CHAPTER 9: COMMENTARY ON REPERTOIRE

9.1    For the Kleine Schalmei

Without any historical sources that discuss the performance practice of using the kleine schalmei, it is difficult to discern what repertoire is appropriate for the instrument, both from a practical and historical approach. Possible instrumental combinations can be discerned from iconography, whereby the instrument is depicted alongside other instruments. Two similar artworks (Figures 9.1.1 and 9.1.2) by Gerard de Lairesse from 1670 depict a kleine schlamei on the ground while putti play a violin, a traverso, some other kind of shawm, and a dulcian, all conducted by another putto holding some sheet music. But this (as well as Figure 8) combined with the knowledge that de Lairesse does not advocate for accurate reflections of real-life instrumental combinations,^[1] does not mean that this combination is indicative of actual performance practice.

Figure 9.1.1: Gerard de Lairesse’s Musicerende putti^[2] (1670).^[3]

Figure 9.1.2: Gerard de Lairesse’s Musicerende putti met Pegasus^[4] (1670).^[5]

An undated sketch by Jacob de Wit (1695–1754) is another example of putti with a kleine schalmei (Figure 9.1.3). Just like these two de Lairesse examples, the kleine schalmei is not being played, but it is paired with a traverso.

Figure 9.1.3: Allegorie op het Gezicht en het Gehoor^[6] (n.d.) by Jacob de Wit.^[7]

A different kind of shawm is pictured in de Lairesse’s Cadmus doodt de draak (Figure 9.1.4).^[8] This artwork is featured on the cover of an arrangement of sections from Lully’s Cadmus et Hermione, titled Ouverture avec tous les airs à jouer de l’opéra de Cadmus^[9] (1682), published by Johan Philip Heus (d. 1714). It has been described as being similar to the kleine schalmei,^[10] but aside from the short bell, it bears little resemblance as it has no key, nor fontanelle, nor any visible similar turning or metalwork.

Figure 9.1.4: Detail from Cadmus doodt de draak (1682), by Gerard de Lairesse.^[11]

Heus published an arrangement of Lully’s Phaëton in 1683, with the title page (Figure 9.1.5) depicting both a kleine schalmei (right) and two shawm-like instruments (left).^[12] The argument that shawms would be appropriate for a piece (for example, the Anders pieces in Chapter 7), becomes trivial when Lully’s arrangements are brought into question. There is no evidence to support the use of shawms in Lully’s original tragédies, as it seems that oboes were regularly used in Lully’s works from 1670 (after a period of six years without any “hautbois” writing).^[13] As there are no written sources on the performance practice of the kleine schalmei and every depiction of the kleine schalmei in iconography utilises it in a purely decorative manner, there is no justification to use it in pieces where it is pictured on the cover page.^[14]

Figure 9.1.5: Title page of Ouverture avec tous les airs de violons de l'opera de Phaëton (1683).^[15]

Anders’s Symphoniæ introductoriæ, Op. 2 (see Chapter 7) has been recorded on two kleine schalmeien,^[16] on the basis of there being a kleine schalmei depicted on the cover of Anders’s Trioos, Op. 1 (see Figure 7.1).^[17] As would be the case with Heus’s arrangement of Lully’s Phaëton, it is uncritical to determine a piece’s instrumentation purely based on the title page artwork of the work, let alone that of a different work.

The only other documented commercial recording which uses a kleine schalmei is one of Arcangelo Corelli’s (1653–1713) Sonata con Aboé, et Violini, Anh. 14.^[18] This work is an arrangement of Corelli’s Sonata, WoO 4 for trumpet, strings, and continuo, transposed from D major to C major. The authorship of the arrangement is not certainly of Corelli, surviving only as a manuscript copy, never published.^[19] The supposed reason for using the kleine schalmei for this recording was because of the fact that Roger published several of Corelli’s works in Amsterdam.^[20] However, by the time Roger was publishing in Amsterdam,^[21] the oboe had already been introduced to the Republic. There is also no evidence that the manuscript made its way to the Republic and, regardless, the work was never published. There is, therefore, no historical reason for the work to be considered appropriate for the kleine schalmei, even if the part fits the range of the instrument.

