarter, eighth-note pattern. There are not tenuto markings in the last two measures because the pattern of vibrato use had been set in the previous measures and the poco ritardando allows more time to be taken and thus more time for vibrato to be used to set up the poco tranquillo at Rehearsal 2.

The poco tranquillo section at Rehearsal 2, shown in Figure 3.2, is the secondary theme and continues to use the tenuto marking on the syncopated rhythm as well as the triplet figures, but now an additional expression marking of dolce espressivo indicates vibrato should be used to enhance the tone color and the lyrical quality it has as the second theme of the sonata form.

Vibrato should also be used on the longer notes that do not have tenuto markings, such as the dotted quarter notes of the third and fourth measures and the forte c-sharp3 at the downbeat of the fifth measure, in order to enhance their longer value and function of building up the phrase to the peak at forte. Vibrato should be used on the first note of the dotted eighth, sixteenth-note rhythm 172 beginning one measure before the first ending and on those in the first ending to help bring the phrase to an end. Though vibrato is not printed, it is likely that Goossens used it to enhance lyrical lines. The poco tranquillo and dolce espressivo markings especially encouraged

Goossens to make his vibrato noticeable in this section.

The phrase in the first movement’s development section at Rehearsal 4, shown in Figure

3.3, also relies on dolce and espressivo to indicate the use of vibrato. Bowen saves the tenuto markings for the triplets on the third beat of the eighth measure of Rehearsal 4 and the first beat and first of the quintuplets in the next measure, with a lone tenuto on the fourth beat of the fifth measure of Rehearsal 4 being the only other exception. The longer valued notes such as the c- sharp2 in the third measure of Rehearsal 4 and the tied quarter notes on the downbeats of the fourth, fifth, and six measures should also have vibrato to enhance their longer value as well as their role of small arrival points of the phrase, and vibrato should be used on these longer notes as they are expressive points of the phrase. The dolce indication serves the purpose of indicating vibrato to enhance the tone quality instead of using a tenuto marking. The espressivo section should have vibrato on the first note of each triplet figure to bring out the expressiveness of the rhythm, as well as to help build the dynamic level to forte.

The last Tempo I section before the end of the first movement uses a mixture of tenutos and longer values of rhythm to imply vibrato usage. Bowen uses tenutos to bring out the expressive nature of the syncopated rhythm and lyrical style; however, the second measure of the

Tempo I does not use tenuto markings, though the vibrato should be used in the same manner as the first measure. In the third measure after Tempo I, Bowen includes più dolce as the primary method to encourage vibrato usage, though the tenutos which are printed are place where the vibrato should be most present: to enhance the tone color of the g-sharp and a-sharp that are the 173 expressive non-harmonic tones. Vibrato should also have been used in the lyrical high range section of the last three measures of the passage though there is no indication for it. This passage is really a mixture of requests for vibrato that are subtle, such as the lyrical style found at Tempo

I, and some that are more direct, such as the use of tenutos and the più dolce indication. Based on his recordings, it is certain Goossens would have naturally used vibrato in this passage, making indications unnecessary for him but they serve as a guide for later performers to follow.

The last section highlighting Goossens’s use of vibrato in the first movement is the final four measures. Bowen writes dolcissimo and includes tenutos on the first two notes but leaves the rest of the example blank in terms of expression indications. Hairpins are also used without a starting, arrival, or final dynamic indication. Using vibrato will bring out the dolcissimo quality as well as the different tone colors of the repeated a1s and the c2. Its speed should be changed to match the direction of the phrase: quick and intense on c2 and slower in the last two measures to bring out the poco ritardando and bring the movement to a close. These last four measures are very expressive and contrast the active rhythms found throughout the rest of the movement.

Though it is certain Goossens would have shaped the phrase appropriately and used his vibrato as a means to enhance it, Bowen included the tenutos and dolcissimo for emphasis.

The second movement is entitled Andantino espressivo, which suggests vibrato should be used liberally. The first phrase, shown in Figure 3.4, relies on the movement’s title and its dolce marking to convey vibrato usage, as there are no tenutos or even arrival indications of dynamic levels to show which notes are important. This is a prime example of the composer writing a lyrical melody for Goossens to enhance with his vibrato, which would be most present on the long value notes, high notes of the range, and accidentals not in the key signature to bring out their different tone color. Bowen does include a starting dynamic of piano that was not used in 174 the first phrase, and the molto espressivo marking does not come until the fourth measure of the phrase whereas dolce was used at the beginning of the first phrase. However, the lack of tenutos and other typical vibrato signs show that this is another passage where Bowen may have relied on Goossens’s inherent use of vibrato to enhance the expressiveness of the phrase.

Two measures before Rehearsal 2 Bowen writes rubato with hairpin crescendos under sixteenth notes followed by triplets focused around the harmonically unstable c half-diminished arpeggio. Vibrato is all but expected to be used to bring out the tone color of this section, as well as on the g-natural2 on the second triplet to show the disruption of the arpeggio’s half- diminished quality. It also enhances the rubato indication, being most present on the c2, b-flat3, and d2 to show these notes as places of stability in the fluctuating rhythm. Again, there is no dynamic indication, allowing the performer the freedom to be as present as desired. This passage exploited Goossens’s use of vibrato, as it enhances the flexibility of rhythm in a rubato passage and brings out the changing tone color on the harmonically unstable arpeggiated notes.

The appassionata four measures after Rehearsal 2 (see Figure 3.6) is the B section of the movement’s and is another place where Bowen expected vibrato to be used. The appassionata indication replaces the need for another vibrato indication to be used, such as a tenuto, and it should be used on the dotted eighth notes and tied quarter notes to bring out the passionate quality of the phrase as well as the high range and length of notes. The espressivo marking in Figure 3.7 supplants the need for other vibrato markings, but here Bowen chose to include tenutos on the second and third notes of the first triplet figures to show a noticeable vibrato should be used to bring out the expressive quality of the ascending arpeggios. Tenutos are also used for the first beat of the second to last measure and the last three eighth notes of the 175 example to elongate time, letting vibrato bring out the sweet singing style of the dolce and set up the poco ritardando.

The repeat of the A section is essentially identical to the opening of the movement, seen in Figure 3.4, but here Bowen changed the dolce marking to molto espressivo and also included a mezzo forte dynamic. This indicates a different vibrato speed to be used, most likely a faster and more intense speed to mark the repeat of the A section but also enhance its new tone color.

Similar changes are seen in the following phrase, which uses dolce ma espressivo in place of the piano dynamic used in Figure 3.4 and shows that a different vibrato speed should be used than when the phrase was heard at the beginning of the movement in order to bring out a new tone color. When Bowen extends the phrase the second time it is presented, he writes explicit instructions for vibrato to be used, such as tenutos and the rubato markings seven measures and four measures before Rehearsal 6. Vibrato should also be used on the long value half notes that do not have tenutos, as well as to bring out the sforzato four measures before Rehearsal 6.

Bowen starts out seven measures before Rehearsal 6 being very specific in where vibrato should be used but seems to slacken after the second rubato marking in the fourth measure before

Rehearsal 6, allowing the performer to continue using vibrato as deemed appropriate.

In the last nine measures of the second movement (Figure 3.8), Bowen writes dolcissimo, sostenuto, ritardando, and morendo indications to indicate that vibrato should be used, but the morendo might be a clue to the performer to allow the vibrato to die away gradually. Tenutos are used sparingly, such as on the d3 of the dolcissimo measure, the second two quarter notes of the sostenuto measure, and the third beat of the penultimate measure.

The third movement is mostly focused on technical display, and there are not many places where Goossens’s use of vibrato could be featured. However, there are a few moments 176

where his vibrato would enhance the phrase. The first of these is at Rehearsal 3, shown in Figure

3.11, where the focus on technical virtuosity is blended with the lyrical style. Bowen tenutos to

show vibrato use, such as on the d3s in the third measure and the b-flat2s of the last measure, as

well as a rubato marking four measures before Rehearsal 4 where vibrato increases the sense of

flexibility of time. Using Vibrato on the dotted quarter notes and longer valued notes makes

them resonant and hints at a new move towards a lyrical style. Using it also on the accented

notes helps to stress the weight of the accent. Bowen only used a few markings signifying

vibrato use because Goossens’s vibrato was such an integral part of his playing and was always

used in lyrical phrases.

Figure 3.11 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

Vibrato is also featured at Rehearsal 4 in the poco tranquillo section, shown in Figure

3.10. The tranquillo indicates a lyrical character, thus signifying vibrato to be used, as does the

espressivo marking in the fifth measure. Bowen also uses a few tenuto markings but these are

found mostly when the rhythm changes, such as on the double-dotted quarter notes in the fourth

measure and the first quarter note triplets in the sixth measure. The tenuto on the fourth beat of

the seventh measure and the downbeat of the tenth measure are used to indicate vibrato, which

will bring out the tone color of the accidentals. Otherwise, Bowen gives Goossens the freedom 177 to liberally use his vibrato to appropriately enhance the phrase. As a result, there are only a few markings that signify vibrato to be used in this contrasting lyrical section.

