Two Pieces for Solo Oboe (1993-98) 

Ross Edwards writes, 

Two Pieces for Solo Oboe is dedicated to Diana Doherty, who gave the first performance of ‘Yanada’, and the first oboe performance of ‘Ulpirra’ (which was originally conceived as a recorder piece for Jo Dudley) on March 1st 1999 in the Sydney Conservatorium Recital Hall. The titles of both pieces are Aboriginal words. Yanada, from the Sydney language means moon; ulpirra, of unknown origin, means flute or pipe.6 

Yanada and Ulpirra have been published together are a pair of two solo works that follow the same pattern of other Edwards’ multi movement works, one scared movement and one maninya movement. These two compositions work together to cleanse the aural pallet through the sacred Yanada and then uplift the listener with the maninya Ulpirra. While Ulpirra was originally written for recorder the same character and enthusiasm can be conveyed by nearly every woodwind. 

Diana Doherty was born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1966 and began her musical education on multiple instruments, piano, violin, and ultimately oboe. She also studied dance which became a major influence on her musical career. Her ability to simultaneously dance and play has become a prominent feature of her career and features heavily in articles and interviews. To the extent that when Ross Edwards decided to write her a concerto the music is intended to have choreography performed with it. This is but one example of her ability to influence composers with her immense and diverse talents.7 

Yanada, or moon, portrays a scene of serenity and transcendence. The imagery of the moon in Aboriginal mythology is, “The Moon, by contrast, was regarded as male. Because of the association of the lunar cycle with the female menstrual cycle, the Moon was linked with fertility and was accorded great magical status. A solar eclipse was interpreted as the Moon-man uniting with the Sun-woman.”8 Another story explains even more about the Aboriginal understanding of the Moon. 

The Moon, named Ngalindi in the Yolngu language, was a fat lazy man (corresponding to the full Moon) with two wives and two sons, whom he expected to feed and look after him. He became angry with his sons for not sharing their food, and killed them. When his wives found out, they attacked him with their axes, chopping bits off him, giving us the waning Moon. While trying to escape by following the Sun, he climbed a tall tree, but was mortally wounded, and died (the new Moon). After remaining dead for 3 days, he rose again, growing fat and round (the waxing Moon), until, after two weeks his wives attacked him again. To this day, the cycle continues every month.9 

All of this background helped Edwards to create a mood that fits not only the mythology behind the moon but also his own sacred style, characteristically slow, austere, sense of timelessness, and emphasis of silences in particular. 

Yanada is written in a standard ternary form. Each of the three sections is balanced and very nearly symmetrical, and there is a two measure cadential extension at the end of the final A section. The A section is characterized by longer note durations and a limited range. The B section expands the tonal range of the oboe and the melody becomes increasingly more active. Both A and B sections are then divided into two smaller sections, A1 and A2 and B1 and B2 respectively. A breakdown of each section is provided in the table below. 

While Yanada lends itself to being analyzed using traditional Western classical form and harmony, those are not the criteria from which Edwards bases his music. Edwards uses his motives as the foundation of his music. The icons he uses helps to identify the character of a work. As in the Four Bagatelles, Edwards uses a small number of icons repeatedly. Yanada is built upon five icons, numbers 2, 3, 10, 15, 19, and 20. 

Table 8. Icon Definitions from Cooney.10 

Icon 2: Minor ninth or major seventh (inverted form of minor second) 

Icon 3: Dotted rhythmic motif (usually associated with rising major or minor second) 

Icon 10: Augmented fourths and fifths 

Icon 15: Melodic motiv (Falling semitone + falling major third) 

Icon 19: Falling minor second + falling major second (outlining falling minor third) 

Icon 20: Rising minor seventh + falling minor third (“maninya” motif) 

Icons 2, 3, and 19 appear in all three sections, A B A. However, Icon 20 only appears in the B section. This helps to establish the separate character of the A and B sections as well as re-enforce Edwards’ compositional technique of two contrasting ideas now within single movements, sacred and maninya. This is a more compact version of combining the two styles. Icon 20 has been identified as the “maninya” motive which also reinforces the more dancelike character of the contrasting B section as compared to the more sacred A section. This is tied in to the contrast of meters, dynamic, and overall note duration differences between the two sections are illustrated in Table 7. The iterations of the icons are listed below in Table 9. 

Table 9. Icon usage in Yanada. 

Icon 2 mms. 4, 13, 18, 25, 40 

Icon 3 mms. 3, 11, 13, 23, 24, 39, 47, 49, 50 

Icon 10 mms. 1, 33, 50 

Icon 15 mms. 15, 33, 34 

Icon 19 mms. 4, 5, 8, 11, 16, 21, 22, 38, 41 

Icon 20 mms. 40, 44, 46 

The icons, form, meter, and dynamics are all classic examples of ternary form while retaining Edwards own unique voice. 

Example 17. Yanada, mms. 1-8. 

