Tarot of Marseilles - Unaccompanied Oboe

for unaccompanied solo oboe

The precise origin of the Tarot is uncertain. Its earliest use for divination appears to have been towards the end of the sixteenth century but a number of single cards showing certain similarities have been preserved dating from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Their origin however seems to be very much earlier and their symbolism has suggested to some writers a date going back to the second century AD in Asia Minor. The present version of the Tarot was probably designed betweeen 1475 and 1550 and redrawn in Eastern France in 1760.

I have been more interested in their archetypal symbolism than in their use for fortune telling and for this reason have used no tempo indications, providing instead a drawing of each card together with a metronome marking to accompany each piece.