Artists : Thalia Ensemble
Genre : Chamber, Romantics
Label: Linn Records
Release: November 2015
This CD is a must have for flute and wind instruments fans. Indeed, all Reicha's recordings are important references for all of us. Antoine Reicha is well known for his 25 wind quintets, although his popularity is highly underrated up to this day. Nevertheless, a revival of his works, from string quartets series to his wind works are positively increasing. The Thalia Ensemble recorded two of his wind quintet selections. First is Wind Quintet in G Major Op.88 No.3 and in B-Flat major Op.100 No.6. Those two quintet are high representative for Reicha's wind quintet works, and must be highly regarded in his day as record said it was frequently performed. As with all Reicha's wind quintets, it's already recorded by Albert-Schweitzer-Quintett few years ago. Of course, as in woodwind realm, the timbre and tonal of instruments alone is too unique and diverse. The fact that the Thalia Ensemble recorded with their outstanding period instrument made this CD an all new listening experience. Not to mentioned the interpretation yet!
The CD comes with important notes by Geoffrey Burgess, some excerpts :
Each of Reicha’s 24 quintets comprises four movements, in the standard Classical formula developed by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. The opening sonata-form movement is preceded by a slow introduction, and usually closes with a substantial coda. The slow movement and minuet (or scherzo) and trio are occasionally reversed in order, and the last movement returns to the vigorous energy of the first, often in a sonata-rondo form. Reicha’s melodic style is Mozartian in flavour, but spiced with subtle chromatic tinges and quirky syncopations.
.........
The horn underwent the greatest changes. The only instrument of the group not strictly a woodwind, it was a regular part of the courtly Harmoniemusik ensembles to which the quintet owed its origins. The natural or hand horn, with its mixture of open and stopped notes, blended well with the woodwind, and was equally adept at melodic and harmonic functions. Because its tone production was based on the harmonic series, it required the most careful treatment. In the first movement of the Quintet in G major, Op. 88 No. 3, for instance, its role is almost exclusively harmonic and supportive until the recapitulation, when Reicha ventures to place it on a more equal footing in the interplay of melodic material among the instruments. - sources
The prize-winning Thalia Ensemble is an inspiring young group excelling in performance on 'period' instruments. This debut recording presents two of Antoine Reicha's opulent wind quintets, recognized across Europe as the pinnacle of their genre and an overnight sensation when they were first performed in Paris in the early nineteenth century.
The band also create promotional video to let us view their recording process and experience:
REICHA, A.: Wind Quintets (Thalia Ensemble)
Wind Quintet in G Major, Op. 88, No. 3
I. Introduction: Lento - Allegro assai 9:37
II. Andante 5:11
III. Minuetto: Allegro vivo 3:23
IV. Finale: Allegro vivace 6:30
Adagio in D Minor 7:02
Wind Quintet in B-Flat Major, Op. 100, No. 6
I. Poco adagio - Allegro 12:40
II. Andante poco adagio 7:23
III. Minuetto: Allegro scherzo 5:30
IV. Finale: Andante - Allegro assai 10:04
The Thalia Ensemle:
Belén Nieto Galán - flute
Sarah Aßmann - oboe, cor anglais
Diederik Ornée - clarinet
Hylke Rozema - natural horn
José Rodrigues Gomes - bassoon
No comments:
Post a Comment