Wind Quintet No. 1

Details

Year: 1976 rev. 1985

Duration: 13'

Instrumentation: fl/ob(ca)/cl/bn/hn

Program Notes

Wind Quintet was composed in 1976 and given its first performance by the group Les Amis de la Musique in June 1977. A revised version was prepared in 1985.

The work is in three movements. The first juxtaposes various combinations of the five instruments and different types of musical material before instrumentation and musical ideas are drawn together in a tranquil conclusion.

The second movement is displays a mood of calm reflectiveness, with a somewhat more agitated middle section.

The final movement begins with great energy, which gradually dissipates until, at the end, the bassoon solo is left to proclaim an isolated fragment.

The reference to the tune “Yankee Doodle” in the final movement refers to the bicentenary of American independence in 1976 and to the American composer Charles Ives, who frequently used quotations of popular tunes in his compositions.

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