Dolci Show #42: Bill Douglas' Third Oboe Sonata

Sonata #3 for Oboe and Piano (2021)                                            Bill Douglas (1944-)

1. Cantando 
2. Pastorale 
3. Chick: Hommage to Chick Corea 

Bill Douglas is a Canadian-born bassoonist, pianist and composer who  lives in Boulder, Colorado. He has toured and recorded with the clarinetist Richard Stoltzman since they met in college (Yale, class of 1969). Douglas has written that “(his) basic philosophy of music is that it can be helpful to the world. It can evoke such positive emotions as compassion, tenderness, strength, nobility, upliftedness, and joy.”

Bill Douglas provided a performance note: “Do not swing any of this music. Always sing expressively with long, expansive phrasing. Feel free to change slurs, particularly awkward downward ones, in order to make passages easier.” Thanks, Bill. That helped. 

This recording is  unedited,  including two squeaks from the oboe and Viva's satisfied chuckle at the end.

Scores and recordings of Bill Douglas’ work, including a wonderful CD of vocal rhythm exercises, are available at https://billdouglas.cc. His extensive output of compositions  which feature  oboe, English horn or bassoon is published by TrevcoMusic.com.

photo by Fran Hodes, 2023