9.2   For Oboe Band

Oboe band repertoire of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was seldom explicitly written as being for an exact set-up.^[22] As information which would normally be indicative of oboe band repertoire is not as present in the Republic as it is for music abroad (for example; court double-reed culture, military oboe bands, and surviving repertoire), it is difficult to determine which works were certainly played by oboe bands, regardless whether the work was appropriate or prescribed for double-reed instruments. There is only one publication in Appendix A which directly prescribes a band of double-reed instruments, Müller’s 12 Sonates à un hautbois de concert (Figure 9.2). There are two instrumentations given for this work; solo oboe (G2, C₄–C₆), two violins or ripieno oboes (G2, C₄–B₅/A₅), viola or “taille” (presumably tenor oboe; C3, G₃–D₅), and two figured bass parts (bassoon and harpsichord or bass violin on the cover, but “organo” and violoncello in the header; F4, B♭₁–E₄). These sonatas are well-written for oboe band, with the parts never going outside of the range of the prescribed instruments — unlike Rosier’s Quatorze Sonate and some arrangements of Lully’s tragédies — to the extent that the bass part has a B-flat in the twelfth sonata, making it more appropriate for the wind option (bassoon) than the string option (violoncello).^[23]

Figure 9.2: The cover page of Müller’s 12 Sonates, describing the instrumentation.^[24]

Rosier’s Quatorze Sonate, despite being referred to as an oboe band piece in Roger’s catalogues 1712 and later,^[25] has no indication in the score that it can be performed in that setting. The first edition’s use of the singular “le haubois”, even if unintended, implies that only one oboe can be used.^[26] With the unclear indication of “les haubois” in the second edition,^[27] it is ambiguous to a performer whether the work is entirely for oboe band without having first read a catalogue which includes the statement “ou tous Hautbois”. Therefore, while it may be appropriate to perform the piece in an oboe band setting, it is not immediately clear to the performers that that could be an option.

Of the several works with open instrumentation published in Amsterdam, none specify the possible instrumentation of a family of double-reed instruments. Regardless, the art on the oboe stamped “W: BEUKERS” (see Figure 4.2) depicts two descant oboes, a tenor oboe, and a bassoon playing from partbooks,^[28] meaning that this combination of instruments may have been present in the Republic. But there are no four-part works for an open instrumentation, aside from several arrangements of Lully’s works. It is difficult to say what other repertoire would have been appropriate for this instrumentation, especially as there are no surviving examples of pieces from a court or military regiment within the period of study which would fit this four-part oboe band setup.

The four-part arrangements of Lully’s works are generally suitable for the oboe band setup depicted on the “W: BEUKERS” oboe; however, there are a few instances of the parts’ ambiti being too wide for the oboes of the period. In any case, these arrangements suit a violin band better than an oboe band, including the publications which are said to be for all sorts of instruments rather than being “airs de violons”,^[29] for example. Nevertheless, there still plenty of movements and entire suites which are, indeed, suitable for a four-part oboe band — though, arguably, not as intrinsically written for double-reed instruments as Müller’s 12 Sonates.

9.3   By Quirinus van Blankenburg

A collection of music by Quirinus van Blankenburg was written for Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Württemberg (1698–1731) for his visit to The Hague in the years 1713–1715. Friedrich Ludwig became a harpsichord pupil of van Blankenburg in this time and was provided a manuscript of his, consisting of various pieces for the Hereditary Prince’s enjoyment.^[30] One of the works copied by van Blankenburg is an aria for two voices, “Son guerriero”, from the opera, Il Padre parziale. The music is possibly by Johann Hugo von Wilderer (ca. 1670–1724) and premiered at the court theatre of John William II, Elector Palatine (1658–1716, r. 1690–1716) in Düsseldorf in 1707, possibly reaching van Blankenburg through the van Wassenaer family.^[31] While the original is scored with oboe(s)^[32] and strings (Figure 9.3.1), the version copied by van Blankenburg does not have any instrumental parts (Figure 9.3.2). This is made more peculiar by the fact that other works in the collection do have instrumental parts. Aside from this, there are very few changes to the work, such as slight rhythmic alterations and some additional figures for the bass. Ironically, van Blankenburg titles his copy “Aria con stromenti”.^[33] Another example of his arrangements of double-reed music is his harpsichord arrangement of a five-part march for two oboes, two horns, and bassoon by Johann Georg Christian Störl (1675–1719),^[34] found in Clavierbuch des Friedrich Ludwig.^[35]  

Figure 9.3.1: The opening system of the original “Son guerriero” (1707) with indications for “VV e Haub”.^[36]

Figure 9.3.2: The opening system of van Blankenburg’s copy of “Son guerriero”, “Aria con strumenti” (ca. 1713).^[37]

[1] De Lairesse, Gerard, Groot Schilderboek, 265–66.

[2] “Musical putti”.

[3] De Lairesse, Gerard, Musicerende Putti, 1670, Etching on paper, 8.4 × 17.3 cm, 1670, Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.134972.

To Conclusion