Clarinet choir
SKU:
P2.30083
Composed by
Ludwig van Beethoven.
Arranged by Lori F.
Ardovino. Chamber music.
Published by Potenza
Music (P2.30083).
Beethoven's
Sextet for Two Horns and
String Quartet, Op. 81b
is a bit of an oddity in
the composer's catalog.
The sextet for the very
old-fashioned
instrumentation of two
horns, two violins, viola
and cello, is especially
rare. The work seems to
have been written around
1795, in the period when
Beethoven was beginning
to make his way in
Viennese society as a
composer and keyboard
virtuoso after a period
of study with Haydn. The
work has the
light-hearted, easy-going
tone of the
serenade/divertimento
tradition, although the
way that Beethoven writes
for the horns makes the
Sextet unusual. In this
work, the horns are
featured, with brilliant
fanfares and technically
challenging passages,
while the four strings
are relegated to a
subsidiary role. In this
arrangement, the Eb
clarinet and a solo Bb
clarinet play the role of
the horns, while the rest
of the choir assume the
position of the string
parts.
