The Song of Roland – for Oboe and English Horn

Hello everyone,
I'd like to share a recent composition of mine, The Song of Roland, for oboe and English horn.

The piece evokes a medieval atmosphere: slow, melodic, dreamlike and melancholic passages alternate with faster sections characterized by martial affects. Overall, the music is shaped by a sense of grandeur and, at times, dramatic intensity, and is inspired by the medieval epic The Song of Roland.

Here is the link with score:
[YouTube link]

I would be very interested in your impressions — particularly from composers, oboists and other woodwind players.

Score?

You can find the score here:

@Yevgeniy Kazantsev

This is very much a lovely piece of relatable woodwind duo that I can see being performed in many recitals and abound. I mostly appreciate your well-utilized 'echo'-imitative polyphony; as well as your few 'spiced' moments of visiting M2 intervals.

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One point of minor concern that immediately stood out to me is your giving what seems very easily an Oboe II part to the English Horn: with the except of the very end, the range is something that could be achieved on its default Soprano (Oboe).

I usually advise string composers (or composers who include string in their composition; whether it's Quartet, orchestra, small ensemble, etc.) to be sensitive not to write another low Violin part and simply give it to the Viola. Violists will not be happy if you don't regularly visit their C-string; other than their powerful darker Alto intonation, this is the one characteristic that greatly sets them apart from the Violin.

The above advice likewise applies here to the Alto Oboe: English Horn. Be careful that you don't write another Oboe part and simply give it to the English Horn. Under-represented instruments, such as the EH, want their moment to shine; to showcase themselves in those ways that set them apart from their dominant diva counterpart. What sets the EH apart from the Oboe? It reaches an E3 concert-sounding. (I'm confident you're fully aware of this, so I will speak no further about this very point.)

My overall meaning: let the EH access those rich concert-sounding Alto pitches below B-flat-3. They are there because the Oboe cannot access them. Perhaps take some passage 8vb (maybe even 15mb). That would be my only advice; if you were to keep the EH part.