Dubugnon, Taffanel, Holst and Françaix: Wind Quintets

Featuring

Anissa Baniahmad
Johanna Stier
Nemorino Scheliga
Marc Gruber
Theo Plath
Monet Quintett

Richard Dubugnon
Paul Taffanel
Gustav Holst
Jean Françaix

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Composition History

Paul Taffanel, a French flutist and composer, composed his Quintette pour instruments à vent in 1876 to revive the wind quintet genre, which had fallen into obscurity.

Historical Context

The wind quintet, a combination of flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon, was popular in 18th-century noble courts but declined after the French Revolution.

Composition History

Jean Françaix's Wind Quintet No. 1, written in 1948, was considered technically unplayable for six years until five players from the Orchestre National in Paris performed it in 1954.

Compositional Technique

Taffanel's Quintet was innovative for its time by liberating the horn and bassoon from their typical accompaniment roles, allowing them to participate in melodic events.

Composer Biography

Gustav Holst, mainly known for his orchestral suite The Planets, shows a different side of his artistry in his Wind Quintet, which was rediscovered in 1978 and published by his daughter Imogen.

Compositional Technique

Gustav Holst's Wind Quintet in A Flat Major, Op. 114, composed in 1903, features dense harmonies, warm timbres, and elements like a minuet in canon and chorale-like passages, reflecting his affinity for early music.

Compositional Technique

Richard Dubugnon's Frenglish Suite incorporates influences from English and French composers and uses the melancholic folksong 'Geordie' and the French song 'À la claire fontaine' as melodic material.