The final passage that allows Goossens to feature vibrato begins three measures before

Rehearsal 8 in the last movement, where the repeat of the first long phrase is extended in a syncopated, yet lyrical style. Here, the rhythm changes from a reliance on sixteenth notes to a syncopated eighth, quarter, eighth-note figure used in the first five measures and then to triplets over two measures. Tenutos are used sparingly and are more of a means to show an enhancement of tone color to bring out the notes not in the key signature, such as in the two measures before Rehearsal 8. However, the tenutos on the triplets in the last two measures are used mostly as a means of showing the triplet rhythm, with tone color being a secondary purpose for vibrato use. It should be used on the quarter notes of the eighth, quarter, eighth-note pattern to stress the syncopation, though they are not marked with tenutos. Again, the example looks relatively bare for expression markings though it is lyrical in style. As Goossens used his vibrato to show the change of style and contrast it with the surrounding technical passages, Bowen did not have to include specific indications for when and where vibrato was to be used.

Bowen uses a mixture of direct indications for vibrato use, such as tenutos and expressive indications like dolce and espressivo. Goossens was known for his use of vibrato, particularly to enhance the expressive qualities of lyrical phrases and long musical lines, so Bowen did not need to be overly specific in requesting vibrato. As a result, much of the interpretation of vibrato use was left in the hands of Goossens. 178

Technical Virtuosity in a Soloistic Approach to the Oboe

Bowen’s oboe sonata was composed at a time when the oboe was beginning to reclaim its status as a virtuosic instrument. Technical virtuosity was a feature of Goossens’s characteristic style and is an important element found in Bowen’s sonata. Bowen wrote a difficult oboe part because Goossens was able to make it sound graceful and demonstrate that the oboe could in fact be a solo instrument.

Bowen uses several technical figures in the exposition of the first movement, which were written more for effect than for the actual notes used. For example, Figure 3.1 shows sixteenth- note triplets, a sextuplet, and a septuplet, which affects a rush of sound created by the pastoral four note pattern of b-a-f-sharp-e used in the second to last measure and the chromaticism of the sextuplets in the last measure. Figure 3.2 also shows fast figures of a quintuplet and sextuplets, which are more for effect than for their actual pitch content. Here, the tuplets create a chromatic effect. The exposition is lyrical and does not exploit the technical prowess of Goossens to the extent that it exploits his tone quality and use of vibrato.

It is not until the development section of the first movement that Goossens could display his virtuosic technique was truly displayed. Figure 3.3 shows that the oboe part becomes less lyrical and more focused on shorter motives and uses a very large range from d-flat1 to a-flat3.

A-flat3 is not a note commonly used in oboe repertoire due to its airy tone quality and the difficulty the performer has controlling it. Its use here at the end of the phrase and the end of a diminuendo is striking highlighted Goossens’s control over the instrument in the extreme high range. The change of range is very difficult to execute cleanly, and Bowen puts the oboe in the extremes of its range without much time to adjust such as between the seventh and eighth measures. The notes on the extreme sides of the range will have a tendency to be out of tune and 179 have a poor tone quality and are often avoided, but Bowen focuses on the quick shifts of range because Goossens could keep it in tune and maintain a good tone quality throughout the oboe’s range. The majority of Figure 3.3 is tongued, creating another technical problem because not only does the oboist need to have the correct notes under their fingers and make the proper adjustments of the embouchure for the changes of range, they must also make sure the articulation is clean and not too heavy. The accents can fall prey to being over-accented as they are used in the extreme changes of range and do not follow a set pattern.

The oboe is given another technically difficult passage in the end of the development section beginning one measure before Rehearsal 6, shown in Figure 3.12. Bowen composed passage more like an etude than a sonata and used the technical style to provide a contrast to the lyrical recapitulation that follows. The first measure, one measure before Rehearsal 6, recalls the way he used the sextuplets in the exposition. Here they create a pastoral effect of rushing sound, centered around an e-minor seventh arpeggio. The main technical passage begins at Rehearsal 6 with minor and diminished arpeggios, which obscure the tonality in order to make the recapitulation feel strongly rooted in . Since there is a pattern established in the arpeggios, any wrong notes are immediately recognized and cause trouble for the performer to get back to the correct pattern. The staccato articulations also can create problems for the performer if the tongue and fingers do not line up, making the passage sound sloppy and unrefined. It shows Goossens’s impeccable technique and the tenutos indicate vibrato, showing his ability to make even a technical phrase sound graceful and melodic. 180

Figure 3.12 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

A similar passage can be found beginning one measure after Rehearsal 7, where the retransition extends the phrase from the exposition with an arpeggiated sixteenth-note passage, which imitates the one used in Figure 3.12. This time the sixteenth-note arpeggios are used to obscure the tonality between augmented seventh and minor seventh arpeggios away from having the secondary theme in the expected key of D Major but instead in G Major. The arpeggios, therefore, must be accurate so that the right quality and character will be heard to logically progress towards an arrival at G Major at the key change. It is also in the midst of a lyrical section, which can result in sloppy articulation if the performer is not quick to adjust to the new style. This passage underscored Goossens’s ability to make a technical passage lyrical when it would otherwise seem gratuitous.

The second movement is lyrical and focused on long musical lines. The only place where technical issues arise is between Rehearsals 2 and 4, shown in Figures 3.6 and 3.7. Figure 3.7 uses triplets that move mostly stepwise or as arpeggios, leaving the range to be the main technical challenge. Since the range changes relatively quickly for the oboist, it can cause trouble for the performer to make a good transition between the ranges and keep the tone quality consistent. 181

The third movement is not focused on long musical line nor is it particularly lyrical, and instead was written to display Goossens’s technique and control over the oboe. The tempo of the movement, Allegro giocoso, suggests a light and humorous style to be used, and from the fifth measure the oboe becomes very active and more technically oriented than it has at any other point in the sonata. As seen at the beginning of the movement (see Figure 3.9), Bowen wrote the part at times diatonically, while other times using pentatonic and chromatic motion that when combined with the changing articulations creates a tricky section for the performer as well as a different style from what has been used in the previous two movements. Because it follows a series of scale passages, this example is slightly complicated but does not provide a great challenge to a concert oboist like Goossens.

However, the phrase beginning in the fourth measure after Rehearsal 1 does provide a challenge and demonstrated Goossens’s incredible ease with technically difficult passages. The passage, see Figure 3.13, features repetitive rhythmic patterns over a consistently changing harmonic structure. At times it is diatonic yet does not always follow a definite pattern of notes and scalar patterns, such as those seen beginning seven measures before Rehearsal 2, which do not last long before they are manipulated and do not provide a sense of stability to the harmonic structure of the phrase. They also create a visual challenge with the use of so many accidentals.

Like the previous passage that starts the movement, this phrase is mostly articulated, which creates a problem for the patterns in the low range because the tongue can interfere with the correct shape of the oral cavity for proper tone production and make the notes in the low range sound unfocused or messy when articulated. The problem is most apparent beginning seven measures before Rehearsal 2 when Bowen notated the oboe part without the staccatos it had at the beginning of the phrase and instead used a legato articulation. The problem is resolved once 182

the oboe is written in the middle range and above, beginning on the third beat four measures

before Rehearsal 2, but while the low range is used the performer must be very careful to focus

more on the tone quality of the low notes and less on their articulation. This example shows

Goossens’s control over the instrument by being able to play comfortably and musically

regardless of range or awkwardness of the notes presented.

