“OB-Vi-ous-ly a Quartet” derives its title from the
acrostic
formed by the instrumentation the work was composed for - Oboe,
Bassoon, Violin, & Violoncello. The 10 minute work is in
three uninterrupted movements. The first movement title, “The
Wind in the Wires” is a reference to the woodwind and string
combination. The movement introduces each of the four instruments
in turn, after which they are equal participants in a lively exchange
of motivic and thematic material in what is mostly an asymmetrical use
of the 9/8 meter. The second movement “Heavy in My Arms” borrows
its title from a statement made by Haitian musician and producer Wyclef
Jean, regarding the unfolding tragedy in Haiti following the
destructive earthquake:
“I carried bodies of my people in the
cemetery...they should have been laughing,
they
should have been singing, but instead, they
were heavy in my arms.”
The slow-tempo movement features the strings in more of
an
accompanimental role to the tandem of reeds which present the unfolding
thematic material in a more dirge-like setting. The ebullient third and
final movement “Jalopy” needs no explanation as the movement itself is
a picturesque narrative of what the term evokes. Having said all
of this, it might be surprising to note that the music for each of
these movements was composed prior to the appellation of, or
association with the above mentioned titles. However, it would be
wrong to conclude that the titles as such are just an
afterthought. Rather, they are for the composer at least one way
in which musical thought and expression, often abstract and technical
in its creation, connects with human experience.
"OB-Vi-ous-ly a Quartet" was commissioned by George Ryon with support
from Alain and Anne De Gourdon (Lorée Oboes) and was written for the
Acadian New Music Ensemble oboeist James Ryon,
Bassoonist Gabriel
Beavers, violinist and composer Piotr Szewczyk, and Cellist Regina
Mushabac. The North American
premiere was given at the 2010 International Double Reed Society
conference - University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Oklahoma on June 26,
2010. The work was premiered at the Festival Internacional
de Música de Campina Grande, Brazil on Monday, May 31, 2010.
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