The Oboe in Music

Evelyn Rothwell with the Hallé Orchestra
Another well-known oboe concerto is the Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra in C Major. This piece was initially attributed to Haydn, but this has since been disputed. To this day, there is no definitive answer as to who composed this work. Evelyn Rothwell, later known as Lady Barbirolli, is the soloist in this performance. Listen to the Allegro spiritoso below.

The 1986 film The Mission is one of the most successful Christian films of all time, but it is the soundtrack that is especially well-known to a wider audience. Gabriel’s Oboe is celebrated as an unforgettable oboe melody. Listen to Gabriel’s Oboe performed by the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, conducted by Ennio Morricone.

This game may not have reached widespread recognition outside of the gaming community, but within it, Ori and the Blind Forest is well-known for its gameplay, beautiful digital art, story, and music. Tom Boyd plays the oboe in the full soundtrack, but the pieces “The Waters Cleansed” and “Up the Spirit Caverns Walls” feature oboe solos performed by him.

Malcolm Messiter plays the oboe in this single by Tanita Tikaram, which has never missed an edition of the Top 2000. The song was especially a hit in Germany and Austria, but there's a good chance you're familiar with it as well.

This song fits in two categories for this post. However, since it was a number 1 hit, we’ve placed it under the soundtrack of the movie Watership Down. Art Garfunkel’s song spent five weeks at number 1 in 1979. The oboe solo was performed by Edwin Roxburgh.

Paul McCandless is a gifted multi-instrumentalist and composer, specializing in a wide range of both single- and double-reed instruments, reflecting his foundation in both classical and jazz disciplines. Listen to Antonio Calogero & Paul McCandless on guitar, oboe, and soprano saxophone.