Figure 3.13 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

Another challenging spot is found four measures before Rehearsal 6, shown in Figure

3.14. This passage covers over two and a half octaves from b-flat1 to g3 and, with the exception

of the descending chromatic passage three measures before Rehearsal 6, is completely

articulated, using various styles of articulation. The passage begins with a fairly moderate

technical challenge but increases in complexity in the second measure before Rehearsal 6 when 183 the oboe is in the low range and the fingerings are awkward. Moving between e-flat1 and b1 is not easy as the pinky finger of the right hand is used for both notes on different keys and is forced to slide between the two keys. Rehearsal 6 is similar to the phrase starting in the ninth measure of Figure 3.13 because the oboe begins a scalar figure but quickly deviates from it as it ascends to the third octave. The next measure, though, sets up a more definite pattern of sixteenth notes, even though this pattern changes by slightly altering the intervallic pattern in each group of sixteenth notes. However, Bowen included poco rubato in parentheses, giving the performer more flexibility with the rhythm. There is no good place to breathe in this passage and neither is there a good opportunity to adjust the embouchure for the changes of register, requiring that the performer be very strong in their breathing (as Goossens was) and be able to make the transitions between ranges smooth, particularly in the last two measures as the oboe moves from the lowest possible note to one of the highest. This example is very challenging for any performer and further supports the reputation Goossens had for being able to play everything beautifully. 184

Figure 3.14 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

The repeat of the A section in the third movement is essentially identical in terms of technique to when it is first presented at the opening of the movement, with but a few changes of slurs and articulations. The phrase is also extended with a pattern of eighth, quarter, eighth- notes, which is neither fully chromatic nor diatonic. However, the extension of the phrase does not provide a challenge to technique because of its stepwise motion. It is not until the rhythm turns to triplets in the last two measures that the extension of the original phrase becomes challenging. A pattern of arpeggios seems to emerge at the beginning of the triplets, but Bowen does not commit to using the same intervals for the arpeggios as expected, instead slightly altering the intervals so that the arpeggios are not consistent and requires the oboist to be careful to ensure the right ones are played. This is similar to the pattern of sixteenth notes at the poco rubato in Figure 3.14, which also does not adhere to the intervallic pattern established at the beginning of that measure. This example may have been meant to show Goossens’s tone quality and vibrato use in a lyrical phrase but also displays his technical virtuosity at the same time. 185

The coda of the third movement provides one last moment of technical challenge as it puts the oboe in all three ranges in a relatively short period of time with tuplet figures found in the third measure from the end. The oboe’s range in this example is from b1 to f-sharp3, but does have the advantage of approaching the extremes of the low and high ranges by stepwise motion and in a diatonic fashion. However, when b1 is approached in the third measure of the example, the oboist must tongue both it and the notes leading to it, which can be troublesome as the tone quality can suffer if the lips are too far on the reed and the oral cavity is not large enough to provide proper resonance for the note due to the placement of the tongue for articulation, often resulting in a poor tone and bad articulation.

When f-sharp3 is approached, it is slurred into but is not preceded by the same scale as the previous measure despite starting on the same note an octave higher; it instead leaves out the a-sharp from the previous measure. This one note is very important as the piano has the a-sharp six measures from the end but, like the oboe, does not have it five measures from the end.

Therefore, if the oboe plays an a-sharp in the fifth measure from the end when approaching f- sharp3, the two voices will be playing in different keys and the arrival back to tonic in the fourth measure from the end will not have the weakened effect Bowen intended for the return to tonic to be in the last measure. The tuplets in the third measure from the end are all stepwise and diatonic. They highlight the oboist’s technical brilliance and agility, as well as to bring the movement to an exciting close. This passage is one that looks deceptively easy but shows

Goossens’s control over the instrument in its extreme range.

In general, Bowen’s sonata is lyrical and creates an overall sense of the pastoral style, which was so popular during the time when it was composed. However, as has been shown, the sonata is also very challenging in terms of the technical demands it puts on the performer. 186

Goossens had a reputation for being able to play difficult literature, and this sonata shows that composers took advantage of his technical skills to explore what the oboe was capable of doing, particularly in the extremities of its range.

Imperceptible Changes in Breathing

In addition to his control over the oboe in technical passages and in the extremes of the instrument’s ranges, Goossens was a master at making his breathing so unnoticeable that it created the effect that he did not pause to breathe when he played. While he did in fact breathe, he made such imperceptible changes in breathing by using circular breathing that it seemed like the long musical lines went on and on without interruption. Bowen incorporated Goossens’s method of using imperceptible changes in breathing in his oboe sonata, often writing passages that seem virtually impossible to play in just one breath.

The first of these passages is the transition between the primary and secondary themes in the exposition of the first movement. While it is only twelve measures long, this passage requires a lot of air to sustain the dynamic level beginning at mezzo forte and leading to fortissimo, as well as to control the tone in the diminuendo and poco ritardando leading to

Rehearsal 2. Taking a breath makes the phrase easier, but as there is no rest or indication for where to breathe in the phrase, the performer must break the phrase to breathe or try to make it in one breath, usually resulting in poor tone quality in the last few measures. With his recordings as a reference, it is likely Goossens used his method of circular breathing to have the necessary breath support to sustain the tone quality and avoid breaking the phrase, most likely using it in the sixteenth notes at Rehearsal 1 or the triplets in the next measure. 187

The retransition in the recapitulation extends the phrase to fourteen measures and creates the same trouble of needing enough air to properly sustain the tone quality, but also is more difficult in its technique and changes of dynamics that lead to and from forte twice and to a specific marking of piano at Rehearsal 8. There is no good place to break the phrase in this example as any breath disrupts it and draws attention to the breath instead of the change and extension of the original phrase from the exposition. Circular breathing should be used on the slurred sixteenth notes in the seventh measure since it is the most natural place to use it for it to be unnoticeable.

The final Tempo I of the first movement also exemplify Goossens’s imperceptible changes in breathing. It is eleven measures long but changes in style, tempo, and dynamics to the extent that it is difficult to make it through without taking a breath. This passage also uses vibrato quite extensively, a technique that requires additional oxygen, and requires the embouchure to be flexible to adapt to the changes of range. The performer could probably make it through the passage if he or she ended on the dotted half note on a2 three full measures from the end, but the decrescendo to piano and next diminuendo in the upper middle range is hard to control and maintain good tone quality if a breath is not taken. Circular breathing again makes the most sense since the phrase is so continuous that it does not provide a good place to catch a breath. Even at the end of the movement when the performer would be tired, Goossens could use circular breathing to have the proper air needed to sustain the phrase with vibrato,to maintain a good tone quality, and to create a controlled diminuendo.

The second movement is even more taxing on breathing than the first. The opening phrase, shown in Figure 3.4, is twelve and a half measures in the slower andantino espressivo tempo. Though no dynamic indications are included, Bowen uses four sets of crescendos and 188 decrescendos to shape the dolce phrase. A breath could be taken in the fifth measure before

Rehearsal 1 between the g2 and g1, but this disrupts the phrase and would be apparent to the audience. Circular breathing is again the best option to keep the continuous quality of the phrase, and the moving eighth notes in the fifth measure and tenth measures provide enough motion and some unexpected accidentals and intervals allow the oboist to circular breathe without it being noticeable. Thus, changes in breathing become imperceptible to the audience, giving the impression that the phrase was played with only one breath.

Beginning one measure after Rehearsal 2 (see Figure 3.6), Bowen writes thirty-seven and half measures of continuous notes with only two eighth-note rests, which come in the sixth and eighth measures of Rehearsal 3 (see Figure 3.7). No breath mark is given, even in the measure before Rehearsal 4 going into the repeat of the A section; instead Bowen writes a crescendo on the last three eighth notes to reach an arrival dynamic of mezzo forte at Rehearsal 4. Most performers would take several breaths throughout this passage, because it is virtually impossible to play it in one breath. However, those that can circular breathe, like Goossens could, can eliminate the need to pause and break the phrase for a breath, or use it so that one can take fewer pauses for breaths. The extensive use of slurs allow circular breathing to be used effectively and the breathing to be imperceptible. This passage is a tribute to Goossens’s ability to use imperceptible changes in breathing to keep even the longest phrase intact and give the impression that he never needed to breathe.

The next passage begins at Rehearsal 5 after three and a half measures of rest and is seventeen measures; however, it is just as taxing on the performer in its use of dynamic changes, wide range, and focus on expression. The performer most likely will not have fully recovered from the preceding passage during the short rest. Circular breathing is very helpful for the 189 performer but can also be fatiguing. It should be used again in the phrase beginning at Rehearsal

5 in order to keep the line intact and have enough air to fulfill all of Bowen’s requests for expression, leaving the performer very tired for the final expressive phrase that ends the movement. This example is representative not only of Goossens’s imperceptible changes in breathing by circular breathing, but also represents his incredible control over the instrument and stamina needed for a solo playing.

In addition to being the most technically challenging of the three movements, the third also uses phrases of rather long lengths, which do not provide the performer with a proper place to breathe. The first long phrase begins in the fifth measure (see Figure 3.9) and lasts for eleven measures in which the oboe covers a range of over two octaves, is written forte with crescendos to fortissimo, and is constantly moving with no pause for a breath. It is possible for the phrase to be completed in one breath, but another must be taken to reach the correct dynamic level and have enough resonance to the tone to retain a soloistic presence. Circular breathing can be used on the slurred notes, or possibly in the four measures before Rehearsal 1 since the melodic line moves to unexpected notes that allow circular breathing to be imperceptible.

