PDF Files	Finale Files
Score [Legal Size Paper]	download	download
Parts	download	download

Antoine-Joseph Reicha (1770-1836) published this work, the third of his Six Quintuors Op. 91, with the House of Simrock in 1818-1819, the plate number being 1611. Nikolaus Simrock indicates that this is Quintet No. 9 in his series. The quintets themselves are entitled in Italian (Quintetto) within the parts, and in French (Quintuors) on the Frontispiece.

The instruments are given French names on the frontispiece: flûte, hautbois, clarinette,  cor and bassoon; but again, Italian pervades the actual parts: flauto (traverso), oboe, clarinetto, corno, and fagotto. No scores are supplied by Simrock for any of the Op. 91 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 and Bb are specified for this particular composition, while the hand-horn player will use both D and Eb crooks. I have supplied parts in F for each movement in order that the modern horn player might avoid transposition at sight during such a complex work.
The Op. 91 Quintuors are set in the following keys which alternate major with minor works:

No. 1 (7) Ut majeur
No. 2 (8) Là mineur
No. 3 (9) Ré majeur
No. 4 (10) Sol mineur
No. 5 (11) La majeur
No. 6 (12) Ut mineur

In the preface, which is signed by the five members of the original group which played these quintets, it is made clear that these wind players sought, through performing Reicha’s works, to remedy the overwhelming interest awarded to string instruments in chamber music of the day, at the expense of wind ensembles.

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
Following on the heels of solos for oboe, flute, and horn, Reicha gives the flute a substantial cadenza at the close of the slow introduction to this sonata form. These actions set the tone for the overall movement which is homophonic throughout. The 6/8 meter of the sonata form proper, makes the initial movement of this quintet quite different from the two quite masterful ones which preceded it in the Op. 91: the feel is that of a delightful scherzo. So, for the moment, the master of counterpoint sets aside this aspect of his art to create something entirely new. But there are some tricks that Reicha has up his sleeve here: in the development he introduces a new theme (Theme 4) and he includes it in the recapitulation, an unusual move. To make matters even more complicated during the recapitulation, Theme 3, which had been split in two during the exposition to produce the following sequence of ideas: 3a, 3b, 3k1, 3b, 3k2, 3k3, is now laid out in a new order:  3a, 4, 3k1, 3b, 3k2, 4, 3b, 3k4. Maddening, isn't it?

Second Movement
The art of Bel canto is heard to good advantage in this movement. The structure is a very operatic ritornello form with two episodes, the second of which is a recapitulation of the first. During these episodes, the clarinet (in V) and then the horn (in I) ‘cut the caper’ with very intricate subdivisions of the quarter-note tactus. Reicha modifies the ritornello each time it comes around: the central ritornello begins in bIII, while the harmony at the start of the final appearance is enriched. The overall movement itself is set in the key of Eb major. The key relationship to the tonic, D Major, is that of the Neapolitan [a minor 2nd above the tonic] a favorite among composers of the Romantic Era. 

Third Movement
Reicha presents what at first is a rather straightforward scherzo; that is, until he reaches the Trio. At that point, and for the first time in this quintet, Reicha demonstrates his command of imitative counterpoint. Both 'Menuetto' proper and Trio are cast in rounded binary form; the latter is set in the subdominant, and at its completion there is the usual return to the 'Menuetto'.

Fourth Movement
As might be expected in such a light work, a rondo brings up the rear. Reicha includes the added attraction of an ingenious sonata form overlay. His Couplet II and his Refrain IV give the composer ample opportunity to remind us that he was a master of double counterpoint. Perhaps this movement represents the essence of the entire third quintet within the Op. 91: this work was conceived as a lighthearted composition, that everyone would be sure to like at first hearing.

Despite its lightness, the structure of this movement  is complicated because the themes in the tonic associated with the Refrain I (Themes 1 and 2) and the themes in the dominant associated with Couplet I (Themes 3, 4, 4k1, and 4k2) migrate in the final two sections, Couplet III and Refrain IV. In fact, Couplet III includes Themes 2, 1, and 4k2; while Ritornello IV begins like the development, Couplet II, with double counterpoint featuring the primary motives of Themes 1 and 4 and then concludes with Themes 4 and 3. It is almost as if the composer considers everything from Couplet III onwards a development/recapitulation; if so, the structure would read: Refrain I, Couplet I, Refrain II, development/recapitulation.