Excerpt: Solo pieces for bass oboe (chronological)
by Peter Hurd; reorganized and amended by Holger Hoos, editor-in-chief since 2020
version 2 (1 February 2022)
This collection is based on the catalogue of musical works requiring heckelphone or bass oboe instrumentation assembled by Peter Hurd beginning in 1998. For this new edition, the original version of the repertoire list has been edited for accuracy, completeness and consistency, and it has been extended with a number of newly discovered pieces.
Some entries could not (yet) be rigorously verified for accuracy; these were included nonetheless, to provide leads for future investigation, but are marked clearly. Pieces were selected for inclusion based solely on the use of heckelphone, bass oboe or lupophone, without any attempt at assessing their artistic merit. Arrangements of pieces not originally intended for these instruments were included when there was clear evidence that they had found a significant audience.
We gratefully acknowledge contributions by Crawford Best, Ulrich Brokamp, Michael Finkelman, Francis Firth, Alain Girard, Thomas Hiniker, Robert Howe, Gunther Joppig, Georg Otto Klapproth, Mark Perchanok, Andrew Shreeves and Michael Sluman.
Koechlin, Charles (1867-1950): Suite, op. 185, 1942
Publisher: Editions Max Eschig (ME 8618)
Remarks: for cor anglais, oboe d’amore or bass oboe
Duration: 19min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Mabry, Drake (1950-): Lament for Astralabe, 1980 [?]this entry is only partially verified
Publisher: Rugginenti Editore, Milan
Remarks: for solo oboe or bass oboe
Duration: 12min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Hunfeld, Xander (1949-): Metriek I, 1982
Publisher: Broekmans & Van Poppel (BP1807)
Remarks: for baritone oboe or oboe; revised 1984, 1990; commissioned by Anne Faber; premiere 1991 by Anne Faber in the Bachzaal in Amsterdam; alternate versions for clarinet or bass clarinet
Duration: 6min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Morehead, Patricia (1940-): Design One, 1984
Publisher: Canadian Music Centre (MI 5112 M838de)
Remarks: for solo bass oboe; original version for solo oboe (or tuba); dedicated to Dr. Samuel Dolin
Duration: 5min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Burgers, Simon (1958-): Pastiche! (arrangement by Bart Schneemann), 1992
Remarks: arrangement for bass oboe and tape; original, longer version 1992-1994 for bass clarinet solo and tape, published by Donemus (08617); written with financial support of the Fonds voor de Scheppende Toonkunst for David Coppoolse
Duration: 4min
Tags: bass oboe; solo, arrangement
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Mabry, Drake (1950-): Ceremony I, 1992 [??]this entry has not (yet) been verified
Remarks: for soprano saxophone; an oboe or bass oboe version might also exist; commissioned by Claude Delangle; premiere in autumn 1992 in the USA by Claude Delangle
Duration: 13min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Bryars, Gavin (1943-): The East Coast, 1994
Remarks: for bass oboe solo with orchestra; commissioned by Lawrence Cherney, with additional funds made available by the Arts Council of England; premiere in January 1995 in Winnipeg, Canada, by Lawrence Cherney (bass oboe) and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra under Bramwell Tovey
Duration: 15min
Tags: bass oboe; orchestra, solo
Additional information can be found here.
Miereanu, Costin (1943-): Solo V, 1995
Publisher: Editions Salabert (EAS 19362)
Remarks: for oboe, cor anglais or bass oboe; dedicated to Stéphane Part and Laurence Cherney
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Strutt, Clive (1942-): Variations on a Bosnian Folk Song, 1995
Publisher: Amoris International (AI SI 014)
Remarks: for bass oboe (or bassoon); commissioned by and dedicated to Derek Bell
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Cherney, Brian (1942-): In the Great Museums of our Memory, 1996-1997
Publisher: Canadian Music Centre
Remarks: for bass oboe and bass clarinet; earlier version (1994) for bass oboe solo
Tags: bass oboe; chamber music, solo
Heller, Barbara (1936-): Solo-Album für Holzblasinstrumente (Englischhorn Solo-Album), 1998
Publisher: Furore-Edition (FUE 3250)
Remarks: for cor anglais, flute, recorder, clarinet, oboe, oboe d'amore or heckelphone; dedicated to Julian Singer; premiere 2002 in Bern, Switzerland
Tags: bass oboe, heckelphone; solo
Gardner, James E. (1962-): Charge, 1999
Publisher: Amoris International AI SI 008
Remarks: for a member of the oboe family of instruments; dedicated to Jennifer Paull; premiere in 2000 at the IDRS Conference in Buenos Aires, by Jorge Postel Pavisic; original version 1997 for clarinet
Duration: 2min
Tags: heckelphone, bass oboe, lupophone; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Oehring, Helmut (1961-): Philipp, 2003
Remarks: for bass oboe solo; original 1997 version for trombone solo; versions for several other instruments exist
Duration: 12min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Schneider, Urs Peter (1939-): Kar I und II, 2003-2004
Publisher: aart verlag (ISMN M 50196-088-0)
Remarks: sacred music for oboe / bass oboe or clarinet / bass clarinet
Duration: variable
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Grégoire, Sébastian (1986-): Mélodie, 2005
Duration: 1min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
A recording is available here.
