Jean Françaix: Wind Quintets, L'Heure du Berger, Le Gai Paris Prague Wind Quintet

• Jean Françaix (1912 - 1997): Wind Quintet No. 1:
• 1 Françaix: Wind Quintet No. 1: I. Andante tranquillo. Allegro assai 03:59
• 2 Françaix: Wind Quintet No. 1: II. Presto 04:15
• 3 Françaix: Wind Quintet No. 1: III. Tema con variazoni. Andante 06:28
• 4 Françaix: Wind Quintet No. 1: IV. Tempo di Marcia Francese 04:05
• L'Heure du Berger, Suite for Wind Quintet and Piano:
• 5 Françaix: L'Heure du Berger, Suite for Wind Quintet and Piano: I. Les vieux beaux - Moderato 02:09
• 6 Françaix: L'Heure du Berger, Suite for Wind Quintet and Piano: II. Pin-up Girls - Andante molto serioso 01:55
• 7 Françaix: L'Heure du Berger, Suite for Wind Quintet and Piano: III. Les petits nerveux - Allegro assai 03:12
• Wind Quintet No. 2:
• 8 Françaix: Wind Quintet No. 2: I. Preludio 01:46
• 9 Françaix: Wind Quintet No. 2: II. Toccata. Allegro 03:33
• 10 Françaix: Wind Quintet No. 2: III. Scherzando 04:48
• 11 Françaix: Wind Quintet No. 2: IV. Andante 03:43
• 12 Françaix: Wind Quintet No. 2: V. Allegrissimo 04:38
• Le Gai Paris:
• 13 Françaix: Le Gai Paris: I. Marche 04:45
• 14 Françaix: Le Gai Paris: II. Valse 01:36
• 15 Françaix: Le Gai Paris: III. Galop 02:41
• Total Runtime 53:33

Info for Jean Françaix: Wind Quintets, L'Heure du Berger, Le Gai Paris

Jean Françaix (1912-1977) leaves the memory of an eclectic musician of refined humanism and bequeathing a considerable output, a true illustration of French classical music. Born in Le Mans into a family of music professional, he is encouraged by Ravel to go to Paris to continue his studies at the Conservatory in the class of Isidor Philipp (a famous Hungarian-born pianist and professor) and studied composition with Nadia Boulanger.

He had made a name for himself on the international scene as of 1932, both as a composer and performer of his own Piano Concertino. Françaix left more than 150 scores which are (too) easily devided into three categories: ‘serious’ music (oratorios, ballets, opera), film and occasional music (for Sacha Guitry and Orson Welles), and finally all the symphonic, chamber and instrumental pieces which have their place in the cultural heritage which stretches from Saint-Saëns to Ravel and is closely akin to similar works by Henri Sauguet, Jacques Ibert or Francis Poulenc. The present programme attests to Françaix’s extreme skill in writing for wind instruments, a trait in common with those predecessors. He strove to be a perfect stylist, a meticulous, classical master using all the possibilities of modern instruments whose potential he knew well in terms of virtuosity, ranges of colors and precision of runs. The search for immediate charm, elegance, caricature and traces of secondary humour, so characteristic of the composer, are not de rigueur here, even if his style is recognisable from the very first bars.

Prague Wind Quintet

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