Wind Quintet

Nielsen originally conceived his Wind Quintet as a creative holiday from the colossal labour of his Fifth Symphony (1921-22), but soon the music was taking on a life and purpose of its own. Apparently, Nielsen was talking on the phone to a member of the Copenhagen Wind Quintet, half-listening to the others rehearsing in the background, when it occurred to him that he could write a quintet in which the instruments discuss, tease, argue and finally agree with each other, just like his five musician friends. The result is one of the most joyous, charming things in the wind chamber repertory, gentler than any of Nielsen’s symphonic masterpieces but, in its seemingly modest way, just as remarkable. The Quintet begins with a relaxed “Allegro”, in which the instruments introduce themselves, jostle for attention, and finally settle more or less comfortably. Mozartian poise and homely Danish folk music get on surprisingly well in the following “Menuet”. The mood darkens for the astringent, melancholy “Praeludium”, in which the oboe is temporarily replaced by a keening cor anglais. After this, the finale brings a sequence of variations on a Lutheran-style hymn tune (Nielsen’s own composition), in which the instruments take turns to analyse, play with, finally even dismember the tune. Then, in a fascinating pre-echo of the Danish film Babette’s Feast, order is restored touchingly as the five warring voices combine to sing the hymn once again.