Chords for "Le Tombeau de Couperin: Forlane" solo with Eugene Izotov, oboe

_ _ _ _ _ Before I begin playing the second movement of the Tombaul Kupran, the Foklan,
I'm always thinking of the last four notes that the oboe gets to play at the very end of the movement.
_ _ How cute is that?
_ _ So lovely, so charming, and not that difficult unlike the rest of this movement, which is just at times
unflattering and very very difficult.
You get to play in soft dynamics, low register, with very clear articulation.
Difficult stuff, and it's easy to forget that the character of this music is
of a simple folksy dance.
Foklan comes from Fulana.
It's an Italian folk dance, and I think what creates this
motion of simple, charged, ya-ta-ta-TA movement is the 16th note that
absolutely should not be exact, because in this case precision is the enemy of expression.
Think of the 16th note as a
17th note, if you will.
Keep it a little bit closer to the third
eighth note in the first beat, and then when you land on the dotted quarter note on the second beat with a little accent,
make sure that there's
gravity, just like you would land if you're dancing.
Ya-ta-ta-TA.
Again, you don't have to be 100% exact, because the music will continue to flow in this tempo.
It's Allegretto, and if you're going to be too deliberate with the placement of this rhythm,
it will somehow sound too robotic rather than natural.
_ _ [B] _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ [Db] _
_ [Bm] _ _ _ [Gb] _ _ _ [Eb] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[N] In the one excerpt that does show up in a lot of audition lists from this movement, from rehearsal number six until eight with the repeat,
well, that one's very, very difficult, [Eb] because you get to articulate in very [A] low register and a very soft dynamic.
So what helps me to get through this is,
first of all,
[Eb] keeping the energy through the little note, the 16th note, of which I think is a 17th note,
gives me the energy which gives it better support for me when I play this excerpt, hopefully.
Also, when I'm slurring down from B to C sharp, for example,
[F] several times it happens, when you have a real legato in this texture that's very, very [Em] much about articulation,
enjoy the legato, and you can get to the main note a bit stronger, so you can make the diminuendo slightly easier.
_ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _ _ _
[Em] _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ [Db] _ _ _
[E] _ [Gb] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Bm] _ _ [Ab] _ _ _ _
[Gb] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Bm] _ _ _ _
[Gb] _ _ [N] _ _ And finally, if you happen to be playing for a particularly mean audition committee,
they just might ask you to do the solo at 16, and it doesn't matter which part you're playing, first or second,
they're both incredibly difficult.
So there are no shortcuts there.
This is very hard stuff, because you have to play very high and very quietly.
But the only advice that I can give you is the same advice that I give to myself,
which is do not rush through the grace notes, because grace notes should be graceful notes.
And if you make them melodic, all of a sudden they will sound like a
smooth, colorful,
leading tone into the main note, ti-am, ti-am, ti-am, ti-am, and finally,
ti-a-ra-ra-ra.
So this way there will be a certain sense of poise, instead of, oh my [Eb] god,
this is so high, and I just hope all of these notes come out.
I do feel that way, for [E] sure, when I play,
but that's not the effect that you want to create with the committee, [F] and certainly not with the audience.
_ [Bb] _ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ _ _