Presents
Luigi Boccherini
String Quintet in D Major, 11 No.6, G.276 "Bird Sanctuary"
For 2 Violins, Viola & 2 Cellos
Of the more than 120 string quintets that Boccherini wrote, a set of six published in 1771 contained several of his best known string quintets. The String Quintet in D Major, G.276 or Op.11 No.6, the work number under which it was published, is without doubt one of the best known. That is probably because in it, Boccherini tried to imitate the sounds of the rare and exotic birds in the collection of the Infante of Spain in whose employ Boccherini was. He also attempts to create the sounds of shepherds’ pipes and hunting horns. These effects led to the quintet having the nick name Aviary or Bird Sanctuary. The work opens with an Adagio introduction and immediately the chirping of birds can be heard, and again in the main section Allegro giusto. The second movement, subtitled Shepherds and Hunters is also an Allegro. The third movement is a tempo di Minuetto and the first movement is used as finale.
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) was born in the town of Lucca in northern Italy. He studied cello and became a virtuoso eventually moving to Spain where he took employment with the Spanish royal family for the rest of his life. Boccherini wrote more than 120 string quintets, most for two cellos rather than the usual two violas. Why was that, one might ask. The answer lies in the fact that Boccherini spent more than half his life at the Spanish court in a remote palace where he had but few musicians for whom to write. It explains why so much of his oeuvre is chamber music. Already on the staff of the Spanish Infante when he was hired was the Font family string quartet, a father and three sons. If Boccherini, a cellist, were to take part in the music he wrote, it would have to be a quintet for 2 cellos. It is extraordinary, given that he had no prior example to guide him, how well Boccherini's cello quintets turned out. With two cellos, no one cello has to fulfill the bass line at all times. He then uses this freedom to achieve an extraordinay balance between the instruments with all of the voices having solo opportunities.
Parts: $29.95
