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British Music Society

The clue is in the title and here is another recording bringing together a number of new works written especially for this project, the Howarth-Redgate Oboe and also the Lupophon, a new type of bass oboe.

Working closely with composers, performer Christopher Redgate has developed, or more specifically, helped create, a new repertoire of music for this specially designed oboe. Using many techniques, both old and new, including multiphonics, microtones, altissimo sounds, both he and the composers certainly provide an interesting pallette of experimental tone for us. Needless to say, the fine players involved – Coull Quartet, Stephen Robbings (piano), and Paul Archibold (electronics) play with total focus on the subject matter.

Composers Edward Cowie, Paul Archbold, Dorothy Ker, and Christopher Fox, certainly throw themselves into the project, providing us with new tonal spectra. Indeed, an interesting, experimental soundscape is shown to us, and who knew that the oboe could produce such sounds, as extremes are taken, reined in, then let loose again before our very ears?

This is an interesting album, so if you’d like to hear something a little different, with quite a few unusual tones, forms, etc, then please give it a try. True, there is a feeling of familiarity now and again, which is not a bad thing, and while we may feel we know some of the compositional elements, the main purpose is to ’show off’ what can be achieved on the Howarth-Redgate Oboe and Lupophon. Also, maybe, if you’re an oboe player already, and fancy a change, without really having to learn a new instrument technically, this one could be the one for you.

As a listener, I don’t think it’s a sit down in front of a roaring log fire, with a nice glass of something, with music washing around you, this is something different, and different can sometimes be a good thing for the musical soul, so to speak. As I said earlier, all music should be heard, new music, new sounds, so you should give it a go. I hope you would want to, so do not be too alarmed at my thoughts; it’s a very interesting CD, with total conviction in performance, and absolute commitment from everyone involved in this project.