Léon Goossens and the Oboe Quintets of Arnold Bax (1922) and Arthur Bliss (1927)

Abstract

Léon Goossens’s virtuosity, musicality, and developments in playing the oboe expressively earned him a reputation as one of history’s finest oboists. His artistry and tone inspired British composers in the early twentieth century to consider the oboe a viable solo instrument once again. Goossens became a very popular and influential figure among composers, and many works are dedicated to him. His interest in having new music written for oboe and strings led to several prominent pieces, the earliest among them being the oboe quintets of Arnold Bax (1922) and Arthur Bliss (1927). Bax’s music is strongly influenced by German romanticism and the music of Edward Elgar. This led critics to describe his music as old-fashioned and out of touch, as it was not intellectual enough for critics, nor was it aesthetically pleasing to the masses. His obsession with the poetry of William Butler Yeats led him to discover his true love for Ireland and Celtic culture, and inspired him to include Irish-like folk melodies of his own creation in the piece. His Quintet written for Goossens has its critics, but remains a staple of the oboe literature. Arthur Bliss’s relationship with Goossens began after Bliss met Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge during a visit to the United States. It was during this time that she commissioned Bliss to write his Quintet for Oboe and Strings. As a soldier in the trenches during the Great War, Bliss learned to appreciate beauty in the smallest things, as they could be taken away in an instant. Bliss was considered more of a modernist than Bax, but he was able to write modern music with more pleasant romantic touches. Bliss’s wide range of textures and effects, long melodies, and the clever inclusion of an Irish jig made for a challenging piece worthy of Goossens’s talent.