For experts and amateurs alike, the unique and personal tone colors from the back of the orchestra in the wind section can be among the most memorable and emotionally invigorating aspects of a concert performance. Composers use this palette in very engaging ways – from the lamenting sighs of the bassoon to effervescent bird song on the flute – or vice versa. But what came first – the sounds or the music? What I mean is: have composers always imagined the color palette we associate with wind instruments today? The simple answer is no, and our concept of these sounds keep changing.
The woodwind sound we know and love today began to take shape roughly in 1850 and was fairly well established by the turn of the century (although new and different models continued to be made available until about 1930). This is largely because of the contributions of an instrument maker named Theobald Boehm who led to the implementation of new key systems on oboe, clarinet, flute, and bassoon. His work effectively pushed manufacturers to make instruments that were more even in pitch in all twelve keys and provided easier technical facility by using more automatic key work. His work was one of many efforts to make orchestral instruments that could meet the needs of 19th and 20th century composers and audiences.
Some musicians specialize in the performance of historical woodwind instruments that were used before the widespread reconstruction of woodwind mechanisms. Consider this video published by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Oboist Katharina Spreckelsen explains some of the unique characteristics of the baroque oboe and the way in which the material and keys on an instrument impact its sound. Of similar interest is this article by David Brown detailing some of the differences between wooden key-less flutes and Boehm-system metal flutes.
Now consider in contrast this recording of living oboist Eugene Izotov performing the showpiece “La Favorita” by Antonio Pasculli. As Katharina Spreckelsen mentioned, the addition of keys and the use of a more dense wood in the modern oboe drastically changed the sound and it also made virtuosic showmanship on the oboe possible. Also consider the difference in the way the way the instrument sounds when it articulates – it is a very unique and somewhat jarring sound on the baroque oboe, but the sound of articulation does not stand out on the modern instrument. This allows the instrument to blend in with the string and brass sound of a modern orchestra.
So why does changing woodwind instrument technology matter? Because both the music written today, the people playing it, and the people listening to it have new ideas about what woodwinds can and should sound like. Check out this recording of Chris Fisher-Lochhead’s piece for bassoon called grandFather. The performer is Ben Roidl-Ward. This piece uses a great deal of extended technique, produces sounds that are complex harmonics, uses amplification, and even the sound of breath and shouting. This is a marked departure from the standard range of sounds we expect from a bassoon. We can also hear these characteristics in more subtle and standard ways when we hear “flutter tonguing” or “growling” or pitch bending on woodwind instruments in more mainstream repertoire. For further reading about extended techniques consider this article by Matthew Burtner in New Music Box: Making Noise: Extended Techniques after Experimentalism.
As a result of the new sonic demands, can we expect woodwind instruments to expand their ranges or perhaps have optional built-in amplification output technology? I think it is likely that with new aesthetics we will start making an even wider variety of woodwind instruments for different performance purposes and we will consider new conditions under which to play them.
We should also consider the material with which we make our instruments. Oboes and clarinets are both made from a wood called grenadilla, which is an extremely dense wood that only grows in Africa. As is illustrated in this article, the Mpingo tree from which it grows is endangered and, while supplies dwindle, it has been illegally logged which has serious environmental concerns. While this has long been the choice material among instrument makers, they are also already accustomed to building oboes and clarinets in other mediums like rosewood, rubber, resin, and plastic (although this implies other environmental issues such as reliance on fossil fuels). In fact, synthetically made instruments are in particularly high demand already among young musicians because they are a fraction of the cost of grenadilla instruments. And synthetically produced cork for woodwind instruments is available even at WalMart.
Many people have strong opinions about the sanctity and sound quality of particular woodwind instruments. This leads to consumer brand loyalty and also material divides between different styles of playing. But economic and environmental factors will push us into new territory with the manufacturing of instruments. I think that the musical examples provided above prove that there is a historical, sound-based precedent for altering our instruments and that the next few decades will reveal new timbres made possible by different woodwinds.