Four measures after Rehearsal 2 begins another long stretch where the oboe is not given a rest or break for breath until the measure before Rehearsal 4. Lasting sixteen measures, the oboe part is quite technically challenging with extreme changes of range, steady changes in dynamics, and opportunities for vibrato. A breath could be taken just before Rehearsal 3 (see Figure 3.11) but would call attention away from the phrase and would need extra time to be taken in order to breathe and reset the embouchure for the c3 at the downbeat of Rehearsal 3. Instead, circular breathing used in the slurred measures starting in the fourth measure of Rehearsal 3 provides a place for the performer to breathe while allowing the phrase to remain unbroken. It also helps to 190 enhance the transition to a lyrical passage, which Rehearsal 3 means to set up for the poco tranquillo at Rehearsal 4. As Goossens always aimed to keep phrases intact and be expressive in long lyrical phrases; it can be expected that he would have used circular breathing in order to have enough air to be expressive but not deter from the phrase itself.

Bowen marks a breath before Rehearsal 4, but the next thirteen measures have neither a rest nor another place for the oboist to breathe, as shown in Figure 3.10. The written dynamic level stays between mezzo piano and piano, but Bowen writes several crescendos and decrescendos needing air to support them, as does the vibrato used on the tenuto and long valued notes. The slurs provide several options for places to circular breathe so that the phrase is not interrupted and the lyrical qualities of the poco tranquillo can be sustained. There is no need to break the phrase since circular breathing works so well in this passage.

The ten measures shown in Figure 3.14 are troublesome not only because of the difficulty of the technique required of the oboist but also because of the lack of options for breathing. The only places where circular breathing could be used are on the tied c-sharp1s in the two measures before Rehearsal 6 or the d-sharp3 one measure after Rehearsal 6. However, these notes are in the extremes of the oboe’s range where it is not good to circular breathe since the airstream should be constant to support the tone quality on these notes. It is also noticeable when one circular breathes on a sustained pitch, eliminating its usefulness for imperceptible breathing.

Nonetheless, a breath needs to be taken in order to execute the changes of range after Rehearsal 6 with good tone quality and enough air support for intonation. This example indicates that

Goossens had the ability to circular breathe very quickly to not detract from the tone quality of the note on which it is used. 191

The repeat of the A section is the final long phrase of the sonata, one that is taxing on the performer. The passage is eighteen full measures, and alternates between lyrical and technical styles that push the oboe’s range to just under two and a half octaves. The dynamic level stays between mezzo forte and fortissimo, which requires a lot of air to sustain. Only a single eighth rest is used, coming at the downbeat of the third measure of Rehearsal 8, all but requiring circular breathing to be used. The generous use of slurs allows the oboist to circular breathe easily and unnoticeably while maintaining a full tone and solo presence. Since it is the final expressive point of the sonata, breaking the phrase for a breath would sever the line and direction of the phrase, leaving it unable to reach the full range of expression. Goossens’s use of circular breathing can be seen in this passage not only for its length but also its imperceptible effect on the audience. This permits the performer to reach the utmost level of expression in the final lyrical passage of the sonata.

Non-Virtuoso Elements and Other Difficulties in the Sonata

Bowen’s oboe sonata is very much modeled around Goossens’s virtuosic characteristics, but there are other difficulties Bowen presents to the performer that are not specific only to

Goossens’s playing but affect any oboist who performs the sonata. A few of these elements are the constant fluctuation of rhythm that obscures the pulse; the inconsistent style, not only within a movement but within phrases; and the scoring of the sonata almost as a duo for oboe and piano.

These features exemplify treating the oboe as a solo instrument capable of handling a demanding solo part with finesse while being confronted with the challenge of creating a dialogue with the piano. 192

Constant Fluctuation of Rhythm

Bowen was by strongly rooted in the Romantic style and highly influenced by the impressionistic music of Debussy and Ravel. As a result, his lyrical and pastoral oboe sonata has a strong reliance on modulations, non-harmonic tones, and unexpected harmonic arrival points that can create trouble for the performer because the music is difficult to master technically as it does not lead where one anticipates. This style also results in the constant fluctuation of rhythmic patterns, which obscure the pulse and create rhythmic tension between the oboe and piano.

The first passage where the rhythmic pattern fluctuates within a single phrase is the secondary theme after Rehearsal 2 in the first movement, shown in Figure 3.2. The rhythm begins in a syncopated fashion with the eighth, quarter, eighth-note pattern commonly used in the sonata. The second eighth note is tied to triplets on the first beat, leaving the downbeat as the only note on a beat and creates a contrast of duple and triple figures within the measure. The pulse becomes more recognizable in the third and fourth measures as the sixteenth note triplets take only half a beat of time and are more in line with the duple feel presented by the dotted quarter note and eighth notes of the measures. However, the quintuplets in the fifth measure and sextuplets in the sixth measure obscure the pulse and create the effect of a wash of sound unrestricted by rhythm. Their effect though is short lived as they are followed by two measures of a constant dotted eighth, sixteenth-note pattern, which finally establishes a sense of pulse.

This phrase takes advantage of the tradition of a lyrical secondary theme in sonata form but plays with the rhythm so that the effect is more impressionistic than outwardly melodic.

The rhythmic flexibility between Rehearsals 4 and 5 in the first movement, shown in

Figure 3.3, is somewhat expected as it is the development section of the movement’s sonata 193 form. The phrase begins with a fragment of the opening theme from the exposition but by the third measure of the phrase, four measures after Rehearsal 4, the rhythm has become torn between the strictness of the quarter and dotted eighth, sixteenth-notes and the effect created by the sixteenth-note triplets and thirty-second notes. This leads to two measures of triplets in the seventh and eighth measures after Rehearsal 4, which briefly creates a lyrical effect enhanced by an espressivo marking, though the triplets are interrupted for a beat by a dotted eighth, sixteenth- note pattern on the downbeat of the eighth measure. The lyrical moment is further disrupted at the peak to forte on e3 and the rhythm returns to the austere pattern of dotted eighth, sixteenth- notes.

When the secondary theme returns in the recapitulation after Rehearsal 8, it follows the same rhythmic pattern as in the exposition. The movement’s coda though, which begins three measures after Rehearsal 9, features new material and fluctuates in its rhythmic pattern, usually changing every two measures, giving the phrase some consistency. The first two measures continue the dotted eighth, sixteenth-note pattern, which ended the secondary theme and create a strong sense of pulse. The third measure, though, is much more flexible with the pulse by using sextuplets, and the quintuplet in the fourth measure disrupts the re-established sense of pulse from the first two beats of the measure. The syncopated eight, quarter, eighth-note pattern at

Tempo I is the same one found in the secondary theme, as is the triplet figure on the third beat, which provides more of a sense of pulse than the two measures before Tempo I did but does not supply enough so the pulse is secure. The third and fourth measures after Tempo I also obscure the pulse, since the rhythm changes every beat, going from eighth notes to triplets to sixteenth notes, with the second two rhythms being tied into. Each of these rhythms must be distinct and 194 accurate so that they can contrast each other, which can be difficult, especially when the pulse changes with poco accelerando and Tempo I.

The second movement is fairly consistent in its rhythmic figures. A place where the rhythms are not settled is at Rehearsal 2 (see Figure 3.6). The phrase begins on the second half of the second beat and is tied to a quintuplet figure, making the pulse hard to distinguish. The next measure begins with a quarter note tied to a quintuplet and finishes with a quarter note tied to a sixteenth-note figure; it is as though a pattern is trying to be established with the quintuplets but cannot be fulfilled. The appassionata section at the fourth measure after Rehearsal 2 also tries to establish a pattern with the dotted eighth, thirty-second note triplet as the downbeat, but its entrance on the third beat of the fifth measure disrupts this pattern as it is neither a downbeat nor preceded by a quarter note tied to sixteenth notes like the first two were; instead it is followed by this pattern beginning in the downbeat of the next measure. The sixth and seven measures after Rehearsal 2 use the progressively faster rhythm of a quarter note tied to sixteenth notes followed by sextuplets, and they are the first two measures of a true rhythmic pattern found in the example, using even the same notes with just the first two notes of the sextuplet changed the second time around. The appassionata marking allows the performer some flexibility with the rhythm, but each figure must be distinct from the others in order to properly show their contrast and to make this passage rhythmically effective.

The last example that shows rhythmic fluctuation comes in the third movement at

Rehearsal 4, shown in Figure 3.10, which creates an unsettled sense of style despite its poco tranquillo marking. The first two measures use half notes in the first half of the measure tied to triplets in the second half, bringing out the tranquil quality Bowen asks for by creating a sense of time suspended, but by the third measure the flowing atmosphere created by the triplets is 195 disrupted as the rhythm begins to feel anxious with double-dotted quarter notes and sixteenth notes. Tension is built both melodically and rhythmically in the sustained a3 in the fifth measure making the return to triplets in the sixth measure, now in quarter notes, become a release and arrival point. However, this feeling of arrival is cut short by the staccato eighth and two sixteenth-note pattern in the next measure, but even this new style is short lived as the following measure of eighth notes bring the phrase back to the lyrical style set up at the beginning of poco tranquillo. The phrase ends though with two measures of syncopation, which leads into the

Tempo I at Rehearsal 5 and sets up the return to the jocular style of the allegro giocoso movement. Even though the phrase is supposed to be lyrical under the umbrella of the poco tranquillo indication at Rehearsal 5, Bowen continues to play with rhythmic patterns and create a sense of a style that is in such contrast to the rest of the movement that it cannot be stable.

