Anton Reicha's Woodwind Quintet in B-flat op. 88 no. 5 [Digital Download]

Éditions Plamondon is proud to launch the first in our Reicha-Urtext series. Anton Reicha (1770-1836) was a pioneer in the genre; alongside Franz Danzi, he was very prolific, writing many of the earliest works for the ensemble and pushed the limits of players’ abilities.

Musicians may be familiar with the op. 88 no. 2 in E-flat, one of the best-loved works in the wind quintet repertoire. He wrote an additional 23 woodwind quintets, and although many have been re-issued by modern publishers throughout the 20^th century, most are out of print.

This new edition of the no.5 in B-flat is a year in the making, and it is an “Urtext” in the tradition of German publishers such as G. Henle Verlag and Bärenreiter. This means that we have taken extreme care to represent the composer’s intentions as accurately as possible with minimal engraver intervention and the utmost editorial transparency. The original works exist as a manuscript penned by Reicha’s copyist Louis-François Dauprat, a uniquely insightful document as Dauprat was also the horn player for the première of these works and a trusted collaborator.

We hope this will be the first step towards reviving many of Reicha’s lesser-known works, as we continue to expand and diversify the repertoire of the woodwind quintet.

Duration: 31 min. (approx.)