Goossens Family Collection
A tribute to one of this country’s greatest musicians and one of the world’s finest oboists, heard in some enchanting miniatures
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Max Saunders, Herbert Hughes, Johann Sebastian Bach, William Boyce, Walter Kendall Stanton, Alan Richardson, Gerald (Raphael) Finzi, Thomas Frederick Dunhill, Thomas Pitfield, Michael Krein, Edward Elgar, John Morgan Nicholas, J.P. Somers-Cocks, George Henschel
Label: Enchant
Magazine Review Date: 12/2000
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 61
Catalogue Number: CHAN7132

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Easter Oratorio, Movement: Sinfonia |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Fitzwilliam Quartet Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Léon Goossens, Oboe |
Matelotte |
William Boyce, Composer
David Lloyd, Piano Léon Goossens, Oboe William Boyce, Composer |
Three Short Pieces |
Thomas Frederick Dunhill, Composer
David Lloyd, Piano Léon Goossens, Oboe Thomas Frederick Dunhill, Composer |
Soliloquy |
Edward Elgar, Composer
Bournemouth Sinfonietta Edward Elgar, Composer Léon Goossens, Oboe Norman Del Mar, Conductor |
Interlude |
Gerald (Raphael) Finzi, Composer
Fitzwilliam Quartet Gerald (Raphael) Finzi, Composer Léon Goossens, Oboe |
Shepherd's Lament |
George Henschel, Composer
David Lloyd, Piano George Henschel, Composer Léon Goossens, Oboe |
(The) Bard of Armagh |
Herbert Hughes, Composer
David Lloyd, Piano Herbert Hughes, Composer Léon Goossens, Oboe |
Serenade for Oboe and Two Harps |
Michael Krein, Composer
Léon Goossens, Oboe Marie Goossens, Harp Michael Krein, Composer Sidonie Goossens, Harp |
Melody |
John Morgan Nicholas, Composer
John Morgan Nicholas, Composer Léon Goossens, Oboe Marie Goossens, Harp Sidonie Goossens, Harp |
Rondo lirico |
Thomas Pitfield, Composer
David Lloyd, Piano Léon Goossens, Oboe Thomas Pitfield, Composer |
Scherzino |
Alan Richardson, Composer
Alan Richardson, Composer David Lloyd, Piano Léon Goossens, Oboe |
(A) Cotswold Pastoral |
Max Saunders, Composer
Fitzwilliam Quartet Léon Goossens, Oboe Max Saunders, Composer |
(3) Sketches |
J.P. Somers-Cocks, Composer
David Lloyd, Piano J.P. Somers-Cocks, Composer Léon Goossens, Oboe |
(2) Pieces |
Walter Kendall Stanton, Composer
David Lloyd, Piano Léon Goossens, Oboe Walter Kendall Stanton, Composer |
Author: Edward Greenfield
Melvin Harris’s essay puts admirably in context the place of Leon Goossens’ style and technique in the development of oboe-playing in Britain, emphasising how this collection of short oboe pieces, many originally written for Goossens, represents a personal triumph. In June 1962, just after he had recorded the Bach Double Concerto, BWV1060, with Yehudi Menuhin for EMI (11/95) – a classic recording – he was injured in a car-crash which seriously damaged the muscles around his mouth, vital for any wind-player.
It was both a medical marvel and a tribute to Goossens’ will-power that he ever played again, and this collection bears formidable witness to that triumph. Though the technical facility may not be quite the same as earlier, the warmth of tone and the ability to charm are undiminished. That he was in his late seventies at the time only adds to the marvel.
No dates are given, but Brian Couzens made these recordings even before he founded his own Chandos label. All but the Elgar Soliloquy appeared on an RCA LP in the late ’70s. The Soliloquy – the one movement Elgar completed (in short score) of an oboe suite for Goossens – was included both on LP and CD in a Chandos collection of shorter Elgar pieces.
I especially welcome the collection when so many of the items are unique recordings, most of the composers being seriously under- represented in the catalogue. One of the exceptions is Finzi, whose beautiful Interlude is the most extended piece here, superbly played by the Fitzwilliam Quartet, with contrasted sections covering a wide emotional range. All items earn their place, but I am particularly glad to have the carefree little Rondo by Thomas Pitfield with its witty pay-off. Teacher of John McCabe among others, Pitfield, who died last year, is a composer who deserves a disc to himself.
The performance of the Bach Sinfonia may seem old-fashioned played with such expressive warmth, and no source is given for the jaunty Boyce hornpipe, Matelotte, but those are niggling points. Charm is the key to the whole collection, and I welcome the arrival on CD of such an illuminating portrait of a great artist too little represented on disc.'
Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music.

Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £8.75 / month
Subscribe
Gramophone Full Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £11.00 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.