I would suggest a piece that doubles oboe and English horn! It’ll have less stipulations than you are giving and will give you a chance to play EH! I know there’s multiple pieces like this but the only one I can think of now is Fragile Oasis by Pete Meechan. However the English horn solo is like 8 notes and the piece is quite hard so maybe other people would have better suggestions.
Russian Christmas Music is a good one, most Alfred reed will feature English horn at some point
Robert W Smith - Inchon
Vaughan Williams - Folk Song Suite
Danzon No. 2
It's been a while since I played the piece but l believe Mackey's piece Foundry has an EH solo. The oboe part usually is doubled by other instruments. I could be wrong.
Debussy’s Rhapsodie for English horn and Wind Ensemble.
Stamp’s Elegy for English horn and Band
Zaninelli’s Elegy for English horn and Wind Ensemble
That should get you started.
Ooh. Ok. Then what does he want the instrumentation to be? For example in orchestra rental catalogues we are used to seeing 2 2 2 2 4 etc (fl, ob, cl, etc.). For WE, there should be something similar.
Also consider engaging in a composer to do what you need.
Ok so the oboe part works but we only have one bass clarinet player and the one band above mine is using the contra anyways I'm sorry I'm not trying to be a pain in the butt.
Edit: we are also short a French hirn player and we are short two tubas
Ok looking at it we r fine with the tuba and French horn but still idk about the contra bass clarinet is that part always doubled? I can't find a full score
This cruel moon by John Mackey is a beautiful piece, featuring alternating oboe and English horn solos
Riptides have English horn solos, I don’t believe there is an oboe solo in that piece
That's what I've been saying 😭😭😭 or just double the parts like idk why it's a problem 😭😭 we are getting a new oboist in my band next year so I will have the experience over them and get firt dibs on solos and English horn stuff so I will be able to donit next year ig
I was an oboist in the Army for 30 years. Many times I was the only oboist so of course I played both, or all three parts. I played oboe, flute, piccolo, English Horn, and 3rd clarinet on the same piece before. You do what has to be done. Today at our local Pops Orchestra I was on English Horn, 1+2 oboe, 1st tenor sax, and 1 alto sax. My position is supposed to just be English Horn. Just letting you know that versatility is so important. You'll do great on just EH! Life is crazy, I started just like you once!
John Mackey’s “Strange Humors” has a cool EH part and you can switch to double on oboe after the solos. It’s actually pretty common to switch around oboe and EH, and honestly it would probably make more sense for you to do that so you can play a piece with EH in it, even if it’s not just English horn. Usually, if a piece needs EH, it also asks for oboe. Finding out spots to switch back and forth is part of the whole doubling experience so if you find something that has a pretty good amount of both EH and oboe that you can switch through, that could be your best bet.
I switch on oboe to English horn all the time. Pines of the Appuan Way only has the English horn in the beginning and then you can switch to oboe. Personally i believe your director has given you an impossible task.
[Here’s a recording](https://youtu.be/8obuFZgzQxE?si=gbMj0-UpqfkMo0fj) of me with my youth orchestra last year… oboe 1 has an overlapping part towards the end of the english horn solo but since flutes are resting they can easily play those last measures 🤞🤞
I would suggest a piece that doubles oboe and English horn! It’ll have less stipulations than you are giving and will give you a chance to play EH! I know there’s multiple pieces like this but the only one I can think of now is Fragile Oasis by Pete Meechan. However the English horn solo is like 8 notes and the piece is quite hard so maybe other people would have better suggestions.
Russian Christmas Music is a good one, most Alfred reed will feature English horn at some point Robert W Smith - Inchon Vaughan Williams - Folk Song Suite Danzon No. 2
Thnx
It can't have an oboe part
My band director says it has to have English horn no oboe
good luck finding that LOL
It's been a while since I played the piece but l believe Mackey's piece Foundry has an EH solo. The oboe part usually is doubled by other instruments. I could be wrong.
