Music Chamber

L van Beethoven (1770-1827) Trio in C major, Op.87

Allegro ~ Adagio ~ Menuetto: Allegro molto. Scherzo – Trio ~ Finale: Presto

 

Christopher Ball Four Dances

Lively Dance ~ Lyrical Dance ~ Round Dance ~ Square Dance

 

David Über Suite For Woodwind Trio

Maestoso ~ Poce allegretto ~ Andante

Presto ~ Andante lamentando ~ Allegro moderato

 

Stravinsky Pastorale  Larghetto

 

 

Beethoven wrote a great deal of music for various combinations of wind instruments during his teens and 20s. Some of this was intended for the Bonn court of the Elector Maximilian Franz, who maintained an ensemble of wind players, and some represented Beethoven's attempt in Vienna to teach himself to write idiomatically for winds as he prepared to compose a symphony. But his Trio, Op. 87 comes from a different genre altogether: it was intended for the growing number of amateur performers in Vienna. Beethoven composed the Trio for the unlikely combination of two oboes and English horn in 1794, shortly after his arrival in that city (and he actually wrote another work for this particular combination of players, a set of variations on "Là ci darem la mano" from Don Giovanni). Because amateur performers would gather in unusual permutations of players, this Trio was quickly arranged for many other combinations of instruments: versions exist for two violins and bass line, two flutes and viola, two clarinets and bassoon, as a sonata for violin and piano, and in various piano settings. It was assigned the misleadingly-high opus number of 87, which would seem to place it near the Seventh Symphony; in fact, this music was written before Beethoven had published his Opus 1. It is melodic and agreeable and demands idiomatic playing and a good sense of ensemble from all three players. It is in the four-movement classical form that Beethoven was attempting to master in his early years in Vienna, yet it preserves the pleasing character of the serenade music Mozart and others wrote for lighter occasions over the final decades of the 18th century. Music this friendly and engaging needs little comment or introduction. It has a sonata-form first movement complete with exposition repeat, a lyrical Adagio, and a spirited Menuetto (really a scherzo) that skips along its 3/4 meter - Beethoven appends a brief coda. The finale is full of energy: its main theme appears quietly at first, then grows more animated, and soon the music is flying along on triplet runs that help rush the Trio to its firm close.

 

Christopher Ball has had no fewer than six musical careers, successively as clarinettist, orchestral conductor, recorder player, publisher, arranger and composer, as well as becoming a distinguished and award-winning photographer. He started composing in his teens (there were early pieces for the piano and the clarinet), but like many other composers of his generation he was disillusioned by the William Glock ethos, and felt keenly that the type of modern music that he personally enjoyed was not welcome in the rarefied avant-garde musical climate of the '60s and 70s. It is only in the last fifteen years or so that his flair for composition has blossomed, and he has produced a clutch of works for the recorder that are much loved and have justifiably taken their place in the instrument's repertoire (as well as other chamber and orchestral music). The composer himself explains this gap in his composing activities by pointing out that he was totally involved in the serious "classical" side of music-making and it was only when he realised that other composers had been continuing to write light classical music in a traditional style, aimed at a much wider audience, that the urge to create returned. The Four Dances for wind trio were composed at the suggestion of a former student, and were intended as a companion piece to Malcolm Arnold's Divertimento Op 37. Scored for the same combination of flute, oboe and clarinet they are similarly witty and concise.

 

Pastorale is a song without words written by Igor Stravinsky in 1907. Stravinsky composed the piece at his family's estate in Ustilug, Ukraine, while under the supervision of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and dedicated it to Rimsky-Korsakov's daughter Nadia. The piece was originally scored for soprano and piano, but Stravinsky transcribed it several times over the years for various ensembles.

 

Since their formation in 2010, the Vientos Ensemble have performed at venues around London such as Charlton House, Cheltenham Music festival and St Alfege Church. The group consists of flute, oboe/cor anglais and clarinet/bass clarinet from students currently at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. As a group, their aim is to break boundaries within wind ensemble playing by incorporating the use of electronics in modern contemporary music. They are currently collaborating with several composers at Trinity Laban with the intention of investigating new orchestration for their ensemble, such as wind trio, loop pedal & percussion.