François Meyer, the oboist, premiered Keith Jarrett's Adagio for Oboe and Strings in France and is a member of the Vents Français, an association of leading French wind instrumentalists.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Monaco between February 17 and 21, 2019, using Neumann microphones.
Performer Biography
Jean-Christophe Aurnague, the organist, is the author of numerous organ works and has released two previous albums: Ilbarritz, impressions romanesques (2015) and Monte-Carl'toccatas (2018).
Composer's Artistic Vision
The album explores the idea that the oboe, with its rich sound and variety of timbres, is perfectly suited to the romantic character, excelling in pastoral, melancholic, and dreamlike roles.
Compositional Technique
Many organ works from the Romantic period often assign the thematic melody (the 'narrative') to reed-stops, particularly the oboe-stops, making them suitable for direct performance on the oboe.
Instruments
The organ used for this recording, installed in 2016, is a Brondino Vegezzi-Bossi instrument from Turin with 3 keyboards and 30 stops, designed with a romantic-symphonic aesthetic.
Interpretation
The performers, François Meyer (oboe) and Jean-Christophe Aurnague (organ), adapted works originally written for solo organ into dialogues for oboe and organ, aiming for a fusion of the two instruments.
