RENAISSANCE

The oboe d'amore revitalised

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Amongst twenty or so pieces I find those from Edwin Carr, Harold Schiffman, Leonard Salzedo, and John McCabe to combine the two instruments with a genuine feeling of partnership for something to say. The third CD of ensemble pieces by Leonard Salzedo, Edwin Carr, and some Mátyás Seiber dances arranged by Salzedo, is the most invigorating of the three simply due to a group's involvement in the fray. I go for a Sonata a Tré by Leonard Salzedo (with harpsichord). Its fascinating gamble with neoclassicism is strong, never allowing the style to dominate the composer's ideas or their development [listen - track 11, 00:24-01:14].

As an A-Z display of the oboe d'amore's glorious qualities, there's proof of character and nimbleness to sail smoothly through almost any storm that a modern composer might care to devise. I do believe that without Jennifer Paull's exceptional efforts to restore this lovely instrument to general use, we would find it languishing in some musicological backwater.

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