The rhythmic fluctuation within phrases keeps the direction of the phrase moving forward, but it also creates disruption between styles and leaves the phrase unsettled. It is used to create tension and build to arrival points within the phrases without having to rely solely on dynamics or the use of range to show the peaks of the phrases. It also shows Bowen’s compositional leaning toward the impressionist and Romantic styles, which both use rhythmic fluctuation to create a fluid sense of time as well as serves a means of being expressive. Though the sonata is very much in the pastoral style, which worked well for Goossens’s playing, the use of rhythmic instability is closer to Bowen’s own personal style.

Stylistic Contrasts

Using rhythmic fluctuation within phrases, Bowen creates contrasts of style within phrases so that the music feels unsettled and tense, and is only resolved when the original style 196 returns or the contrasting section of a movement becomes settled in the new style. It is difficult for the performer, because each contrast needs to be shown as being different from what came before. It is easy to lose the effect of these contrasts by staying under the umbrella of the movement’s original style qualifier (grazioso, espressivo, and giocoso) or the secondary indications within the movements.

The first phrase of the first movement is not completely settled in its style, as shown in

Figure 3.1. The mix of eighth and sixteenth notes creates a steady pulse and the repetitive rhythmic figures set up the effect of pastoral style. The sixteenth-note triplets, sextuplet, and septuplet are not part of the style shown in the first part of the phrase as it is representative of the impressionist style in that it creates a wash of sound instead of a focus on individual pitches.

The four note pattern of b-a-f-sharp-e in the sixth measure is virtually lost due to the quick rhythm, and Bowen abandons in the next measure in favor of a chromatic pattern. This feeling of stylistic instability in the opening phrase of the first movement creates a pattern of contrasting styles found in the rest of the sonata.

The transition six measures before Rehearsal 1 also is unsettled in its style, but this is to be expected because of its natural purpose of acting as a bridge between the two thematic groups.

However, the secondary theme five measures after Rehearsal 2 is not completely settled in its lyrical style despite the indication of poco tranquillo and dolce espressivo. As shown in Figure

3.2, the syncopation in the first two beats of the phrase’s first measure does not create a feeling of tranquility that the poco tranquillo requests, nor does the active rhythms of sixteenth-note triplets, the quintuplet, and sextuplets. The phrase even ends contrasted to the peaceful style indication and also the dolce style marking with the dotted eighth, sixteenth-note rhythms in the last two measures. It is as though the phrase cannot be settled in the lyrical style expected of a 197 secondary theme. The contrasting styles make it difficult for the performer to create the proper atmosphere for the phrase, because it is not settled the lyrical style nor is it settled as an active phrase. With the style changing every two measures, the performer must be able to show the fluctuation between each sub-section of the phrase.

Rehearsal 4 is contrasted and unsettled in style, but it is in the development section of the sonata and is expected that the style would fluctuate (see Figure 3.3). It begins and ends with rhythmic stability in its focus on eighth and sixteenth notes, and is contrasted by the rhythmic flexibility of the triplets, sixteenth note triplets, and sextuplet. The dolce style of the second and third measures of Rehearsal 4 never seems settled, nor does the expressive style of the triplets in the seventh and eighth measures after Rehearsal 4, making the return to stable rhythms in the last four measures feel like a welcome return. The performer must show the indecisiveness of the phrase so that the development section is convincing.

The repeat of the secondary theme after Rehearsal 8 again is essentially the same as how it is presented in the exposition. The only change is the dolce marking on the dotted eighth, sixteenth-note pattern in the last measure. Since the phrase began with dolce ed espressivo

Bowen should have included it in the last measure on a rhythmic pattern not indicative of the dolce style. This shows that Bowen wanted a contrast of styles with the faster valued tuplets but also wanted the phrase to end in the dolce style from the beginning of the phrase. Therefore, the performer must make a true contrast of style in this phrase in order to create the sense of balance the dolce markings indicate.

The second movement is fairly consistent in its espressivo style, but there are two places where the style is not completely set. The first place is the phrase beginning in the second measure of Rehearsal 2 (see Figure 3.6). The phrase begins under the movement’s espressivo 198

indication, but it changes in the fourth measure of Rehearsal 4 to appassionata, an intensified

version of the espressivo style. The change of rhythm from the flexible style of the quintuplets at

the opening of the phrase to the stricter sixteenth notes and quick thirty-second note triplets help

bring out this new and intense character. Four measures from the end of the example, the rhythm

blends the strict feeling of sixteenth notes with the flexible style of the sextuplets, disrupting the

impassioned style set up in the previous two measures. However, the thirty-second-note triplets

return in the last two measures of the example, acting as though the phrase is giving itself over to

the appassionata style for one last moment before the espressivo style returns at Rehearsal 3 (see

Figure 3.7). This conflict of styles is one of the most important moments in the second

movement, creating tension and anxiety that is resolved by the following triplet figures and

return to the A section at Rehearsal 4. The performer must be able to make this passage

passionate and almost aggressive so that it contrasts with the overtly lyrical phrases that border it. Otherwise, the passage can seem out of place and cause the effect of the return to espressivo at Rehearsal 3 to be ineffectual.

The coda at the end of the second movement is also unsettled in its style and uses contrasting markings that assist this conflict. Bowen uses dolcissimo and poco marcato back to back in the same measure on repeated d3s. These markings essentially cancel each other out, but

the slurs and tenuto marking on the third d3 seems to imply that the dolcissimo style should be

prevalent. Three measures later, Bowen writes sostenuto with tenutos, further implying that the

poco marcato indication is half-hearted. The poco marcato most likely refers to the repeated d3s

since they are tongued, but it seems very out of character for the lyrical style of phrase. The

performer is left with the difficulty of showing a slight marcato style on the d3s while keeping

the lyrical dolcissimo quality foremost in importance. 199

The third movement is essentially a large ternary form, with the outer A themes being in a playful and staccato scherzando style and the contrasting B section lyrical. The lyrical contrast begins at Rehearsal 3 (see Figure 3.11) and leads to the poco tranquillo section at Rehearsal 4

(see Figure 3.10). Rehearsal 3 begins with a rhythmically stable figure of dotted quarter notes followed by two sixteenth notes, which later gives way to a slightly relaxed feeling in the dotted quarter note followed by an eighth note. This rhythm sets up a somewhat declamatory style as the third measure uses quick shifts of range to set up the expansive quality beginning in the fourth measure after Rehearsal 3. The expansive quality is changed to a flexible rubato style four measures before Rehearsal 4 though, which allows the half notes in the two measures before

Rehearsal 4 to regain the expansive quality and set up the poco tranquillo at Rehearsal 4. Thus, the style is constantly shifting and unstable for any long length of time in this passage. The rubato should be completely free so the surrounding measures must be stricter in rhythm and tempo in order for the contrast to be effective. Time must also be regained before the poco ritardando in the measure before Rehearsal 4 for it to be noticeable. All of these small contrasts must be made confidently so that they are effective and properly set up the following poco tranquillo.

Figure 3.10 shows the continuation of the phrase at Rehearsal 4. Its indication of poco tranquillo is itself a contrast to the overall giocoso style of the movement, and the performer should essentially exploit this contrast of style so that it will provide a true contrast as the B section of the movement’s ternary form. The use of fluctuating rhythms makes this phrase unsettled in the tranquil style, though it is predominately lyrical despite the use of contrasting rhythms. Bowen also includes an espressivo marking, which, while helping the lyrical style be paramount over the contrasting martial rhythms, contrasts the peaceful and reflective quality of 200 the tranquillo marking with the energy and emotional power associated with it. However, the espressivo is short lived as it is quickly followed with an active rhythm of eighth and two sixteenth notes in a staccato style seven measures before Rehearsal 5, though this is also fleeting as the lyrical style returns in the next measure as the tranquillo style again dominates with slower-moving rhythms that lead to the poco ritardando in the last two measures. The performer has two roles in this phrase: to contrast the overall giocoso style of the movement and make the individual contrasts of the phrase. Both must be accomplished in order for the phrase to fulfill its purpose.

