Notes and Editorial Reviews
OVERHEARD
•
Michele Fiala (ob, Eh); William Averill
1
, Donald Speer
2
(pn); Martin Schuring (ob
3
)
•
MSR MS1403 (74:00)
MORRIS
4 Personalities
1
. KANDER
Postcards from America
2
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class="COMPOSER12">. SILVESTRINI
3 Duos for 2 Oboes
3
. LEWIS
Fundy Temperaments
2
. MARTIN
Peaches at Midnight
1
. GOAD
Overheard on a Saltmarsh
2,3
. PHILLIPS
Elegy and Honk
Overheard
is a collection of 21st-century works for oboe and English horn. Alyssa Morris’s
Four Personalities
uses the color codes from the Hartman Personality Profile, which divides the population into yellow fun-lovers, white peace-keepers, blue do-gooders, and red power-wielders. Morris’s four movements refer to Hartman’s groups; they are not musical descriptions of the colors themselves. “Yellow” is a jazzy piece that has hints at the song
Blue Skies
. “White” is a melodic movement with a waltz-like lilt. “Blue” is a sad oboe solo, but “Red” makes a rousing finale with some boogie-woogie piano topped off by an oboe obbligato.
Susan Kander is a composer who likes to tell a story. Here, she has a narrator read a few lines before each movement of her
Postcards from America:
“Greetings from the Empire State Building,” “Greetings from the Statue of Liberty,” and “Greetings from the Brooklyn Bridge.” The postcards are from a man who has left his family to find work in the United States. Although he tries to hide his loneliness and desperation with his words, Michele Fiala’s oboe and Donald Speer’s piano tell the whole tale in a most effective manner.
French oboist and composer Gilles Silvestrini describes three French Impressionist paintings in his
Three Duos for Two Oboes.
Each movement is short but demanding of the players in an Impressionist style. The players are Fiala, who teaches at Ohio University, and Martin Schuring who is professor of oboe at Arizona State University. Their playing is light, fluent, and wonderfully flexible.
Beverly Lewis is a native of New Brunswick, Canada, and her
Fundy Temperaments
refers to the huge tidal surges that wash in and out of the Bay of Fundy. You hear bits and pieces of music by other composers that describe the ocean, but all of it is summed up in a well-known hymn that prays for those in peril on the sea.
Peaches at Midnight
is light, fun-loving composition that was commissioned for this recording. Composer Theresa Martin says the title came to her when her small son woke up at midnight and asked for a peach. She obliged and realized that his request had given her an idea for her next composition. I think
Peaches
is the perfect piece to play at a post-concert dinner, especially since Fiala and collaborative pianist William Averill perform it with such panache.
This album’s title comes from Erin Goad’s
Overheard on a Saltmarsh
. It is a truly haunting piece for oboe, English horn, and piano that stays in the mind. It leads us up to the oldest piece on the CD, Mark W. Phillips’s
Elegy and Honk
for English horn and pre-recorded tracks. There are two different tracks that play duets with the horn. The first is a track of horn sounds that make up the mournful
Elegy.
It is followed by a track composed of sounds made by ducks, geese, and a bicycle horn. Their duet with the English horn is correctly titled
Honk.
These works were recorded in 2010 and early 2011 at Glidden Hall at Ohio University. The sound quality is good and equal placement is accorded to each instrument.
FANFARE: Maria Nockin
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Works on This Recording
1.
Four Personalities, for oboe & piano by Alyssa Morris
Performer:
Michele Fiala (Oboe),
William Averill (Piano)
Period: 21st Century
Written: 2008; USA
Date of Recording: 11/2010-01/2011
Venue: Recital Hall of Robert Glidden Hall at O
Length: 10 Minutes 22 Secs.
2.
Postcards from America, for oboe & piano by Susan Kander
Performer:
Michele Fiala (Oboe)
Written: 2009
Date of Recording: 11/2010-01/2011
Venue: Recital Hall of Robert Glidden Hall at O
Length: 18 Minutes 9 Secs.
3.
Duos (3), for 2 oboes by Gilles Silvestrini
Performer:
Martin Schuring (Oboe),
Michele Fiala (Oboe)
Written: 2008
Date of Recording: 11/2010-01/2011
Venue: Recital Hall of Robert Glidden Hall at O
Length: 5 Minutes 38 Secs.
4.
Fundy Temperaments, for english horn & piano by Beverly Lewis
Performer:
Donald Speer (Piano),
Michele Fiala ()
Written: 2009
Date of Recording: 11/2010-01/2011
Venue: Recital Hall of Robert Glidden Hall at O
Length: 9 Minutes 47 Secs.
5.
Peaches at Midnight, for oboe & piano by Theresa Martin
Performer:
William Averill (Piano),
Michele Fiala (Oboe)
Written: 2010
Date of Recording: 11/2010-01/2011
Venue: Recital Hall of Robert Glidden Hall at O
Length: 10 Minutes 39 Secs.
6.
Overheard on a Saltmarsh, for oboe, english horn & piano by Erin Goad
Performer:
Martin Schuring (Oboe),
Michele Fiala (),
Donald Speer (Piano)
Written: 2008
Date of Recording: 11/2010-01/2011
Venue: Recital Hall of Robert Glidden Hall at O
Length: 8 Minutes 43 Secs.
7.
Elegy & Honk, for english horn & electroacoustic music by Mark W. Phillips
Performer:
Mark W. Phillips (Electronics),
Michele Fiala ()
Written: 2001
Date of Recording: 11/2010-01/2011
Venue: Recital Hall of Robert Glidden Hall at O
Length: 9 Minutes 59 Secs.
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