Now this is an instrument that its certainly close to my heart because it is the only woodwind instrument on my CD, Dreamwalk. I got the idea of using it while listening to the third movement of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony (one of my faves). It is double-reeded and the sound can be anything from sharp to somber in quality. Beethoven used it rather effectively in the aforementioned movement almost as if a duck were quacking. The oboeist on Dreamwalk, Timothy Dutemple, and I talked about that particular movement in the 7th Symphony while we were in the studio looking over the score I wrote and eventually he just came out and played the EXACT musical passage I was thinking about! The oboe is also unique because unlike the flute or clarinet, it has a conical bore which gives it its heightened volume. The orchestra tunes to its A at the beginning of a piece because it has the most stable pitch of all the instruments regardless of temperature change. Let me talk about one of my favorite songs on the CD: "With All of My Heart". Originally, I had a French Horn play the countermelody that starts the song but then as time went by, I thought that the sound of the oboe would cut through the layers of my orchestration better..and I was right. Once I heard the playback in the studio, I knew that I had made the right decision! Timothy did a beautiful job conveying the mood that I wanted on that track: the oboe represents the somberness of being isolated away from the woman I loved in the song. Yes, this song is a true story. I also enjoyed using it contrapuntally with the main melody in the song that starts the album, "Carousel". At the very end of the chorus, I wanted the oboe to soar like a bird over the strings in order to lift the song a bit before going back to the verses. Then on the title track, I kept a relatively low range and had Timothy play a harmony near the end of the song as a companion to the original line. I feel that the oboe has varying possibilities depending on how the composer chooses to use it. it can be somber like a bulldog, quacky like a duck, or even seductive like a beautiful lady. No matter how one uses it, the oboe has an extraordinary range of emotion and power. here are some of my recommendations to hear more examples of its flexibility: (A) Mozart's Oboe Concerto in C Major (B) Stravinsky's "Pastorale" (another favorite of mine) (C) Ennio Morricone's "Gabriel's Theme" from the film "The Mission (D) J.S. Bach's Brandenburg's Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (E) Richard strauss' Oboe concerto Now how about in the Pop world? I'm sure you know these songs that feature an oboe (A) Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe"; it's that oom-pah-pah instrument in the chorus (B) Madonna's "Crazy for You"; it plays a plaintive melody reach time she finishes singing the hook in the chorus before she goes to another verse (C)And my favorite song of Seal's : "Kiss From A Rose"; it plays the along with the counter melody "La, la, LA, LA,LA, la, la, la, LA... well, ther you have it; my brief take on one of the orchestra's most versatile instruments. Come back for my next pick in the BKT Book and Movie club reference as well as my continuing plans for my CD and future concerts! BKT