Bach's Oboe - Xenia Löffler
The title of this album gave me a little bit of reservation. While I was in college I started taking some methods classes; these were single credit classes devoted to learning one particular instrument. The purpose of these was for music education majors to learn how to play instruments for band or orchestra programs. At the time I hadn’t decided my next path, but I did want to learn how to play some instruments. I took violin, cello, flute, and oboe. Each of these classes wasn’t overtly challenging, except for the oboe class, which was led by a doctoral student in oboe.
Her expectations were higher than the others. She gave us our final exam piece on the first day, a solo from a Bach cantata. I don’t remember which one, but as we learned simpler content, we’d keep going back. Playing the oboe requires a lot of air and despite the fact that I was a trombonist with what I thought were big lungs, it wasn’t anything compared to the oboe. I routinely would get lightheaded during practice. Worse, she made us make our own reeds, which were required for the final exam.
I think it was the only methods class I scored a ‘B.’ Needless to say, I love the oboe and here we have one of the HIPP’s most prolific contemporary oboists focused on pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach. All I will say is that Bach provides challenges for all wind players; my guess was that he was not a wind player. Providing ample places to breathe didn’t seem his concern. Which is why when we get a performer who doesn’t give us any sense of struggle in their playing of his music, well, you’ve found a real master. And if you are already familiar with Xenia Löffler, you might have expected a fine album before you start this one.
The works on this album include arrangements of sonatas for flute, Bach’s trio sonatas for organ, and some individual organ works, combined with other instruments. She is joined for some of the arrangements by Flóra Fábri (keyboard), Daniel Deuter (violin), Vittorio Ghielmi (gamba), and Katharina Kitschig (cello). (I am missing who the second oboist and bassoonists are!)
- Sonata (for flute) BWV 1030R
- Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ BWV 639, arranged
- Trio sonata BWV 529
- Canzona in D minor, BWV 588
- Sonata (for flute) BWV 1031
- Herr Gott, nun schleuß den Himmel auf BWV 528
- Trio sonata BWV 528
- Wenn wir in höchsten Nöthen sein BWV 641
Therefore what may be misleading in the title—is it Bach’s oboe—or Bach’s music taken over by an enterprising oboe player?
The Solo Sonatas
The opening sonata BWV 1030 is a three-movement work, here presented by oboe and harpsichord. It’s a nice crisp and clean recording, with good focus on the oboe in the recording. It’s close enough to hear Löffler breathe, but there are no mechanical sounds that get in the way of just hearing the music. Her tone is sharp. Her technique is so impressive, during the quick third movement, her articulation and continuity with all the notes Bach writes, it’s just done expertly well. Fábri is light-touched on the harpsichord, maintaining a close sync with Löffler’s playing. While I know this piece is a challenge to play, there’s no inclination that we lose anything by hearing it for oboe and keyboard. It’s rewarding, for sure. Of special note is how Löffler speaks the higher notes; she balances her breath to speak them sensitively, compensating for the instrument’s natural tendency to get louder with the higher notes.
The attribution to Bach is suspect for BWV 1031, again originally scored for flute. The first clue is the rather galant style of this piece. The liner notes go into a bit of detail about the origins of this piece. I think it’s fair to say this could have been the output of a composition lesson, or that attribution was given in a copy used by Bach for a performance? We may never know, but despite the style of this piece, it’s not unattractive. There are some periods where the keyboard gets to play by itself; I feel that this may be a sympathetic nod to allow a flutist (or oboist) to take a little break? The Siliciano is likely well-appreciated by those who fancy the famous Albinoni solo; this has a similar character, and in this recording, we get to hear Löffler play with more legato. The tight integration between the keyboard and oboe, even in some ornamentation, is well-matched.
Trio Sonatas
Bach’s six trio sonatas for organ were believed to have been composed for his son W.F. Bach, and used as a pedagogical exercise. While we don’t have these scored by Bach for other instruments, it’s not uncommon to come across several recordings where today’s musicians have re-arranged these for different instrumental groups.
BWV 529 here puts the solo responsibilities on oboe and violin. The articulation of both the oboe and violin are well matched, which to my ears, is a bit different than other recordings I am familiar with which treat these lines with more legato. I can entertain both, but having a the space between the notes in this version is refreshing. Löffler’s confident playing is matched well by Deuter. Adding cello to the bass gives a bit of a fun bounce to the bass part. The first movement is non-stop pleasure.
I would not have chosen the tempo for the Largo in this sonata to be this slow on the organ, but for the instruments assembled here, the tempo works well. Löffler’s gentleness in the higher notes again is so nice. I really came to appreciate the texture of Deuter’s instrument, which sounds “rough” against the smoothness of Löffler’s oboe, the combination is perfect.
BWV 528, I will admit, I prefer over the C major sonata. This one starts with a short introduction before launching into the dominant fast section. Here Löffler is joined by Ghielmi on gamba. While my booklet for this album was missing every other page in the PDF, I am fairly certain Löffler here is playing the darker, and lower-register oboe d’amore. The picture which I do have of the soloist, shows her posing with two instruments, one with a larger bell.
The slow movement is among the more delicious things Bach has written. It does well when each voice gets a little independence and can luxuriate in Bach’s delicious melodic material that keeps repeating. There are notes in these solo parts that really benefit from swelling; while this is explored, I could have used even more. While it’s not something we’d see in the score, it’s something that you are robbing us of if you don’t engage that way with the music.
The Organ Pieces
Several of these pieces are elaborations for the organ, citing chorale melodies. As an arrangement, it means there’s a clear melodic component inserted among other independent parts. In the Canzona in D minor, it’s arranged with bassoons and a second oboe. Because my booklet is missing pages, I can’t say who these musicians are. But the addition of double reeds with more double reeds is not an unusual solution. The timbres in this piece are quite enjoyable. Each voice is spaced well and we can nearly see the musicians before us if we close our eyes.
I like the combination of instruments used in the chorale pieces, which include violin, gamba, cello, and for the last one, BWV 641, oboe d’amore with violin, gamba, and cello. The exclusion of the harpsichord as a “continuo” addition I think is fine; the flavor of all the wind and strings together takes on a bit of a modern sound in the arranged form, but the musicians each contribute nicely to the whole, making these for me, more attractive as arrangements than the originals for the organ.
Final Thoughts
While this album may have given me a toxic reminder of my past challenges as a music student, and, while this album is less about what Bach wrote for the oboe, the concept and chosen repertoire was well done both from a concert programming point of view, but also a satisfying choice in supporting instruments. Each of Löffler’s friends match her musical prowess, and for that, they have collectively made an attractive album.
There are a few spots where Löffler’s playing includes notes that are, well, out of tune. While every musician has tricks for making certain notes get closer in tune when the instrument’s design lets them down (horn players with their hands, special fingerings for winds), I wanted listeners to realize these are not mistakes. The oboe in its baroque configuration has some shortcomings! There’s a reason why the instrument was refined over time to include more keys, etc.
Today we miss some of these characteristics. The most controversial is with the use of holes in natural trumpets. I don’t have a fight in this debate, whether using the holes to adjust tuning is “cheating” or not, but it’s a good example to illustrate something similar here with the oboe.
Xenia Löffler has been championing a lot of repertoire for the oboe in baroque times. In this album, she pivots to focusing on some very nice pieces by Bach, showcasing what she can do to contribute the service of her instruments. I think this is most attractive recital and both Löffler and her fellow musicians illustrate their consistent top form across the entire album.
