J.C. Bach - Quintet in C major, Op. 11 No. 1

Johann Christian Bach (1735-1781) Quintet for flute, oboe, violin, viola & continuo in C major, Op. 11 No. 1 (1774) 00:00 - Allegretto 07:57 - Andantino 13:04 - Menuetto con variatione Flute - Lisa Beznosiuk Oboe - David Reichenberg Violin - Simon Standage Viola - Trevor Jones Continuo (square piano) - Trevor Pinnock (1988) "The spacious Allegretto first movement of the Quintet in C major op. 11 no. 1 contains a wealth of delightful interplay among all the melodic instruments. In the secondary material, Bach introduces his favorite device of imitative entries, which, as usual, peter out after only a few bars. In galant music of this type strict counterpoint has no place, but Bach often includes short passages of imitation as decoration or to increase tension. In the Andantino, the instruments are paired off more systematically than in the first movement: flute with oboe, and violin with viola. The operatic duet is never far away. For example, at the beginning, the sustained melodies in the woodwind soar over a lapping string accompaniment. The theme of the finale movement, a Menuetto con variatione, is apparently bland and conventional, but the variations produce a few surprises. The first offers the oboe an expansive solo; this is balanced by a fiery flute solo in the third. The second variation, in C minor and marked pianissimo, is the most interesting. There, we get a glimpse of Mozart: the sequence of harmonies in the second half of the variation recalls the Minuet of his almost contemporary G minor Symphony K. 183." - Stephen Roe Painting: Weiße Hyacinthe, Margaretha Barbara Dietzsch