Fantasy Suite For Oboe and Piano

Fantasy Suite

For Oboe and Piano

According to the date she wrote under each of the three pieces, Freda Swain composed all three on 17 June 1957 – apparently an extremely productive day in her life!
Unfortunately, the reason for the compositions is not yet known. Having previously written significant pieces for Sigurd Rascher (saxophone) and Frederick Thurston (clarinet), I would guess that the reason for the Fantasy Suite might also have been an interpreter she collaborated with.

As inspired as Swain was when composing the three pieces, she seems to have found it difficult to find suitable titles for them: the entire suite started out as ‘Miniatures’, then ‘Three Fancies’, and finally ended up as ‘Fantasy Suite’. The individual pieces also originally had different names: No. 1 ‘The Green Mound’ was first called ‘A Whisp’, No. 2 “Mist” was initially called ‘A Drift’ by Swain, and the last piece began its life as ‘A Maggot (after Bartok)’.

She seems to have taken the works very seriously, even creating an additional version for oboe and string quartet in 1958. Preparations were also made for publication by Bourne & Co in New York (which apparently never came to fruition – at least, I have been unable to find any evidence of it to date). But even then, the deliberations on the titles still seemed to be ongoing. In a letter dated 14 November 1966, Bourne & Co wrote to Swain: „ Regarding the matter of „Sorry, Mr. Bartok“, this specifically would mean „Pardon“ in the States and since it offers a problem in semantics, I would rather avoid it. After all, my purpose in pursuing this matter is to have the audience here laugh with this jest rather than at it, if you bit. After some thought, there is some small jest inherent in a title such as „Alla Bartok“. If this solution doesn’t suit, then let us just rest with your original title. »
Although short, and without excessive technical hurdles for either player, the works are absolutely on a par with Swain's larger compositions in terms of quality and musical language. 

This delightful set is a fantastic addition to the oboe repertoire and can be used both in concert and in teaching advanced students.