A model of the classical taille

The taille, also called the taille de hautbois or the alto oboe, was a Baroque tenor oboe pitched in F. It had a straight body, an open bell, and two keys.[1]

The instrument was first used in Alcidiane by Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1658 and in French ensembles known as the bandes de hautbois, in which it played the inner lines of polyphonic compositions. J.S. Bach employed it when a low-pitched oboe was needed to double the viola parts in several of his cantatas, but almost exclusively in movements of a jubilant or otherwise loud nature due to its having had a more piercing sound than that of the cor anglais.[2][1][3][4]

Today, the instrument is rare outside period ensembles, and a cor anglais is commonly substituted. However, the period-instrument movement has seen a revival of the taille, with a number of makers now producing reproductions of classic examples.[4]

The term was also later applied to any instrument that played the tenor part in an orchestra, e.g. the tenor viol or viola.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Janet Page; et al. "Oboe". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press.
  2. ↑ Dahlqvist, Reine (May 1973). "Taille, Oboe da Caccia and Corno Inglese". Galpin Society Journal. 26: 58–71. doi:10.2307/841114.
  3. ↑ "The taille (Fr. taille de hautbois, "tenor oboe")... | the leading tone". Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  4. 1 2 "Culturekiosque". Culturekiosque. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
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