The Oboe
Piano Quartet - Digital Sheet Music

Piano Quartet - Level 5 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.1329920

Composed by James E. Andersson. 19th Century,21st Century,Classical,Comedy,Contemporary. 35 pages. Sahale Studios #917904. Published by Sahale Studios (A0.1329920).

Once there was an oboist who was a member of a chamber ensemble consisting of flute, oboe, cello, and, piano. The oboist was highly skilled; a virtouoso who could ornament without the slighest effort. They were notorious for doing so.

One day during dress rehearsal, the oboist, familiar enough with the music began ornamenting and adding stylistic flourishes, becoming increasingly carried away with their part. It finally reaches a point where the others stop playing and let the oboe go completely overboard with a full cadenza. Not far into the solo, the oboe realizes everyone else has stopped playing and stops themself and the rehearsal continues. However, not much farther along, the oboist becomes carried away in their part again, resulting in the other musicians pausing again as the oboist proceeds into another cadenza passage before realizing the others have stopped again.

The rehearsal continues, and they all get further along (due to the oboe simply not playing), but when the oboe plays the melody, the ornaments and finesse return in full display, and finally the piano cuts the oboe off. At the slightest hint of an ornament all the other musicians in the ensmeble join in and cut off the oboe. From this, the oboist sinks into low spirits.

The rehearsal continues unabated through the next section, and when the oboist enters, they play their part as written, but the ornamentations begin creeping in again. But rather than admonish the oboist the others instead speed the music up into the recapitulation section and for the remainder of the piece and rehearsal they all go wild with flourishes and ornamentations of their own, bringing the piece to a rollicking and lively conclusion.