The final passage in which the style is contrasted is in the extension of the return of the A theme beginning three measures before Rehearsal 8. As this is a repeat of the A theme, the style of the passage is scherzando, though it is not marked as such like it was at the beginning of the movement. Though Bowen does not write a change of style indication within this passage, the extension of the original phrase uses slow and syncopated rhythms, which create a more lyrical style that contrasts the rest of the phrase. The use of tenutos and triplets also contrasts the original style, making the end of the passage more expressive in its style than what has come before. Bowen does not write a style indication, particularly espressivo, in the extension of the phrase as it is very similar to the other passages in the sonata that use this marking. It is the final moment of lyricism in the sonata and works to bring the movement towards a close by making the return of the A section different and provide contrast. Despite it not being marked with an expressive-style indication, the extension of the A theme is a direct contrast to the style of the theme and the movement. Thus, the performer should bring out this contrast of lyricism so that the effect reaches its full potential. 201

Bowen uses contrasting styles within phrases to bring out the expressive qualities of the phrase. The contrasts also make the main style more dominant and important than they would be on their own. The performer must be able to show these changes of style even when they are small so that their effect can be felt and appreciated. This attention to detail would be brought out by a performer like Goossens but is not always easy to do, thus setting apart a good performance from a great one.

Interaction Between the Oboe and Piano

Bowen’s title of the work as Sonata for Oboe and Pianoforte shows his desire for the work to be more of a dialogue between the two instruments instead of having the piano play a secondary role to the solo oboe. There are several passages within the sonata that put the two instruments into a conversation with each other, imitating the rhythms and motives of the other instrument. This interaction means that both performers must be in communication with each other and know when to bring out their line or let the other voice dominate. It can be difficult for the oboist to take a backseat to the pianist, but as shown in the following examples it is necessary for the effects of imitation to be clear.

The first of these passages is found at the poco tranquillo of Rehearsal 2 in the first movement, shown in Figure 3.2. The piano begins the secondary theme that the oboe will take over in the fifth measure of Rehearsal 2 and is marked dolce in the first measure and espressivo in the second, whereas the oboe has dolce espressivo in the first measure of its entrance. The oboe must take over these stylistic indications and make them more concentrated than they were in the piano, serving as a sort of continuation of the piano’s motive. The two instruments trade rhythms beginning in the seventh measure after Rehearsal 2, with the oboe imitating both the 202 rhythms and pitches in the piano until the piano switches and imitates the oboe in the ninth measure. This continues through the second ending of the exposition when the oboe keeps the dotted eighth, sixteenth-note rhythm at the poco animato while the piano takes a secondary role.

Both players must know when to bring out their line as the dominate instrument and when to follow what the other has set up. If they do not, the effect of two interacting instruments will be lost and be replaced with a sense that they are incongruous.

The same interaction of the piano and oboe is seen when the secondary theme returns in the recapitulation at Rehearsal 8; therefore, it will not be discussed as the only differences are the pitches and key signature. In the second movement at Rehearsal 1, the piano takes up the idea the oboe presented at the opening of the movement. The piano part is marked cantabile, which is different from the dolce indication the oboe has at the opening of the movement, seen in

Figure 3.4. The styles are also contrasted in the eighth measure of Rehearsal 1 as the oboe is marked molto espressivo and the piano only espressivo despite their trading off of the sixteenth- note pattern. The two instruments should be in accord with each other, but Bowen gives preferential treatment to the oboe by writing its part an octave higher than the piano and with the more passionate expression marking. The oboe should come to fore, but not completely overshadow the piano. It is also tempting for the oboe to modify the tempo of the molto espressivo section, but care must be given to coordinate any tempo fluctuations with the piano since the two instruments are in imitation. In other words, this passage can easily become ungraceful if the piano and oboe do not treat the phrase in a similar fashion.

The two instruments come together in a dialogue at Rehearsal 3 (see Figure 3.7). They trade off triplets so that there is a constant feeling of the triplet figure for eight measures until the piano begins to take a secondary role to the oboe. The two instruments are written espressivo but 203 must not allow it to be translated into a diversion from the steady pulse since the triplet remains the constant thread of the passage. If the two instruments are not in accord of style or tempo, the rhythm will be unstable and they will be in contrast with each other instead of in agreement.

Instead, the piano and oboe should follow the style set up by the triplets in the previous instrument and imitate them as best as possible in order for the imitation to be clear and the effect of a dialogue become present.

When the A section returns and the piano and oboe’s dialogue resumes, Bowen did not present in the same manner it was at the beginning of the movement. Instead, the piano is marked espressivo and the oboe dolce ma appassionata when it takes over the melody at

Rehearsal 5. The two instruments are both marked molto espressivo in the fourth measure of

Rehearsal 5, but the piano does not answer the oboe’s sixteenth notes as it did before; instead, it waits two measures before it begins to imitate the oboe’s part. The result is a sort of competition between the instruments for dominance of the molto espressivo style. Again, tempo must remain relatively constant, especially since the ear expects to hear imitation at the beginning of the sixteenth-note passage but does not, but also since a disagreement of rhythmic flexibility will result in a clash of the two parts. The oboe should let the piano slightly dominate as its line is different from what it presented at the beginning of the movement, but should begin to take over importance in the sixth measure as the piano begins to once again imitate the oboe. The performers need to be aware of this difference and know when to let the other instrument be most important. The molto epressivo marking four measures after Rehearsal 5 can be misleading, making the player think they should be most important. This passage cannot reach its full effectiveness if the oboe dominates the entire phrase. 204

The piano plays a secondary role to the oboe for the majority of the third movement, but there are a few places where the two instruments are treated like a duo, imitating each other’s rhythms and motives. The first such example is found four measures after Rehearsal 1, shown in

Figure 3.15. The oboe plays staccato sixteenth notes, which lead to the fifth measure after

Rehearsal 1 where the piano has sextuplets while the oboe sustains a tied half note. After the piano finishes the sextuplets on the third beat, the oboe resumes its staccato sixteenth notes.

This same exchange happens again in the next measure as well, but the oboe’s staccato sixteenth notes lead this time to the sextuplet figure the piano had, while the piano takes over the tied half note and staccato sixteenth-note figure from the oboe. The imitation ends when the piano reaches its half notes and resumes a secondary role in the sixth measure of Figure 3.15. The two players must be able to dovetail their parts so the rhythm is constantly pushing forward, as well as know when to bring out their parts as the important one, which in this case is the tied half note, staccato sixteenth-note pattern. Though it is short, this example shows the oboe and piano working as a duo and that both voices must be in sync with the other. 205

Figure 3.15 Copyright © 1943 Chester Music Limited. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

The poco tranquillo at Rehearsal 4 also treats the oboe and piano like a duo (see Figure

3.10). Here, the use of imitation of instruments resembles the way it was used in Figure 3.15 in that the piano introduces an idea and the oboe then takes it over. For example, the piano has a staccato eighth and two sixteenth-note pattern in the fifth measure of Rehearsal 4 followed by an espressivo measure of eighth notes, which is copied by the oboe in the seventh measure of

Rehearsal 4. However, while the oboe is copying the piano in the seventh measure, the piano takes over the figure the oboe had in measures five and six of Rehearsal 4, creating a flip-flop idea in the two instruments. The imitation is kept through the ninth measure, but after this point the two instruments diverge as the piano continues the staccato rhythm against the oboe’s lyrical style. The two players must be able to match the expressive character of the lyrical style as well as the jaunty style of the sixteenth notes, and be able to contrast the styles when they overlap in 206 the other’s voice. It can be hard to match the style, but it is even more difficult to be in contrasting style to one another, making it necessary for both performers to be absolute and secure in their parts.

The last example where the oboe and piano imitate each other and work as a duo comes in the fourth measure after Rehearsal 5 in the last movement. The return to the original tempo at

Rehearsal 5 is established in the eighth and two-sixteenth note motive carried over from the poco tranquillo that preceded it. When the oboe enters in the anacrusis to the fifth measure of

Rehearsal 5, it creates a call-and-response effect with the piano so that when it has a quarter note the oboe plays the eighth and two sixteenth-note figure, and vice versa. This continues until the sixth measure of Rehearsal 5 when the oboe and the pianist’s left hand come together in unison octaves in a chromatic passage for two measures before the oboe drops out, leaving the piano to continue the chromatic figure for three more measures until it finally gives one last fortissimo figure for the oboe to imitate in the eleventh measure before it resumes a secondary role to the oboe. The oboe is the one who must adjust in this role, as the response is always the same while the call changes, essentially following the piano in the chromatic passage before it drops out.

The piano is indicated marcato in the chromatic passage while the oboe is not, but the two instruments should match each other in style so the oboe must adjust to the piano. The timing must be exact in this passage so that the two instruments overlap their rhythms and so that one voice does not get ahead of the other when they are in unison. It is a short passage, but it shows the unity between the oboe and piano that Bowen had intended.

These passages show Bowen’s desire for the oboe and piano to work together almost as a duo instead of merely as a soloist with the piano accompaniment. Though much of the sonata focuses on the oboe and on Goossens’s characteristic style, Bowen’s own background as a 207 pianist is evident as he writes for the two instruments to interact with and to imitate each other.

It was a progressive way of writing when it was composed and shows the leaning that future oboe sonatas would have towards a more interactive treatment between the two instruments.

