Quintett in Eb (score)

Description

Quintet in Eb Major by Franz Anton Rosetti
Revised and Edited by Don Stewart
Published by Trillenium Music Company
SCORE ONLY – Parts are NOT included.

Instrumentation:
Flute, Oboe, Clarinet in Bb, Horn in F, and Bassoon

Parts can be found here.

In the annals of the Wind Quintet, this work is generally considered the first, or one of the first, in which each of the five instruments has a separate part.  Rosetti (or Rossler; he was from Bohemia) was a respected composer, known to Mozart and Haydn.  He possibly wrote this work in Paris in about 1780 or earlier.  

At a time in musical history when the wind instruments were not as fully developed as they became in the 19th century, Rosetti here has fully exploited the capabilities of his ensemble.  As in many wind works of the time, the oboe is the chief protagonist, yet the flute and clarinet have many rather virtuostic moments.  The horn also is expertly used.  Formally, the composer demonstrates his roots in baroque practice, yet is inventive, with assymetrical phrases, in the new classical manner.  Notice especially the fine rondo-form of the last movement.