The Pacific Arts Woodwind Quintet, faculty ensemble at the University of the Pacific performed a concert of wind chamber music in Faye Spanos Concert Hall on November 4, 2008. Yes, election results were presented to the audience at intervals throughout the evening!
Newest member, bassoonist Nicolasa Kuster, joined the established ensemble of Mathew Krejci – flute, Thomas Nugent – oboe, Patricia Shands – clarinet, Jennie Blomster – horn. Works performed were a sprightly Franz Danzi classical quintet, Samuel Barber’s inimitable Summer Music, a charming woodwind quintet version of Six Cuban Dances by Ignacio Cervantes and John Harbison’s dramatic and acrobatic Quintet.
After presenting a classical introduction with Franz Danzi’s (1763-1826) Op. 56, No. 2 in g minor, the quintet performed the quintessential American woodwind quintet, Barber’s Summer Music. Pulitzer Prize winning Samuel Barber (1910-1981) masterfully crafted this work with romantic structures and sensibilities, creating a gem for the woodwind repertoire. This supremely lyrical, rhythmically complex, and harmonically rich work evokes images of a simpler time: trains in the distance, picnics, lazy afternoons, lemonade sipped in rocking chairs, clanging trolleys, and love.
Ignacio Cervantes (1847-1905) wrote Six Cuban Dances for piano in 1898; they blend the European piano style of Chopin and Liszt with the rhythms and songs of Cervantes’ native Cuba. A charming salon style is the result of this mix and hearing it with the voices of wind instruments is a unique treat. The titles to the dances are: 1. La Tarde Esta Amorosa (How Charming the Evening) 2. Mis Amores (My Loves) 3. Ditirambica (Homage to Bacchus) 4. Tintilla de Rota (The Wine of Rota) 5. No Llores Mas (Weep No Longer) 6. De Mil Amores (With All My Heart)
The concert ended with the famed Harbison Quintet. John Harbison (1938- ), another Pulitzer Prize winning composer, spins a web of timbres, textures, and instrumental characters, mixing the colors of the woodwind instruments and horn in an unparalleled way. This incredible masterwork is considered by many to be the most difficult work for woodwind quintet. The work is certainly an audience favorite, rarely heard in live performance.
