Jean Dollbell

modern classicalCalming PotFrance

Records

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In the lineage of minimalism · ambient music · folk song · early music

Log

On Humanitarian

Lately everything I write bends back toward humanitarian.

It is modern classical, so nothing hurries — the oboe & orchestra is allowed to just sit in the room.

I hope it meets you somewhere quiet.

The making of “Oboe - Modern Concerto No.3”

There is a single feeling under “Oboe - Modern Concerto No.3”: a long look at the concert form.

Each pass got quieter until only humanitarian was left.

If it slowed you down for forty minutes, it did its job.

“Late Summer Concerto no.22” — a note

There is a single feeling under “Late Summer Concerto no.22”: a long look at the concert form.

The oboe & orchestra found the shape before I did; I stayed out of the way.

If it slowed you down for forty minutes, it did its job.

How “Oboe- Modern Concerto No.3” started

“Oboe- Modern Concerto No.3” began with “oboe- modern concerto no.3” as a phrase before it was a record — a small thing I kept circling.

Between the notes I left in as much the concert form as I could.

If it slowed you down for forty minutes, it did its job.

So much for the intention; the rest is the listener's.

FAQ

Do you take commissions?
Occasionally, for the right project. Enquiries via the label.
Where was this recorded?
In small rooms, close-mic'd. The room is part of the sound; that's deliberate.
Can I use a track in a video / podcast / game?
Get in touch through the label with the details. Small and independent projects are welcome to ask.

Who this is

Orchestral work — concertos, suites, and pieces dedicated to places under threat.

The project situates itself within modern classical: the oboe & orchestra treated less as an instrument than as a thesis, examined across British woodland and humanitarian.

The catalogue — “Late Summer Concerto no.22”, “Oboe - Modern Concerto No.3”, “Oboe- Modern Concerto No.3”, “Paper Planes”, “Philosophy” and more — is best read as a single argument developed record by record.

The instrument

The oboe & orchestra carries everything here; there's nowhere for it to hide.