ESHQ close-up

Beschreibung
"The oboe da caccia is a baroque double reed instrument of the oboe family, its range is similar to that of the english-horn. It is curved and covered with black leather (for airtightness) and has two keys, for the bottom holes. It has a somewhat penetrating sound; for many listeners it evokes the notion of rural landscapes and pastures (J. S. Bach used it for some of his oratories in that context). For me, its sound has a haunting and longing quality.

The handwriting and spelling (transcription) of the old Farsi word eshq has inspired the concept and structure of this contemporary solo piece for this unique baroque instrument.

Eshq (or eshgh, as it is sometimes transcribed) means love; it is an old and poetic word, and often used in a mystic sense, much like the old German word “minne“. The famous Iranian poet Hafez (1325-1389), for example, wrote a lot about it. The letters of the  transcription eshgh provided tonal material for the composition.

The piece makes use of “sweeping” as a technique for coloring tones. Sweeping is done mainly with the right hand: the fingers of the right hand sweep along the lower part (holes 4 and down) of the instrument. Sweeping can go in two directions, down or up. Fingers are loosely stretched, bending towards the end of the movement.

The movement should always be done lightly and elegantly. There is an aspect of tenderness in it. Different ways of carrying out the movement have different effects on the coloring of a tone. Sweeps can be executed in very beginning of a tone, in the middle, or at the very end of a tone (the movement end with the sound).

Sweeping is a very special technique only possible with baroque woodwind-instruments with no keys: recorders, oboes etc. Instruments held vertically are better suited because of a more stable balance during the movement.

The result of this technique is a jittering vibrato, to be more precise an oszillating downward bend of the sound. The technique and the gesture were developed and refined especially for this composition."

Uraufführung
2011 - Wien
Veranstaltung: e_may 2011
Mitwirkende: Molly McDolan (Oboe da caccia)
Weitere Informationen: First performed by Molly McDolan, oboe da caccia, at e_may 2011, in the context of the project FERNRAUM and Kunstradio Ö1. The piece was embedded in project FERNRAUM, a monumental framework of improvisations and radio-art by Pia Palme, Klaus Lang, Lale Rodgarkia-Dara and Thomas Wagensommerer.

Aufnahme
Titel: ESHQ close-up
Plattform: SoundCloud
Herausgeber: palmeworks
Datum: 12 Januar 2012
Mitwirkende: Molly McDolan (Oboe da caccia)
Weitere Informationen: recorded at Amann Studios, Vienna.