Andreyev, Samuel (1981-): Micrographia, 2006
Publisher: Trepex
Remarks: for bass oboe solo; revised 2010 for tenor saxophone
Duration: 6min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Richards, Peter (1959-): The Lost Penguin, 2008
Publisher: editiondb 0701002
Remarks: for solo bass oboe or heckelphone; a version for solo cor anglais also exists
Tags: heckelphone, bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Sánchez-Verdú, José María (1968-): De processione mundi (9ª escena de ATLAS - Islas de utopía), 2010-2011
Publisher: Breitkopf & Härtel
Remarks: for oboe soloist (cor anglais & baritone oboe) and ensemble (bass flute, tenor saxophone, contrabass clarinet, violin, violoncello, double bass); commissioned by Gare du Nord Basel; premiere 2012/01/23 by Pilar Fontalba (oboe) and Ensemble Phoenix Basel under Jürg Henneberger at Gare du Nord in Basel, Switzerland
Duration: 12min
Tags: bass oboe; chamber music, solo
Additional information can be found here.
Visotsky, D.M. and Zawodnik, Béatrice (1955-): Pictures of New York (album), 2011
Publisher: NEOS 11111
Remarks: dedicated to Elliott; bass oboe can be heard prominently in "Let the Show Begin", "Blue City", "Guggenheim High', "The Suspended Pond in Central Park", "Little India", "Birth of a Butterfly", "Phoenix" and "In a Hurry"
Duration: 60min
Tags: bass oboe; chamber music, solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Dalton, Owen (1997-): Instance, 2015 [??]this entry has not (yet) been verified
Remarks: for bass oboe solo
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Peracha, Omar (1993-): Ground Zero II, 2016
Remarks: for bass oboe and electronics; commissioned by Michael Sluman
Duration: 9min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Staffel, Andreas F. (1965-): In hohem Holz ... und weiter, 2016
Publisher: Edition Anthemion (710181)
Remarks: for oboe solo, oboe d'amore, cor anglais and baritone oboe ... individually or in arbitrary combinations, with arbitrary changes between instruments, with and without interplay; dedicated to Antje Thierbach; premiere on 19 October 2017 in Berlin, Germany, by Antje Thierbach
Duration: 12min
Tags: bass oboe, heckelphone, lupophone; chamber music, solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Jones, Rob (1993-): , 2019
Remarks: for bass oboe solo, written for Mikey Sluman
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here.
Sköld, Erik Valdemar (1991-): Isolation, 2020
Remarks: for solo bass oboe
Duration: 1min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
Additional information can be found here; a recording is available here.
Choi, Kyong Mee: A Deep Light, 2021
Remarks: part 4 of the exquisite corpse composition "Resilience"; premiere on 13 March 2021 by Alex Klein via live stream at HotHouse Global
Duration: 1min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
A recording is available here.
Hana, Ester (1949-): Piece for oboe, 2021
Remarks: part 2 of the exquisite corpse composition "Resilience"; premiere on 13 March 2021 by Alex Klein via live stream at HotHouse Global
Duration: 2min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
A recording is available here.
Harris Baiocchi, Regina (1956-): Ancestral Refrain, 2021
Remarks: part 5 of the exquisite corpse composition "Resilience"; premiere on 13 March 2021 by Alex Klein via live stream at HotHouse Global; dedicated to Alex Klein
Duration: 3min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
A recording is available here.
Misurell-Mitchell, Janice (1946-): Resilience, 2021
Remarks: part 3 of the exquisite corpse composition "Resilience"; premiere on 13 March 2021 by Alex Klein via live stream at HotHouse Global
Duration: 2min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
A recording is available here.
Morehead, Patricia (1940-): Angry, 2021
Remarks: part 1 of the exquisite corpse composition "Resilience"; premiere on 13 March 2021 by Alex Klein via live stream
Duration: 3min
Tags: bass oboe; solo
A recording is available here.
Newton, Brett (1982-): Five Miniatures for Oboes, 2021
Remarks: the fifth movement is for bass oboe or heckelphone
Duration: 1min
Tags: bass oboe, heckelphone; solo
A recording is available here.