100%(2)100% found this document useful (2 votes) 492 views158 pagesBenjamin Britten Four Chamber Works For Oboe
Tesis about britten's 4 chamber music works for oboe.
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Benjamin Britten’s Four Chamber Works for Oboe
A thesis
submitted to the
Division of Research and Advanced Studies
of the University of Cincinnati
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS (D.M.A.)
in the Performance Studies Division
of the College-Conservatory of Music
2001
by
Vincent Mark Biggam
B.M., University of Cincinnati, 1981
MLM., Ohio University, 1983
Committee Chair: Dr. Robert Zierolf ABSTRACT
Benjamin Britten (1913-76) wrote four chamber works involving oboe.
Two of these works were published during Britten's lifetime; the other two
remained in virtual obscurity until after he died. The two published during
his life, Phantasy, Opus 2 and Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Opus 49 were
the first and the last of his oboe chamber works. They have different
instrumentations, the first being for oboe, violin, viola and cello and the last
being for unaccompanied oboe, and also span the course of almost twenty
years between composition. The two other works, Two Insect Pieces and
Temporal Variations, were published posthumously but were composed in
close proximity of each other in 1935 and 1936, and both share the same
instrumentation, oboe and piano.
Britten paid homage to most of the oboists who first performed these
works, except for Temporal Variations, by dedicating the work to them.
Temporal Variations was dedicated to author Montagu Slater, a colleague of
Britten and librettist for Peter Grimes. Montagu Slater was known for his
left-wing writings.
This document proposes to address the question of why the
posthumously published works were not published during Britten's lifetime.
‘The disappearance of these works answers the question in part. Other
answers are found through letters from Britten and also in his diary entries.
This document also addresses the history behind the works Britten
had published, through accounts of their popularity and first performances.
Phantasy was a work of a young composer still in his last year of college,
whereas Six Metamorphoses after Ovid was composed when Britten was in
the midst of his illustrious career.
Along with the historical accounts, full detailed analyses give equal
legitimacy to all four of the works. These analyses include a recent
orchestration of the Temporal Variations by Colin Matthews. © 2001 Mark Biggam Alll Rights Reserved
