Heather Macdonald: That Place, Darling
Heather Macdonald

For her debut album, oboist Heather Macdonald could have presented a set featuring three or four classical concertos; there are, after all, many from which to choose, with Antonio Vivaldi, Ralph Vaughn Williams, Richard Strauss, John Coriglinao, and Jennifer Higdon but a handful of the composers who've written works for the woodwind. Macdonald went in a rather different direction, one that sees the Toronto-based musician coupling newly commissions and classic songs into a distinctively personal package. With guitarist Nathan Corr and pianist Asher Farber joining her, Macdonald's oboe is front and centre, but she also plays ukulele and even, on three songs, sings. While she's no Renée Fleming, Macdonald does personalize the release all the more by adding vocals to the project.

That she found time to create the album is itself an accomplishment, given her packed schedule. In addition to performing as an orchestral and chamber musician in the Toronto region, she's appeared with orchestras across North America, teaches oboe lessons at McMaster University's School of the Arts, delivers master classes, and teaches privately too. Macdonald earned her doctorate at the University of Toronto and also has degrees from the University of Ottawa and the University of Colorado.

The album's framed by two vocal pieces, Louis Jordan's “Is You Is Or Is You Ain't (My Baby)” and Macdonald's own “That Place, Darling.” Jordan's bluesy classic receives a breezy reading that's not without appeal. Her oboe is the first sound on the album, and her clear, precise attack is certainly one of the recording's primary drawing cards. With Corr accompanying, Macdonald delivers a strong, confident vocal that's well-suited to the jazzy swing of the tune. Her versatility as an oboist's also well-accounted for in the authority of her solo. Capping the release on a buoyant, heartwarming note is the romantic valentine “That Place, Darling,” similarly enhanced by an attractive vocal.

Not surprisingly, Macdonald excels in the instrumental contexts. With Farber's sparkling runs rippling alongside her, she illuminates Jhula Jhule by Indian-American composer Reena Esmail with serpentine gestures that intensify the dream-like allure of the piece; at eleven-plus minutes, it features remarkable displays of virtuosity by both musicians. Macdonald's command is further shown by the authority with which she delivers “Autumn Leaves” by American composer and fellow oboist Alyssa Morris. Delivered unaccompanied, the alternately wistful and playful setting comes from Collision Etudes, whose six movements are based on paintings by female American painters, Georgia O'Keeffe the one in this case. Also performed solo is American composer James Pecore's Placid Lake, whose picturesque quality is strengthened by the glissandos and flourishes sprinkled throughout the performance.

Canadian composers are represented on the release as well. On the endearing Theme and Variations on the Night Before Returning Home by Toronto-based jazz artist Chelsea McBride, Macdonald accompanies herself, if I'm not mistaken, on oboe with ukulele. And she pays tribute to Canadian composer Jean Coulthard (1908-2000) with a wonderfully evocative and spirited treatment of Three Nature Sketches from Japan, Farber again providing sterling accompaniment.

If there's a questionable move here, it's in Macdonald's decision to cover Johnny Green's “Body and Soul.” Selecting a song with a less weighty history of landmark treatments might have been a wiser decision, or maybe it's simply that having loved Billie Holiday's indelible rendering of the song for so long it's difficult to hear Macdonald's without it suffering by comparison. In her defence, she does give the song a fresh spin in backing her game vocal with oboe and electric guitar.

April 2024