Beautiful pieces for wind quintet
The Bergen Wind Quintet has previously recorded works by Barber, Hindemith, Jolivet, Sæverud and Carl Nielsen. This time the high-in-demand quintet has picked works by Jacques Ibert, Anton Reicha, Malcolm Arnold, August Klughardt and, yet again, Harald Sæverud, which consolidate their role as one of Norway´s leading ensembles.
Ibert fostered beauty, and his “Trois pieces brèves”, perhaps his most famous chamber work, displays a composer disseminating music with flowing melody and rhythmical bounce, poetry and satire going hand in hand. Flowing melodies also grace Reicha´s wind quintet, with its simple, clear harmonies and form within an extroverted classical framework. Arnold´s “Three Shanties” is, as the title indicates, based on British folk music, more specifically working songs from the old sailing vessels – arranged in his usual elegant fashion. Klughardt´s wind quintet is a rarity in the romantic-era music – a well-sounding and elegant piece that not surprisingly has found its way into the repertoire of many ensembles. As the album´s finale is Harald Sæverud, one of Norway´s most distinctive composers, and his wind quintet, a work with close ties to the Bergen Wind Quintet: “Actually, the Bergen Wind Quintet was what inspired me to turn in a new direction. My first quintet demonstrated that I was still alive. As the five wind players and I became better acquainted personally, I got the feeling that this helped liven my imagination and give the work its atmosphere of intimacy.”