Summation of the Evidence of Goossens’s Influence

Bowen was one of the first composers to write music for Goossens, and his sonata is one of the most important contributions to the oboe repertoire as it helped re-establish the oboe sonata as a viable genre. While Holst and Eugène Goossens composed concertos for Goossens, very little recital music other than oboe quintets had been written for Goossens before Bowen penned his oboe sonata, and it gave Goossens contemporary music to play in addition to the

Baroque works and oboe quintets he had specialized in the beginning of his career. It also marks a major step in Goossens’s career and reputation as it shows the interest composers had begun to take in his playing and what the oboe was capable of doing in his hands.

The overall pastoral style is well-suited to Goossens’s own style, showing off his impeccable phrasing and beautiful tone quality in long musical lines, which he most likely enhanced with his signature use of vibrato. These phrases are often very long for a wind instrument, showing that composers were fascinated with Goossens’s reputation for imperceptible changes in breathing and therefore exploited his ability to seemingly never pause for a breath. Bowen’s use of accidentals and leaning towards the impressionist style gave

Goossens opportunities to use his tone coloring to show these unexpected notes and emphasize their importance in the phrase. The technical brilliance of the sonata, particularly in the last movement, highlights Goossens’s reputation for having a mastery of technique and unique control over the instrument to be able to play just about anything regardless of its technical 208 challenge. The other features of rhythmic fluctuation, stylistic contrasts, and interaction with the piano reflects on Goossens’s ease as a performer, but also challenge any performer who plays the sonata, and sets it apart as a serious work.

The oboe sonata is also different from Bowen’s other wind sonatas, as it was tailored to

Goossens’s characteristic style. For example, the third movement of the clarinet sonata is less continuous than the oboe sonata, with more pauses and rests for the performer in addition to treating the clarinet almost secondary to the piano. The oboe sonata treats the two instruments almost like a duo, and there are very few pauses for the oboe, as Bowen instead uses very long phrases to show Goossens’s reputed imperceptible changes in breathing. Neither the clarinet nor the flute sonata has a slow middle section in the third movement, as they are both focused on the technical abilities of the instrument, whereas the oboe sonata’s third movement is dominated by technical passages but also returns to the sonata’s foremost lyrical style associated with

Goossens’s famous tone quality and use of vibrato. Also, the clarinet sonata does not have a slow middle movement but instead increases the tempo of each movement as the sonata progresses. Bowen’s sonata is also the only one that is pastoral in style; the others are more rooted in the Romantic and impressionist styles.

As each of Bowen’s wind sonatas was written for a specific player, they are all different from each other, highlighting the skills and abilities of the dedicatee. Goossens’s characteristic style is written into almost every phrase of the oboe sonata. It shows not only his abilities as a soloist, but also Bowen’s ability to write for a performer’s style of playing and bring out the best of their qualities while still providing a substantial and well-crafted sonata. 209

CONCLUSION

Goossens was undeniably the most important oboist in the first half of the twentieth century and perhaps the most important of the century as a whole, since his career as a soloist lasted well into his seventies. He revitalized the solo capabilities of the oboe and gave respect to an instrument that had become viewed as an orchestral instrument incapable of reaching the expressive or soloistic abilities the violin or the piano had assumed in the Romantic era. The rebirth of English composers as competent and gifted composers in the English musical renaissance of the early twentieth century also helped the oboe’s status, as it was the instrument most associated with the pastoral style, which the nationalist style embraced. The combination of an English musical renaissance and a virtuoso oboist resulted in an outpouring of solo music for this instrument, which explored the capabilities of the instrument that had had been revived in his hands. Goossens opened the door for future oboists such as Heinz Holliger (b. 1939) to have successful careers as soloists and to further push the boundaries of the oboe’s limitations.

The Phantasy of Benjamin Britten, Concerto for Oboe and Strings by Ralph Vaughan

Williams, and Sonata for Oboe and Pianoforte by York Bowen all reflect Goossens’s revolutionary way of oboe playing, and the stylistic features of Goossens’s playing discussed in

Chapter 2 can be seen in each of these three works. Each embraces the pastoral style for which

Goossens was associated and which demonstrated his features best, even if it did not embrace the composer’s own personal style preference, as is the case of Britten who later rejected pastoral style altogether and Bowen who was rooted in Romanticism and influenced by impressionism.

These pieces show how and perhaps the composers used Goossens as their muse, producing oboe parts that are personalized to his characteristics while still pushing the boundaries of the oboe’s capabilities. 210

These three works, all composed in the first half of the twentieth century, show

Goossens’s influence on his contemporary composers and his contributions to revitalizing the oboe as a solo instrument. While today they are still challenging for oboists, they are not viewed with the same level of difficulty due to the development of modern methods such as extended techniques as well as the addition of extra keys and an increased quality of the instrument itself, which makes performing these works easier. However, they opened the door for more difficult and more challenging works to be composed and are thus historically important, in addition to being enjoyable to perform and to hear. It is my hope that oboists will be able to appreciate these works not only for their own enjoyment but also for their historical significance, as they allowed subsequent composers a reason to take an interest in writing for the oboe, providing a numerous contributions to our repertoire. 211

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MacGillivray, James A. “Review: [untitled].” The Galpin Society Journal 10 (1957): 91–3.

McVeagh, Diana, et al. Twentieth-Century English Masters: Elgar, Delius, Vaughan Williams, Holst, Walton, Tippett, Britten. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1986.

Mellers, Wilfrid. Studies in Contemporary Music. London: Dennis Dobson, 1947.

Mitchell, Donald. Britten and Auden in the Thirties: The Year 1936. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1981.

______. “The Chamber Music.” In The Britten Companion, edited by Christopher Palmer, 370–4 .Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.

Morgan, Robert P. Twentieth-Century Music: A History of Musical Style in Modern Europe and America. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1991. 215

“Obituary, Mr. Léon Goossens, Prince of Oboists.” The Times (London) 15 February 1988. In “Léon Goossens Memoriam.” The Double Reed 11 (1988): 10-25.

“Obituary, Léon Goossens.” The Daily Telegraph (London), 15 February 1988. In “Léon Goossens Memoriam.” The Double Reed 11 (1988): 10-25.

“Obituary: Léon Goossens.” The Musical Times 129 (1988): 210.

Onderdonk, Julian. “Hymn Tunes from Folk-songs: Vaughan Williams and English Hymnody.” In Vaughan Williams Essays, edited by Byron Adams and Robin Wells, 103–128. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2003.

Ottaway, Hugh. “Ralph Vaughan Williams.” In Twentieth-century English Masters, edited by Stanley Sadie, 97-144. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1986.

Ottaway, Hugh, and Alain Frogley. “Ralph Vaughan Williams.” Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy. http://www.grovemusic.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu (accessed 6 November 2007).

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Perkins, Tedrow Lewis. “British Pastoral Style and E. J. Moerans’ ‘Fantasy Quartet, A Lecture Recital, Together with Three Recitals of Selected Works of J. S. Bach, B. Britten, L. Foss, G. Handel, A. Marcello, E. Rubbra, C. Saint-Saens, and Others.” DMA lecture- recital, North Texas State University, 1986.

Post, Nora. “Interview with Léon Goossens and Edwin Roxburgh.” The Double Reed 5 (1982): 39–46.

“Ralph Vaughan Williams Society.” http://www.rvwsociety.com (accessed 6 November 2007).

Rippin, John. “George Butterworth: Part 2.” The Musical Times 107 (1966): 769–71.

Roseberry, Eric. Brochure notes for Sarah Francis, Britten: Music for Oboe, Music for Piano. London: Hyperion 1995, CDA66776.

______. “The Solo Chamber Music.” In The Britten Companion, edited by Christopher Palmer, 375–82. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.

Rosen, Carole. The Goossens: A Musical Century. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1993.

Rothwell, Evelyn. Oboe Technique. London: Oxford University Press, 1953. 216

Schmitz, Oskar A. H. The Land Without Music (München: Georg Müller, 1914).

Schonberg, Harold C. The Lives of the Great Composers. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1970.

Smyth, Alan, ed. To Speak for Ourselves: The London Symphony Orchestra. London: William Kimber, 1970.

Spicer, Paul. Herbert Howells. Bridgend, Wales: Seren, 1998.

Spiegl, Fritz. “Obituary, Léon Goossens, Legendary Oboist.” Guardian (London) 15 February, 1988. In “Léon Goossens Memoriam.” The Double Reed 11 (1988): 10-25.

Stewart, H. C. “Vibrato Versus ‘Wobble’: Some Impressions.” The Musical Times 74 (1933): 467.

Stratton, Stephen S. “English Composers and Their Claims, Past and Present.” The Musical Times 22 (1881): 428-9.

