EWAN MILLAR Oboe
TOMOS BOYLES Piano

This will be a celebration of music for oboe and piano drawn from three centuries and played by two outstanding young performers. In 2020, Ewan Millar won the woodwind final of BBC Young Musician of the Year, advancing to the Grand Final. Of his performance, the Guardian commented: ‘exemplary, a richly shaded account.’ Since the competition, he has been performing as a soloist in recitals around the UK and playing with leading orchestras and ensembles. Rising Welsh star Tomos Boyles is also rapidly carving out a career as a young and exciting concert pianist. Described as possessing a ‘romantic flair and passion that only comes from intense involvement’ (Carol Nixon, LMC).

It is a very long time since we had the pleasure of hearing the sound of the oboe in the wonderful acoustic of St Briavels Church, so this will be a special treat. In comparison with other modern woodwind instruments, the soprano oboe is sometimes referred to as having a "bright and penetrating" voice. The Sprightly Companion, an instruction book published by Henry Playford in 1695, describes the oboe as "Majestical and Stately, and not much Inferior to the Trumpet". In the play Angels in America, the sound is described as like "that of a duck if the duck were a songbird". The rich timbre is derived from the instrument’s conical bore (as opposed to the generally cylindrical bore of flutes and clarinets). As a result, the oboe is easier to hear over other instruments in large ensembles due to its penetrating sound – which is why the principal oboe traditionally has the honour of playing the ‘A’ note by which the rest of the orchestra members tune their instruments - like the musical North Star, guiding every instrument to the same pitch. 

Ewan and Tomos will be playing a contrasting range of works for this beautiful instrument including: some sparkling baroque pieces by JS Bach, CPE Bach and Marcello; sonatas by 19th romantic composers Robert Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn; and evocative works from the early 20th century by Gerald Finzi and Lily Boulanger. 

Whatever your taste in music, this is a menu of delights with something for everyone to enjoy. So join us for a rare opportunity to hear this wonderful combination of instruments.

CPE Bach - Flute Sonata in Am, mvmt.2
Gerald Finzi - Interlude
Alessandro Marcello - Oboe Concerto in Dm
Olivier Messaien - Vocalise-Etude
   
JS Bach – Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen
Fanny Mendelssohn – Schwanenlied
Lili Boulanger - Elle était descendue au bas de la prairie
Robert Schumann – Wehmut from Liederkreis
Fanny Mendelssohn – Gondellied
Robert Schumann – Adagio and Allegro
Peter Facer - Manhattanhenge