Moment Musicaux No. 3 F-minor

Moment Musicaux No. 3 F-minor

For Oboe and Piano

In addition to the five original pieces that Freda Swain composed for the oboe, four of which were written between 1963 and 1965, she also arranged two works by other composers for the oboe and piano. One of these is Franz Schubert's well-known Moment Musicaux No. 3 in F minor; the other is an arrangement of two short piano pieces by Stephen Heller.

These oboe pieces are ideal for teaching as they are not too difficult. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to find any information about their history. However, it is possible that Swain met an accomplished amateur oboist and composed the pieces for her/him
Swain arranged the Schubert piece on 23 April 1965, as stated in the manuscript. She stuck very closely to Schubert's original, leaving the key and all the harmonies unchanged. One somewhat strange compositional choice is the doubling of the B-Flat in bars 46 and 50, which does not occur in Schubert's original.

Swain's own subtitle, 'The Patrol', is idiosyncratic, giving Schubert's dance-like piece — which was also marketed as 'Air Russe' by resourceful publishers — a somewhat military flavour. 

Swain's arrangement of this popular Schubert piece is certainly a delightful addition to the teaching and encore repertoire for oboe and piano.