Rhapsody For Oboe, English Horn, and Orchestra
CASTILLO present
The Rhapsody came about in a funny kind of way.
As I was speaking to Liang Wang about what piece he wanted to perform with the Redlands Symphony, he suggested that we play something together. I insisted that we wanted him to play something solo. But he continued to press his point. I jokingly said that I didn’t want to play an Albinoni or Vivaldi concerto and would prefer something more interesting and new. Wang replied: “Well then, write something yourself!”
At first I intended to write a “concerto” for the two solo instruments. The more I worked on the composition and gathered materials and ideas, the more I became transfixed with the idea of having a bit more freedom in my writing. I also resolved not to write a very long piece. However, the more I worked and thought of this work as a “Concerto”, the bigger, longer and larger it got. By early November (2011), I had a “Concerto” that was 45 minutes long, with a huge orchestra and a chorus.
I knew that would not work.
So, I started over. In the course of my research, I listened to my favorite Rhapsodies by Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Khachaturian and Ravel. I also listened to the music of my favorite composers—Bach, Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, Benjamin Gutierrez, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives, and Louis Armstrong. I absorbed the great concertos for oboe by Mozart, Strauss, Pasculli and Piazzolla.
After a week of listening and analyzing all of these great works, I came to the conclusion that, although inspired, I was wasting my time. I needed to write something that was uniquely me. So, with my oboe and English horn in hand and my computer, a keyboard and a piano nearby, I started improvising. Two hours later, I had the first sketch of the Rhapsody for Oboe, English Horn and Orchestra. But it was 45 minutes long. For the next two weeks, I worked and reworked the material of this free-form compositional output, and used the materials I had to create the new work you will be listening to tonight.
As you listen to the Rhapsody you will find some of my favorite musical ideas: Polyrhythms, Latin folk melodies, simple harmonies, virtuosic, demanding, yet sustained lyrical passages, silly moments, that are at the same time dramatic and tense. All in all, 15 minutes of fun.
If you are looking for a form, you won’t find it. I purposely let this piece be entirely free of form, with the idea to suggest a coordinated improvisation - something that can be expressive, fun and enthusiastic, full of color changes and character deviations. This is a trio drama and a conversation between three friends: the Oboist, the English Hornist and the Conductor. The orchestra, in this respect, is as active and as important as the soloists. The conductor is the third soloist and the orchestra is the soul of the work. Without the orchestra, we would be listening to a black and white picture of the work. With the orchestra, we hear the conversation of the three friends and feel their souls in full color.
This Rhapsody is dedicated to Liang Wang, Jon Roberson and the Redlands Symphony.
I hope you enjoy it.
by Francisco Castillo
Concert Performance
Orchestration
Solo oboe, solo English horn, 1 piccolo, 1 flute, 1 clarinet, 1 bass clarinet, 1 bassoon, 1 contrabassoon, 2 horns, timpani, percussion, strings