The piccolo oboe, also known as the piccoloboe and historically called an oboe musette (or just musette), is the smallest and highest pitched member of the

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

family. Pitched in E or F above the regular oboe (i.e. notated a minor third or perfect fourth lower than sounding), the piccolo oboe is a sopranino version of the oboe, comparable to the E clarinet. It is most commonly found in early 20th-century marching band music, and the occasional rare chamber music ensembles or contemporary compositions. (Note: This musical instrument should not be confused with the similarly named

musette de cour The musette de cour or baroque musette is a musical instrument of the bagpipe family. Visually, the musette is characterised by the short, cylindrical shuttle-drone and the two chalumeaux. Both the chanters and the drones have a cylindrical b ...

, which is bellows-blown and characterized by a

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

Makers

Piccolo oboes are produced by the French makers

F. Lorée F. Lorée is a manufacturer of double reed musical instruments based in Paris, France. Lorée produces professional-level instruments in the oboe family under the brand ''F. Lorée'' and student-level oboes under the brand ''Cabart''. F. Lorée ...

(pitched in F) and

Marigaux Marigaux, also known as SML (Strasser-Marigaux-Lemaire) is a French manufacturer of high quality woodwind musical instruments. Marigaux is considered one of the world's best oboe-makers. The company has made a line of woodwinds that has also inc ...

(pitched in E♭), as well as the Italian firm

Fratelli Patricola Fratelli Patricola (Patricola Brothers) is an Italian company producing oboes and clarinets since 1976, based in Castelnuovo Scrivia, province of Alessandria. History The brothers Francesco, Pietro and Biagio Patricola, woodwind instrument mak ...

(pitched in E♭). Lorée calls its instrument ''piccolo oboe or oboe musette (in F)'', while Marigaux and Patricola call their instruments simply ''oboe musette''. , a new instrument typically sold for

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

9,000.

Repertoire

The instrument has found the most use in chamber and contemporary music, where it is valued for its unusual tone colour. It is also employed in

double-reed A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. In contrast with a single reed instrument, where the instrument is played by channeling air against one piece of cane which vibrates against the mouthpiece and c ...

ensembles such as Amoris, and in film scoring. Perhaps the best-known pieces requiring piccolo oboe are Solo for Oboe Instruments (1971) and Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra No. 2, both by

Bruno Maderna Bruno Maderna (21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian conductor and composer. Life Maderna was born Bruno Grossato in Venice but later decided to take the name of his mother, Caterina Carolina Maderna.Interview with Maderna‘s th ...

, Vérifications by

Samuel Andreyev Samuel Andreyev (born Samuel Curnoe Andreeff; 15 April 1981) is a Canadian composer, singer-songwriter, poet and educator who has resided in France since 2003. As of 2021, he had completed about 30 works, nearly all of which have been recorded co ...

, and Ar-Loth (1967) by

Paolo Renosto Paolo Renosto (10 October 1935 – 10 February 1988) was an Italian composer, conductor and pianist. Born in Florence, Renosto was educated at the conservatory of his hometown, where he studied piano and composition. He later became a pupil, a ...

. Other contemporary works for the instrument are Scherzo Furioso by

William Blezard William Blezard (10 March 1921 in Padiham, Lancashire – 2 March 2003 in Barnes, London) was a talented pianist and composer who was musical director to Noël Coward, Marlene Dietrich and Joyce Grenfell. Personal life Blezard's parents work ...

, Tasmanian Ants by

Ian Keith Harris Ian Keith Harris (born 24 June 1935) is a composer of classical music, arranger, oboist and music educator from Australia. Biography Ian Keith Harris was bornThe biography is based upon the preface by Jennifer Paull t'Autumnal Interlude'publi ...

, Iberian Improvisations and Bailables by

Leonard Salzedo Leonard Salzedo (24 September 1921 – 6 May 2000) was an English composer and conductor of Spanish descent. Salzedo was born in London. After some early lessons from William Lloyd Webber he went on to study composition under Herbert How ...

, Variations on a Sicilian Shepherd Tune by Clive Strutt. Two concerti have been written featuring the piccolo oboe in addition to the other four members of the oboe family, these works being David Stock's "Oborama" and James Stephenson's "Rituals and Dances," both written for Alex Klein.

References

External links

F. Lorée page with description and photographWIMA scores for oboe family instruments
Single oboes with conical bore {{DoubleReed-instrument-stub

Makers

Repertoire

See also

References

External links