Complementing the Oboe music and Saxophone repertoire, these 8 unaccompanied pieces form a suite on nautical themes of tall ships and taller tales of the sea. They are Suitable for beginners (Grade 1) through to intermediate (grade 5) standards. This album forms part of the Original Solo Repertoire™ Series.
The eight pieces are all inspired by tall ships and even taller tales of the sea.
- Song of The Sea
This slowly moving folk-song melody is in the style of a vocalise. It requires flexibility of tone and pitch in a ‘cantabile sostenuto’ or well-sustained singing line.
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Scuttlebug (Trinity College London Oboe examination Grade 4)
A lively, rhythmic conversational piece, the musical themes bounce back and forth between modal tonalities. In old sailing ships, the ‘Scuttlebug’ was a barrel for casual drinking and was the focal point for sailors to engage in ship’s gossip.
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Pirates!
The many contrasts of articulation, dynamic, tone, tempo and rhythm tell the story of the approaching pirate ship, the strains of a pirates’ song and the hauling of the sails before the ship recedes below the horizon.
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Sea Shanty
A three-part, ternary form piece, the outer sections as a sailors’ dance and the central section more song-like in style and reflective in mood.
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Doldrums
‘Doldrums’ refers to the equatorial regions of the Earth’s oceans, which are often calm and windless. Commonly describing a listless mood, the music sets a mysterious tone.
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Catch (Trinity College London Oboe examination Grade 5)
The title is a play on words. Whilst the sailors catch fish they also sing a ‘Catch’, which is another term for a ‘Round’ in which singers participate one at a time as in the folk song, ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat’.
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Sirens
Sirens, believed to be beautiful maidens of the sea, lured sailors to their doom, running ships onto the rocks from which they beckoned.
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Hornpipe
This final piece of eight is in the ancient style of the lively sailors’ dance. Notice the sudden ‘Avast’ (a nautical term meaning to stop hauling) pauses and dramatic, if roguish changes in tempo at the close.
All artwork and design for the album is by the artist, Amori.
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