Georgia Williams, flute

Karolina Szymanik, oboe

Théo Couillez, clarinet

Nicolas Roudier, horn

Bernat Gili, bassoon

After playing together for many years in larger ensembles, the musicians decided to form “Queentet” in order to explore the lesser known and not often performed wind quintet repertoire of the 19th Century. Often these works have echoes to the earlier Baroque period, whilst containing elements of the Romantic movement later to come. The ensemble performs on original or replica instruments from the time, which gives this particular formation its true blending, nuances and colours.

The members of the Queentet Ensemble are amongst the emerging generation of early music performers, having participated in several projects with renowned orchestras and ensembles in the Netherlands and across Europe such as Collegium Vocale Gent Academy, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Freiburger Barockorchester, Holland Baroque, Haydn Philharmonie, Apollo Ensemble or the Youth European Orchestra Hector Berlioz.

PROGRAM NOTE

Giuseppe Cambini - Quintet No.1 in B flat major

Allegro maestoso

Larghetto cantabile

Rondo. Allegretto grazioso

Anton Reicha - Quintet Op.88 No.5 in B flat major

Andante Cantabile. Allegro non tropo

Andante

Menuetto, Allegro. Trio

Rondeau. Allegro

The quintets by Giuseppe Cambini (1746-1825) are some of the first compositions for the newly found wind-quintet musical form, which were written sometime between 1780 - 1810 and premiered in Paris during the first decade of the century. Cambini was an active composer, musician and talented flutist, which he also wrote a method book for, as well as numerous compositions. The end of his life remains a mystery and research suggests he may well have lived the last years of his life in the Netherlands.

These quintets were later inspirational for Anton Reicha (1770-1836) who wrote 24 wind quintets in Paris between 1810-1820. Reicha succeeded in pushing the boundaries of the wind quintet form much further. The quintets, especially that from the opus. 88, display radical approaches to technical virtuosity, harmony and early-romantic expressionism. The quintets were so popular that they immediately solidified the quintet as musical form and were heard throughout Europe afterwards.