Elgar: Complete Works For Wind Quintet / Athena Ensemble

$21.99
Label
Chandos
Release Date
March 1, 2006
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      ELGAR, EDWARD
    • ORCHESTRA / ENSEMBLE
      Athena Ensemble
    • PERFORMER
      ATHENA ENSEMBLE
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      March 01, 2006
    • UPC
      095115243329
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      CHAN 241-33
    • LABEL
      Chandos
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      2
    • GENRE
      Chamber Music & Recitals
    Works ⌄

    1. I. Allegro moderato, "The Mission"

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    2. II. Menuetto - Trio

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    3. III. Andante, "Noah's Ark"

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    4. IV. Finale

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    5. Intermezzo No. 1. Allegro moderato, "The Farmyard"

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    6. Intermezzo No. 2. Adagio, "Mrs and Miss Howell"

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    7. Intermezzo No. 3. Allegretto, "Nancy"

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    8. Intermezzo No. 4. Andante con moto

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    9. Intermezzo No. 5. Allegretto

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    10. Harmony Music No. 1

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    11. Adagio cantabile, "Mrs Winslow’s Soothing Syrup"

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    12. Andante con variazioni, "Evesham Andante"

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    13. No. 1. Moderato e molto maestoso

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    14. No. 2. Moderato, "Madame Taussaud's"

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    15. No. 3. Presto

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    16. No. 4. Andante, "Somniferous"

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    17. No. 5. Allegro molto

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    18. No. 6. Allegro maestoso, "Hell and Tommy"

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    19. Harmony Music No. 2

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    20. Harmony Music No. 4, "The Farmyard"

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    21. No. 1. Menuetto

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    22. No. 2. Gavotte, "Alphonsa"

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    23. No. 3. Sarabande

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    24. No. 4. Gigue

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble

    25. Harmony Music No. 3 (fragment)

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Athena Ensemble


This music could be called pre-Elgarian, since it was composed between 1878 and 1879, well before this late-bloomer had begun to find his distinctive voice. It was designed for a specific group of friends who joined together in an ensemble that was off kilter both in terms of its makeup (two flutes, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon) and in terms of its varying skills (the clarinetist was apparently less fluent than the flutists, while the bassoonist—the composer himself—was just beginning to master the instrument). It was penned under less-than-ideal circumstances, too: according to Jerrold Northrop Moore, cited in Noël Goodwin’s informative notes, the young church-organist composer tossed off much of this music during Sunday sermons.

All of this is apt to seem inauspicious, especially for those who don’t much care even for such “important” early works as the Bavarian Dances or for those who don’t like Elgar’s miniatures more generally. Rest assured: there may be nothing even faintly characteristic of the composer here, but the music is consistently captivating in a way that may bring the wind versions of Rossini’s String Sonatas to mind. No profundity, no sentimentality, no significant aesthetic aspirations, no formal challenges, no real attempt to engage the listener on any but the most superficial level: next to this, even the sunnier moments of the Dvo?ák Wind Serenade seem both monumental and avant-garde. But in its bursts of wit and in its unflagging and self-confident optimism, Elgar’s egregiously old-fashioned tidbits will surely brighten your brunch. These spirited performances, by the players who introduced the music to the wider public, have been staples of the Chandos catalog for years—and for good reason. If you’ve missed them in their earlier incarnations, now is a good time to make their acquaintance.

FANFARE: Peter J. Rabinowitz