The pedagogical issues facing the performer in Yanada are an extended range (low Bb to high E flat), complex rhythms and meters, and endurance. This movement is over four minutes of continuous playing with very few breaks in which to relax and reset the embouchure. There is also the difficulty of being required to play low Bb’s at a soft dynamic after a rest. This requires the player to have a flexible enough embouchure to allow the reed to vibrate for the low Bb to speak and be controlled, which is typically a more raucous note on the oboe. Then the performer must manipulate the muscles and reed to produce a high E flat in the same phrase without resetting. 

Example 18. Yanada, mms. 16-26. 

Ulpirra, the second of the Two Pieces for Solo Oboe, provides the balance to Yanada’s austere foundation. These two movements combined are a quintessential example of Edwards’ enyato series. Ulpirra, meaning flute or pipe, is playful and spontaneous. The player is even asked to stomp and shout at the end after the final cell is played, highlighting the exciting and spontaneous nature of this movement. 

The formal structure of Ulpirra is ternary, ABA. As demonstrated in Yanada, Edwards attempts to provide a balance between the contrasting sections. The phrases are broken down into three and four measure increments in both the A and B sections. The A section is characterized by forte dynamics, d minor tonality, and a jumpy, dance like quality. The B section, in contrast, is in G major and more melodically driven. See Table 10 below. 

The icons are split between the two sections. Section A contains icons 1, 3, 4, 5, and 20 while section B contains only icons 15 and 19. The smaller number of icons in the B section allows there to be more connective material between the icons producing a more melodic, singing quality. 

Table 10. Icon usage in Ulpirra. 

Section A 

Icon 1: mms. 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 28, 76, 80, 86, 102 

Icon 3: mms. 8, 12, 24, 28, 82, 86 

Icon 4: mms. 17, 91, 98, 102 

Icon 5: mms. 13, 14, 29, 87, 88, 93, 103, 104, 105 

Icon 20: mms. 8, 12, 19, 24, 28, 29, 82, 86, 93, 98, 102, 104, 105 

Section B 

Icon 15: mms. 33, 34, 53, 54 

Icon 19: mms. 35, 40, 46, 49, 57, 60, 66, 69 

The pedagogical and performative challenges for Ulpirra are rhythmic integrity, technical fluidity, endurance, and tuning. The emphasis on middle d and middle c pose the most intonation issues. The rhythms, even without the grace notes, are complex and asymmetrical. In addition, they must be played in an ever-shifting meter shifting between duple, triple, and complex divisions of the beat. The meter alternates between 5/8, 3/8, 2/8, and 2/4. The meter changes require the player to be comfortable with the difficult rhythms to place them accurately. Technical fluidity will assist the performer to manage the overall rhythms and allow the motifs to form an over arching melody rather than simply short, unassociated ideas. The technique and rhythmic integrity can be achieved simultaneously by practicing this movement slower than the indicated quarter note equals 138 and gradually increasing the tempo. 

Example 19. Ulpirra, mms. 54-62. 

Endurance is an issue due to the lack of rests, resulting in no time to allow the embouchure to release and reset. The overall louder dynamics, in this movement, also cause more stress on the embouchure. Slow practice will help to build endurance. As for intonation, middle c and d on the oboe are particularly problematic notes. Middle c can easily be overblown causing the tone to spread and the pitch to vary dramatically and middle d has a tendency to run sharp. 

Example 20. Ulpirra, mms. 1-10.

Both intonation and endurance are intensified by the forte dynamic and faster tempo. The player should be careful to manage the ends of phrases by playing through the last note rather than to the last note. This will help them to end phrases, many of which inconveniently end on a middle c or d, with control and without any change in air pressure causing the pitch to alter dramatically on vulnerable notes. 

6 Ross Edwards, Two Pieces for Solo Oboe (London: Ricordi, 2004).

7 She began her secondary education at the Queensland Conservatorium majoring in both piano and oboe. Shortly thereafter Doherty switched solely to oboe and graduated in 1986 from the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne. She quickly began gaining an international reputation by winning the ABC Instrumental and Vocal Competition in 1985. She was then awarded a grant to study in Zürich with Thomas Indermuhle where she finished her post-graduate diploma in 1989.

After graduating she won the Principal Oboe position with the Symphony Orchestra of Lucerne. She held that position from 1990-1997 until she won the Principal Oboe position with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra where she currently plays. Throughout her career she has given many world premiers, particularly of Australian composers, with numerous solo appearances with major orchestras around the world. She has a reputation of technical fluidity and the ability to incorporate movement into her playing.

8 Roslynn Haynes, “The Sun and the Moon,” Sky and Telescope (September 1997), 72.

9 Ray Norris, “In Search of Aboriginal Astronomy,” Australian Sky & Telescope (March/April 2008), 20.

10 Philip Geoffrey Cooney, “Beyond Sacred and Mainya: Developments in the Music of Ross Edwards between 1991-2001” (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Newcastle, 2003), 54.