Sundet, Jerold A. “Lady Evelyn Barbirolli, ‘The Companion to Oboists.’” In To the World’s Oboists 4 (1976): 1.

______. “Léon Goossens—Master Oboist.” Two The World’s Oboists 2 (1974): 1.

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Watson, Monica. “York Bowen.” Grove Music Online edited by L. Macy. http://www.grovemusic.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu (accessed 6 November 2007).

______. York Bowen: A Centenary Tribute. London: Thames Publishing, 1984.

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Wynne, Barry. Music in the Wind. London: Souvenir Press, 1967.

B. Scores

Bowen, York. Sonata for Flute and Piano. Ampleforth: Emerson Edition, 1986.

______. Sonata for Oboe and Pianoforte, Op. 85. London: Chester Music, 1994.

Britten, Benjamin. Phantasy, Op. 2. London: Hawkes and Son, 1935.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Concerto for Oboe and Strings. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1947.

C. Recordings

Barthe, Adrian, Arnold Bax, et al. Rare Goossens, Léon Goossens, , et al. Oboe Classics CD 5, 2003. Compact disc.

Bowen, York. Chamber Music, Endymion Ensemble (Watford: Dutton Laboratories, 2003), CDLX 7129. Compact disc.

Francis, Sarah. Britten: Music for Oboe, Music for Piano. (London: Hyperion 1995), CDA66776. Compact disc.

Lehrer, Charles. Sonata for Oboe and Piano: (1944) / York Bowen. Malibu, Calif: Orion, 1982; ORS 82432 Orion. Vinyl recording.

Lucarelli, Humbert. Music for Oboe and Strings. Westbury, NY: Koch Classics International, 1990; 3-7023-2 Koch International Classics. Compact disc.

Polmear, Jeremy. Sweet Melancholy. London: Unicorn-Kanchana, 1992; DKP(CD) 9121. Compact disc.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Concerto for Oboe and Strings EMI Eminence, Jonathan Small (oboe) with and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; Hayes, Middlesex: 1991; CD-EMX 2179. Compact disc.

Woods, Pamela. Music for Oboe and Strings. Cleveland: Telarc, 1989; CD-80205 Telarc. Compact disc. 218

DISCOGRAPHY OF LÉON GOOSSENS’S SOLO RECORDINGS

Bach, Johann Sebastian. Three Concertos BWV 1041, 1042, 1060. Léon Goossens and conducted by H. Bleck. TRIO PA 1154. Vinyl recording.

Bach, Johann Sebastian, , and Antonio Vivaldi. Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe, BWV1060; Vivaldi: Violin Concerto, Op.3\10; Handel: 3 Oboe Concertos, and Léon Goossens, Bath Festival Orchestra. EMI ASDBR 500. Vinyl recording.

Bach, Johann Sebastian, George Frideric Handel, and . Léon Goossens, oboe; Yehudi Menuhin, violin, Bath Festival Orchestra conducted by Yehudi Menuhi. Testament SBT 1130, 1998. Compact disc.

Bach, Johann Sebastian, William Boyce, et al. The Goossens Family, Léon Goossens, Fitzwilliam String Quartet et al. Chandos CHAN 7132, 2000. Compact disc.

Barthe, Adrian, Arnold Bax, et al. Rare Goossens, Léon Goossens, Clarence Raybould, et al. Oboe Classics CD 5, 2003. Compact disc.

Goossens, Eugène. Divertissement, 6 Songs, Ob Con, Old Chinese Folk Song, 2 Songs, Islamite Dance, Léon Goossens, Chiarelli and Süsskind, conductors. Unicorn RHS 348. Vinyl recording.

Moeran, E. J. Violin Concerto, Fantasy Quartet, in G, Léon Goossens and Carter String Trio. Symposium CD 1201, 1947. Compact disc.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. Clarinet Quintet, K. 581, Oboe Quartet, K. 370, Léon Goossens and Lener Quartet. World Records SH 318, 1933. Vinyl recording.

______. Horn Concerto, Divertimento for Two Horns and Strings, Quintet for Piano and Winds, Léon Goossens, et al. Pearl GEMM 183, 2002. Compact disc.

______. Oboe Concerto, K. 314, Symphony No. 34, K. 338, Léon Goossens and London Symphony Orchestra, , conductor. EMI QALP 10396. Vinyl recording.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, Domenico Cimarosa, et al. Léon Goossens—A Centenary Tribute, oboe, Bournemouth Sinfonietta et al. Pearl GEMM 9281, 1997. Compact disc.

Scarlatti, Domenico. Concerto for Oboe and Strings No. 1 in G Major, Léon Goossens and Philharmonia Orchestra, Walter Süsskind, conductor. EMI CLP 1698. Vinyl recording.

Schumann, Robert. Brain, Kell, Goossens play Schumman and Beethoven. Léon Goossens, oboe, Gerald Moore, piano. Testament SBT 1022, 1994. Compact disc. 219

Strauss, Richard. Léon Goossens, , , Philharmonia Orchestra, Alceo Galliera, conductor. Testament SBT 1009, 1948. Compact disc.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Léon Goossens, oboe, Léon Goossens and Philharmonia Orchestra, Walter Süsskind, conductor. EMI CLP 1656, 1963. Vinyl recording.

______.Oboe Concerto, Evelyn Rothwell, oboe; London Symphony Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli, conductor. HMV HQM 1016, 1955. Vinyl recording. 220

WORKS WRITTEN FOR LÉON GOOSSENS

Addison, John. Inventions for Oboe and Piano, 1958.

Alwyn, William. Suite for Oboe and Harp, 1945.

Arnold, Malcom. Concerto for Oboe and Strings, Op. 39, 1952.

______. Oboe Quartet, Op. 61, 1957.

Bax, Arnold. Quintet for Oboe and String Quartet, 1922.

Bliss, Arthur. Oboe Quintet, 1927.

Boughton, Rutland. Concerto for Oboe and Strings No. 2, 1936.

Bowen, York. Sonata for Oboe and Piano, Op. 85, 1944.

Britten, Benjamin. Phantasy Quartet, 1935.

Cooke, Arnold. Sonata for Oboe and Piano, 1957.

Delius, Frederick, arranged by Eric Fenby. Two Interludes, 1921.

Dunhill, Thomas F. Three Short Pieces, Op. 81, 1941.

Elgar, Edward. Suite for Oboe (Unfinished, survives as Soliloquy), 1931.

Finzi, Gerald. Interlude for Oboe and String Quartet, 1936.

Goossens, Eugène Aynsley. Concerto, Op. 45, 1927.

______. Islamite Dance, 1962.

______. Pastorale et Arlequinade, Op. 59, 1942.

______. Concert Piece for Two Harps, Oboe and English horn, 1958.

Gow, Dorothy. Quintet in One Movement, 1936.

Henschel, Sir George. Shepherd’s Lament, 1925

Holst, Gustav. Fugal Concerto, 1923.

______. Terzetto, 1926. 221

Howells, Herbert. Sonata for Oboe and Piano, 1942.

Hughes, Herbert. Bard of Armagh, n.d.

Jacob, Gordon. An 80th Birthday Card for Léon Goossens, 1977.

______. Concerto No. 1 for Oboe and Strings, 1933.

______. Concerto No. 2 for Oboe and Strings, 1956.

______. Quartet for Oboe and Strings, 1938.

Josephs, Wilfred. Concerto for Oboe, 1967.

______. Prelude for Léon Goossen’s 90th Birthday, 1987.

______. Concerto for Oboe, Percussion, and Small Orchestra, Op. 58, 1967.

Krein, Michael. Serenade for Oboe and Two Harps, n.d.

Maconchy, Elizabeth. Quintet for Oboe and Strings, 1932.

Moeran, Ernest John. Fantasy Quartet for Oboe and Strings, 1946.

Nicholson, Ralph. Concerto for Oboe, n.d.

Pitfield, Thomas. Rondo lirico, 1948.

Reizenstein, Franz. Three Concert Pieces, Op. 10, 1937.

______. Sonatina, Op. 11, 1937.

Roxburgh, Edwin. Antares, 1987.

______. Aulodie, 1977.

Saunders, Max. A Cotswold Pastoral, n. d.

Scott, Cyril. Concerto for Oboe, 1948. van den Sigtenhorst-Meyer, Bernard. Sonatine for Oboe, 1930.

Smith, Stanley David. Sonata for Oboe, 1928.

Smyth, Dame Ethyl. Variations on Bonny Sweet Robin (Ophelia’s Song), 1927. 222

Somers-Cocks, Lord John Patrick. Three Sketches, 1935.

Stanton, Walter. Two Pieces, 1935.

Ticciati, Francesco. Concerto for Oboe, n.d.

Ticciati, Niso. Six Pieces in Contrasting Styles, 1964.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Concerto for Oboe and Strings, 1944.

Wordsworth, William. Quartet for Oboe and Strings, Op. 44, 1951.