Rae, James - Oboe Sonatina

A three movement, quick - slow - quick sonatina for oboe and piano by one of Europe's most published composers of educational music.

As a performer, James Rae has played in many West End and National Theatre productions, played freelance engagements with leading British orchestras and ensembles, and led the Phoenix Saxophone Quartet for a number of years. Most of his composing is directed towards teaching and James Rae is one of Europe's most published writers of educational music with over 120 titles to his name, several of which appear in exam syllabi around the world.

His three movement oboe sonatina of 2007 seems to be a good example of Rae's educational composition. The first two movements comprehensively explore 6/8 time, the first as a brisk Allegro with arppegiated passages alternating with more chromatic writing, and the second as a gentle barcarolle (an imitation of a Venetian 'boat song') at about one third the speed of the first movement. The Finale is a fast moving Toccata in 3/4 time.