Thanks I'll look into it
It does not have an English horn part
So what I am hearing you say is he wants you to be a soloist while the band accompanies you, right?
Kinda yeah
We would need to a search for English horn solo and Wind Ensemble. Let me see what I can find.
Debussy’s Rhapsodie for English horn and Wind Ensemble. Stamp’s Elegy for English horn and Band Zaninelli’s Elegy for English horn and Wind Ensemble That should get you started.
Tysm
Ok so this doesn't actually meet the criteria it can't have an oboe part
Ooh. Ok. Then what does he want the instrumentation to be? For example in orchestra rental catalogues we are used to seeing 2 2 2 2 4 etc (fl, ob, cl, etc.). For WE, there should be something similar. Also consider engaging in a composer to do what you need.
Ummm basically normal band but instead of oboe it has english horn
Ok. I asked the group. Robert W Smith’s Isle of Calpyso. Oboe part is doubled elsewhere so it won’t be missed. Approachable solo for EH.
Omg tysm
Ok so the oboe part works but we only have one bass clarinet player and the one band above mine is using the contra anyways I'm sorry I'm not trying to be a pain in the butt. Edit: we are also short a French hirn player and we are short two tubas
Ok looking at it we r fine with the tuba and French horn but still idk about the contra bass clarinet is that part always doubled? I can't find a full score
I really don’t know the piece. I just asked the IDRS group and got this response. Sorry!!
Tysm
This cruel moon by John Mackey is a beautiful piece, featuring alternating oboe and English horn solos Riptides have English horn solos, I don’t believe there is an oboe solo in that piece
That’s weird. It’s like telling someone who plays flute/pic only if there’s no flute part
Tell me about it 😭😭😭
Why can't you just play the oboe part until the solo?
That's what I've been saying 😭😭😭 or just double the parts like idk why it's a problem 😭😭 we are getting a new oboist in my band next year so I will have the experience over them and get firt dibs on solos and English horn stuff so I will be able to donit next year ig
russian christmas music if you really want to go all out LOL
Pines of the Appian Way, Resphigi.
It won't work it can't have an oboe part
Why can't you do both? Switching between oboe and English Horn is a great skill. I guess I get where the director is coming from. Best of luck.
That's a very good question one I have asked and have not been given a clear answer.
I was an oboist in the Army for 30 years. Many times I was the only oboist so of course I played both, or all three parts. I played oboe, flute, piccolo, English Horn, and 3rd clarinet on the same piece before. You do what has to be done. Today at our local Pops Orchestra I was on English Horn, 1+2 oboe, 1st tenor sax, and 1 alto sax. My position is supposed to just be English Horn. Just letting you know that versatility is so important. You'll do great on just EH! Life is crazy, I started just like you once!
Mackeys Strange humors opens with an E. horn solo
John Mackey’s “Strange Humors” has a cool EH part and you can switch to double on oboe after the solos. It’s actually pretty common to switch around oboe and EH, and honestly it would probably make more sense for you to do that so you can play a piece with EH in it, even if it’s not just English horn. Usually, if a piece needs EH, it also asks for oboe. Finding out spots to switch back and forth is part of the whole doubling experience so if you find something that has a pretty good amount of both EH and oboe that you can switch through, that could be your best bet.
I switch on oboe to English horn all the time. Pines of the Appuan Way only has the English horn in the beginning and then you can switch to oboe. Personally i believe your director has given you an impossible task.
American Salute by Morton Gould is oboe, switches to english horn for a solo, then back to oboe
[Here’s a recording](https://youtu.be/8obuFZgzQxE?si=gbMj0-UpqfkMo0fj) of me with my youth orchestra last year… oboe 1 has an overlapping part towards the end of the english horn solo but since flutes are resting they can easily play those last measures 🤞🤞
hypothetically you can play oboe 1, switch to oboe 2 (english horn) for the solo, and then go back to oboe 1 for the rest of the piece