The Lake Effect Winds
Program notes for Civic Morning Musicals concert - April 29, 2023
Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) Cádiz, from Suite Española (1886-1889), arr. Sjoerd van der Veen
Isaac Albéniz has been described as the most famous composer of guitar music who never wrote anything for guitar. A virtuoso pianist, Albéniz wrote Cádiz as part of Suite Española for piano. But in these pieces, he pays homage to the traditions of Spanish guitar music; so much so that guitar transcriptions are more commonly played than are the originals. In this arrangement for wind quintet, you will hear the bassoon downbeats and the light arpeggios of the clarinet producing a background in the style of a guitar accompaniment.
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) Kleine Kammermusik (1922)
Paul Hindemith's Kleine Kammermusik is at the heart of the wind quintet literature. We have incorporated it in our program in recognition of the centenary of its composition and publication. (A year late because of COVID delays.)
The quintet is full of humor in its first two movements. The crazy opening melody in the clarinet has used all twelve notes of the scale within a few bars and extends over two octaves in range; but this music is characterized by shifting tonality and polytonality, not atonality. The second movement is in the style of a gentle Ländler (a folk dance).
The much slower third movement begins gently, and it is explicitly marked "nicht scherzando!" when the low flute notes, the clarinet and the muted horn combine in a dark ostinato accompaniment to a haunting melody played by the oboe and then by oboe and bassoon together. The fourth movement (less than a minute long) includes a micro-cadenza for each of the five instruments. (The shortest, for oboe, is less than three seconds long.) This leads immediately into the finale, an exhilarating ride to the conclusion.
Anton Reicha (1720-1836) Adagio (1819)
Composer and flutist Anton Reicha is one of the founders of the wind quintet genre, one of the first composers to combine these instruments together into a varied ensemble. And he made sure to lay a strong foundation, composing 25 multi-movement quintets and several additional works, such as the adagio we are playing on this concert.
This adagio features the English horn in place of oboe. Kathryn Dimmel gets a wonderful sound from the instrument, and it will be used again in a movement of the Kibbe quintet at the end of our program. We took the opportunity to program a double dose of English horn. Enjoy!
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Fugue (1742), arr. Patricia DeAngelis
Central New York pianist and teacher Patricia DeAngelis gave us the parts for her lovely arrangement of this Bach fugue. One advantage of hearing a fugue played by an ensemble of instruments with varied tone colors is that it is easier for the ear to pick out the separate lines of the fugue's melody as it moves from one instrument to another. We are delighted to be able to perform this arrangement for you today.
Michael Kibbe (b. 1945) Wind Quintet #4, "American" (1983)
Michael Kibbe is a composer and woodwind instrumentalist living in San Diego. We performed one of his wind quintets at our last CMM concert (2018), and it was very well received and very enjoyable to play. So we looked into his list of quintets and contacted him for advice, getting a quintet that features the English horn (second movement) and that is great fun to play. We think that you will find it great fun to listen to, as well.