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Antoine-Joseph Reicha (1770-1836) published this work, the third of his Six Quintuors Op. 100, with the House of Schott [Mainz] in 1824, the plate number being Z 3. The Z refers to the original 1820 Chez Zetter [Paris] plates, which had been acquired by Schott.  It so happens that Schott had a Netherlands satellite in Brussels (now in Belgium) and it was the Library Koninklijk Conservatorium - Conservatoire Royal, Brussels from which the parts used to make this modern edition were derived.

The quintets themselves are entitled in Italian (Quintetto) within the parts, but in French (Quintuors) on the Frontispiece. The instruments, too, are given French names on the frontispiece: flûte, hautbois, clarinette, cor and bassoon; but again, Italian pervades the actual parts: flauto, oboe, clarinetto, corno, and fagotto. No scores are supplied by Schott for any of the Op. 100 quintets; in fact, it would have been quite unusual had this been the case. Like madrigals published in the 16th Century, we have‘part-book’ format in use for these works.

Clarinet in Bb is specified for this work, while the hand-horn player uses the Eb crook exclusively. I have supplied parts for the Horn in F in order that modern players might avoid transposition at sight in such a complex work.

The Op. 100 Quintuors are set in the following keys:

No. 1 Fà majeur
No. 2 Ré mineur
No. 3 Mi b majeur
No. 4 Mi mineur
No. 5 La mineur
No. 6 Si b majeur

The original quintet for which this work was composed consisted of the following members:

Joseph Guillou (1787-1853) flute
Gustave Vogt (1781-1870) oboe
Jacques-Jules Bouffil (1783-?) clarinet
Louis-François Dauprat (1781-1868) horn
One Monsieur Henry was the bassoonist in the ensemble.

First Movement
Metronomic markings are as follows: Andante [Quarter note=54] (84 seems right); Allegro poco vivo [Dotted half note=76] Reicha gives an alternative to Maëlzel’s Metronome: utilizing a string at a specific length with a small weight attached to its bottom, the invention is swung to and fro. To this purpose Reicha provides the length of the string in centimeters immediately following the metronomic rubric; for example Quarter note=54 is registered as 1.22 Centimeters.

Scott Ellington adds this valuable information:“The tempo, the way Reicha apparently measured it at one beat in each direction, would be: Tempo = 598/sqrt (l). Tempo is in beats per minute, and l is the length in cm, and sqrt means square root. The lengths designated for the pendulums Reicha used to designate tempos seemed awfully short, so I calculated the lengths.  It turns out the published values should be multiplied by 100, e.g., 99 cm instead of 0.99 cm for 60 beats per minute.  It is also evident that Reicha counted two beats for each complete cycle of the pendulum, one in each direction.”

After a slow introduction, an engaging sonata form gets underway. For a change, this one is notated in¾ with one beat to the measure. Reicha’s motet-style technique is heard at its best in this movement: the themes act as puncta, leading from one into the next almost seamlessly. The composer introduces a new, and very Schubertian, primary theme (Theme 6) at the start of the development. Much is made of this new thematic material as it recycles through the recapitulation and coda. Also noteworthy are the tonalities alloted to Theme 2: in the development #IV; but more surprising: in the exposition bIII! In the recapitulation, Theme 2 is omitted and the order of themes becomes 1, 3, 4, 6, and 5 followed by three tonicising closing themes.

Second Movement
Metronomic markings are as follows: Lento [Quarter note=56] (68 seems more like it).

The slow movement is short funeral march set in the relative minor, and laid out as a rondeau with two thematically identical couplets. Although they use the same motivic material, the latter each develop this material differently; in fact, the first couplet begins in the relative major, while the second starts in the tonic. The meter of this movement is indicated by an alla breve slash through C; but the meaning here is unknown, for the movement sits clearly in 4/4. Lasting a mere 93 measures, this is the shortest slow movement, notation-wise, we have seen in the Reicha quintets of Opp. 91, 99, and 100 thus far. In reality, though, it lasts over five minutes.

Third Movement
Metronomic markings are as follows: Minuetto. Allegro scherzo [Dotted half note=108] (96 will bring it under control).

A lack of repeat marks indicates that this scherzo will be something special. A double bar almost halfway through the movement, makes one wonder if Reicha’s treatment will be the same as he applied in the scherzo in No. 2 of this opus. That is to say, does this double bar delineate the boundary between the scherzo proper and a development section based upon it? Indeed, it is more than that, for this movement is constructed in sonata form. The double bar indicates the start of the development/recapitulation, one of Reicha’s favorite constructions. I will only say that there are six primary themes and a closing theme in the exposition, leaving the solving of the puzzle of  how these are treated in the development/recapitulation to the more intersted students. I will give one clue: in the exposition and recapitulation Themes 3 and 4 are arranged as follows Theme 3-Theme 4-Theme 3.

Fourth Movement
Metronomic markings are as follows: Finale. Allegro [Half note=88]

The finale is yet another of Reicha’s expansive sonata forms: this one includes an exposition of five primary themes [Theme 2 with hocket] and four closing themes, followed by  an outstanding development section which begins in the tonic and with Theme 1! To make up for this indiscretion,  Reicha delays this same theme to a position near the end of the recapitulation. Of course, one could analyze this movement to be yet another of Reicha's 'special' sonata forms in which there are only two sections: exposition and recapitulation/development. Either way, this exciting movement brings a masterful quintet to a musically satisfying close.