A wind quintet is written for an ensemble of five: a flute, oboe, clarinet, french horn and bassoon. In the 18th century there was demand for a smaller version of the wind octet, and this was the answer. It grew popular in the early 19th century, mainly by the works of Franz Danzi. Although not mentioned on the cover, this recording is done by an ensemble calling itself the Danzi Quintet.
With the rise of romanticism in the second half of the 19th century, its popularity declined. The pieces on display here were written in the 20th century: 1923 and 1957 respectively. The piece by Harrison Birtwistle especially draws my attention, as I don’t know the composer that well (not the piece).
Birtwistle is best known for his operas, along with his rather dramatic approach to the performance of his music. Players play a role in his pieces, telling the story not only in music, but also by their movements, or positions. Stage directions instruct the musicians to leave their seats and stand on the side of the stage, until their role is played.
The Refrains and choruses for wind quintet is Birtwistle’s first published work, his opus 1 if he would use that system at all. In interviews he was claiming he didn’t know what he was doing at the time, but the music itself speaks a different story. Here is a composer that really knows what he was doing, iconoclastic as it might have been for an England that didn’t have much avant-garde music yet.