CD Release Event
First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who has bought and heard my new CD, and who has called or emailed or "facebooked" to let me know about it. I'm so grateful and so pleased to hear from you - THANK YOU! I'm sharing a few comments here...My friend Dimitri put a great big long comment and review on my previous post about this- and I thought I might share it more widely here because I loved it so:
Finally I received the recording of the oboe pieces performed by my peerless friend Jennet Ingle. These pieces, a delight in themselves in any concert, had been written for other instruments, but Jennet, in a moment, (actually many moments) of creative enthusiasm rearranged them for the oboe. Her own oboe. And she performed them in various venues, and I was fortunate enough to follow their creative evolution from the first performance to the completed CD.After I listened to the recording a couple of times I started, as I had intended, to listen to the music on their original instruments. So I traveled with Debussy to the island of Capri, very popular in his day, where, maybe he saw (and wooed) a girl with flaxen hair and Syrinx! The ancient pipe whose bucolic tunes he successfully recreated. But they sounded so much more natural on Jennet’s oboe; as if they belonged there…But the Mendelssohn violin concerto has a special place in the auditory space of my brain. When I was studying the violin as a young teenager, there was a girl, a couple of years older and much more advanced, who was practicing the concerto opening on her violin. I listened and expressed my admiration at both the piece and her playing. Next time I saw her she was practicing scales but when she saw me she started the Mendelssohn……I heard Jennet play her arrangement for the oboe a couple of times, in a couple of venues. I never cease to marvel, with envy, at the way Jennet tries and succeeds in reaching her desired, combined goal of technique and sonority.I truly enjoyed Bach’s violin sonata VI. All my life I have had a feeling that listening to Bach requires a certain amount of work. I really think, however that this sonata SHOULD have been written for the oboe.The Gershwin preludes brought me back to the familiar realities of the 20eth century.I was very impressed by the high technical quality of the recording. Even though I tried to listen I did n’ t hear any breathing referred to in Jennet’s earlier blog- only my own breath being taken away….Maybe I expected it, sort of, to hear some introductory remarks about the pieces, because I had heard Jennet Ingle do that in live performances before. A bit unconventional but not unheard of.Congratulations Jennet! We truly thank you. You have entered the holy temple. Approach the altar and officiate with Orpheus’ heirloom.
And this lovely note from a customer in California:
Jennet, I am thoroughly enjoying your CD. You’ve captured the notion of music that should have been written for the oboe, and in some cases, could be considered barely playable on the oboe! Or, perhaps put better, playable on the oboe only with a high degree of mastery! I’m so glad you included the Gershwin Preludes and the Ravel — these pieces are approachable by folks like me!
And this Facebook comment:
Loved it, Jennet! Played the CD yesterday! Screech oboe and awesome technique! Learned how to double and triple tongue myself with lots of practice!!
I'm just glowing, folks, I really am.Second of all, let me mention that I still have PLENTY of copies. Do you have oboe-loving friends? Have YOU not ordered your copy yet? You can get it digitally at Amazon and iTunes, and physically from CDBaby and from my own website, jennetingle.com.Third of all, and perhaps most important this week, I'll be playing much of this material LIVE on Monday the 23rd. I'll do a small preview recital at St Mary's College, at noon in the Little Theater, on their Recital Forum series. But then since I'll have the fabulous Paul Hamilton in town and I'll be all warmed up, we'll host a CD Release Party at Merriman's Playhouse that night.Merriman's is at 1211 Mishawaka Ave in South Bend. (You can park in the Farmer's Market lot if the street parking fills up.) Doors open at 7, we'll give a performance at 7:30, and then there will be much mingling, high-fiving, and CD signing to follow. There will be snacks, and wine. There will be CDs available for purchase. This event is open to the public and there is no cover charge. Please come on out and see us! Drag all of your friends! We love the oboe!