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Antoine-Joseph Reicha (1770-1836) published this work, the fourth of his Six Quintuors Op. 100, with the House of Schott [Mainz] in 1824, the plate number being Z 4. 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 A is specified for this work, while the hand-horn player uses the E 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: Adagio [Eighth note=92] (108 is more appropriate); Allegro [Quarter note=138] 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 Eighth note=92 is registered as 0.42 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.”

One might say that Reicha felt more than comfortable with modulation when he composed this movement. There are frequent changes of key signature which signal new tonalities; but more surprising are the modulations which occur without warning in Theme 1. The movement begins as the preceding three in the Op. 100, that is, with a slow introduction, before moving on to a substantial sonata form. For most part, this is a very relaxed movement, the sound being very akin to that of Reicha’s great contemporary, Franz Schubert; but it is laid out in Reicha’s special format wherein the Exposition is followed by the Development/Recapitulation. The latter part is quite difficult to follow until the tonic is reached, in which case Theme 2, its five closing themes, and Theme 4 [originally heard in the relative major during the exposition] are sounded once again. Then Reicha twice alternates Theme 2 with Theme 4. After this, Theme 1 sounds in full, followed by closing material and a final sounding of Theme 4.

Second Movement
Metronomic markings are as follows: Andante con variazioni [Eighth note=104]

This is the first complete set of‘solo’ variations to be met with in the 24 quintets, so its appearance here is to be considered quite special. The movement is set in the subdominant of E minor, A Major. A short theme in rounded binary form, with repeat signs for each section, is the basis of six variations shared among the instruments as follows:

Theme: Oboe
Variation 1: Bassoon: triplets
Ritornello
Variation 2: Horn: dotted rhythm
Variation 3: Minore: Oboe: quadruplets
Variation 4: Theme: Flute
Variation 5: Clarinet: quadruplets
Ritornello
Variation 6: Flute: quadruplets & octuplets
Ritornello

Third Movement
Metronomic markings are as follows: Minuetto. Allegro vivo [Dotted half note=104]

Once again, a lack of repeat marks indicates that this scherzo will be something special. And to be sure it is, for the structure resembles that of the scherzo in Quintet No. 1 of the Op. 100 where the movement was built up from several discrete thematic entities to produce a rondeau. Here, though, Reicha constructs a sonata form with exposition and development/recapitulation. Of its five themes, Theme 1 has a Slavic quality, not unlike the style Dvorak would use several years later.

In addition, the appearance of a plethora of key signatures links this movement to the first. Here the diversity is unusual: E minor, Bb major, C# major, and E major follow one upon the other during the opening of the development/recapitulation. The first two keys are a tritone apart, while the next three are separated from one another by a minor 3rd. The resulting key signatures in the transposing instruments, clarinet in A and horn crooked in E, are just as awesome as those in the flute, oboe, and bassoon: for example, at Bb major the A clarinet is in Db major, while the horn crooked in E finds itself in Gb major!

Fourth Movement
Metronomic markings are as follows: Finale. Allegro vivo [Half note=112]

Once again, we meet a sonata form with a multiplicity of key signature changes. And to be sure, it is another of Reicha’s unique constructions in which the exposition is followed by a development/recapitulation. At one point in the second section, the tonic, E minor, is followed by D major, F# Major, and B Minor; the latter two circumscribe third relationships above and below D Major, which, in itself is V of III, quite a distance from the tonic! The writing is brilliant for all.