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Antoine-Joseph Reicha (1770-1836) published this work, the fifth of his Six Quintuors Op. 100, with the House of Schott [Mainz] in 1824, the plate number being Z 5. 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 in 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.

Clarinets in C and in A are needed for this work, while the hand-horn player uses the D crook exclusively. I have supplied parts for the clarinet in Bb when the C clarinet is specified, and for 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: Lento [Eighth note=80]; Allegro [Half note=100] (72 is more realistic) 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=80 is registered as 0.56 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.”

Reicha begins this quintet as he had the previous four quintets in the Op. 100: a slow introduction leads to an expansive and, in this case, joyful, sonata form. One should not be surprised that the recapitulation begins on Theme 3 in I. This is followed by Themes 1 and 2 in iv and IV respectively. One wonders how the composer will ever return to the tonic; to be sure, this is all part of the‘game’ of sonata form! This movement is one of the finest examples of Reicha’s writing, demonstrating that he is musically a direct descendant of Joseph Haydn, and a worthy contemporary of Franz Schubert.

Second Movement
Metronomic markings are as follows: Andante con variazioni [Quarter note=56]

This is the second set of‘solo’ variations to be met in the Op. 100; the previous quintet, No. 4, also had a similar series. A short theme in binary form, complete with repeat signs for each section, is the basis of six variations in the key of the subdominant shared among the instruments as follows:

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

Third Movement
Metronomic markings are as follows: Minuetto. Allegro vivo [Dotted half note=100] (A bit frantic at 100: 92 is better).

In comparison to the four structurally advanced scherzi that that preceded this one in the Op. 100, this scherzo comes as quite a surprise. Clearly, Reicha has returned to basics here, actually presenting the usual three large sections one associates with the scherzo: Scherzo-Trio-Scherzo. This is capped off with a coda in which Reicha makes use of the material of the Trio.

The tonality of the Trio is unusual: the first part of the binary structure is set in bV; for its repetition, Reicha moves it to V. The second part is placed in a conventional I. Even more interesting in the Trio is Reicha’s employment of several differing key signatures simultaneously. These occur in the 19th-century parts between measures 134 and 157 where the repetition of the first section in V is underway. This is caused by the use of‘extravagant’ modulations which make daring use of the circle of thirds. The first time around the harmonic formula, which utilizes imitative entrances, had been: i, VI, iv, bII = bV of bV; but the second time the same progression becomes: bii, #VI, bv, II = V of V.

Fourth Movement
Metronomic markings are as follows: Finale. Allegro [Half note=100] (88 seems more in keeping with reality).

This finale is another or Reicha’s sonata forms in which the recapitulation also acts as the development. Triplets and dotted rhythms alike are found throughout in the themes which make up the body of this movement, which is a full 604 measures in length. This is a brilliant ending requiring great virtuosity of the flutist in particular.