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Quiz about Music for Chamber Wind Ensemble
Quiz about Music for Chamber Wind Ensemble

Music for Chamber Wind Ensemble Quiz


Welcome to the colorful world of the chamber wind ensemble! From Baroque to Modern, we will explore composers, genres, and pieces from this beautiful and highly listenable repertoire. Note: the word "horn" in this quiz refers to the French horn.

A multiple-choice quiz by celicadriver. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
celicadriver
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
363,181
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
190
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. An 18th-century military band would likely have included pairs of oboes, horns, and bassoons. Having received much more recognition for his oratorios, operas, concerti, and sonatas, what German-English composer wrote two arias for the ensemble described above? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. "On the page it looked like nothing. The beginning simple, almost comic. Just a pulse: bassoons and basset horns, like a rusty squeezebox." The character Salieri speaks these lines in which movie? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Outdoor and night music played by wind octets was a delightful source of entertainment for numerous German- and Czech-speaking courts and communities in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Who was NOT a composer of this type of music? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Lacking the power of projection of other woodwinds, the flute was often neglected in earlier works for small wind ensemble. One composer, however, graced us with a set of wind quartets that used a flute in place of the oboe. Who was this man, who also wrote such operatic smash hits as "William Tell," "The Barber of Seville," and "The Thieving Magpie"? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. The woodwind quintet is now a standard ensemble composed of one each of flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon. Numerous composers from the 19th century forward have given us a wide range of works for this versatile, colorful ensemble. Who is considered one of the pioneers of wind quintet music? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Chamber music of the Romantic period heavily emphasized strings and the piano, but one prolific man penned an exquisite serenade for nine wind instruments plus bass parts. Who was this Czech master of "New World Symphony" renown? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Over the long span of his career, one composer experimented with larger wind ensembles. Not properly called a concert band, as the performance forces do not call for trumpets, trombones, saxophones, or percussion, one may still consider these pieces part of the chamber wind music canon. Sharing the same family name with a certain "Waltz King," what composer wrote these expansive wind symphonies? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. What French composer wrote "La Cheminée du Roi René," a suite for wind quintet, for a 1939 film? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. British composer Malcom Arnold's three _____ for woodwind quintet are captivating transformations of the sailing songs "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?," "Boney was a warrior," and "Johnny come down to Hilo." What nautical music word belongs in the blank? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. All of these gentlemen composed music for woodwind quintet in the 20th century, but who is the odd one out in terms of national origin? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. An 18th-century military band would likely have included pairs of oboes, horns, and bassoons. Having received much more recognition for his oratorios, operas, concerti, and sonatas, what German-English composer wrote two arias for the ensemble described above?

Answer: George Frideric Handel

Much wind music (and instrumental music in general) has its roots in outdoor music for marching, dancing, and signaling (mail delivery, battle, hunting). Mr. Handel brought wind music indoors with his two arias, possibly composed around 1720.

Source recording: The Academy of Ancient Music led by Christopher Hogwood, "Handel: Water Music and The Musick for the Royal Fireworks" on Éditions de L'Oiseau-Lyre.
2. "On the page it looked like nothing. The beginning simple, almost comic. Just a pulse: bassoons and basset horns, like a rusty squeezebox." The character Salieri speaks these lines in which movie?

Answer: Amadeus

Salieri continues: "Then suddenly: high above it, an oboe, a single note, hanging there unwavering, till a clarinet took over and sweetened it into a phrase of such delight! This was no composition by a performing monkey! This was a music I'd never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing. It seemed to me that I was hearing the very voice of God." (As quoted from the 1984 film on the web site Rotten Tomatoes.)

Salieri was not exaggerating. In my opinion, the piece he was speaking of -- the third movement from the "Gran Partita" (serenade no. 10 for winds) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- is one of the most sublime, transcendent, pieces of musical loveliness ever committed to paper, the woodwinds and horns as sweet as any choir of voices or orchestra of string instruments.

Source recording: "Mozart: Music for Winds" on Sony Essential Classics, with members of the Columbia Symphony Orchestra led by Robert Craft. I also highly recommend an identically titled disc recorded by the New World Basset Horn Trio, available on Harmonia Mundi's Classical Express series.
3. Outdoor and night music played by wind octets was a delightful source of entertainment for numerous German- and Czech-speaking courts and communities in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Who was NOT a composer of this type of music?

Answer: Jean Sibelius

Sibelius (1865-1957) was a Finnish nationalist composer who was active much later than the harmoniemusik period referred to by this question.

In addition to Stamitz, Hoffmeister, and Krommer, Ignaz Pleyel and Antonio Rosetti (Franz Anton Rössler) composed in this idiom, whose pieces are variously called serenade, partita, divertimento, nocturne, etc. Usually for pairs of oboes, clarinets, horns, and bassoons, these vivid and engaging compositions often employed a string bass or contrabassoon to provide support for the ensemble.

Source recordings: "Krommer: Partitas for Wind Ensemble" on Naxos, played by the Michael Thompson Wind Ensemble, and the superb recordings by Dieter Klöcker and Consortium Classicum on the cpo label. Herr Klöcker also writes the highly informative liner notes for these discs.
4. Lacking the power of projection of other woodwinds, the flute was often neglected in earlier works for small wind ensemble. One composer, however, graced us with a set of wind quartets that used a flute in place of the oboe. Who was this man, who also wrote such operatic smash hits as "William Tell," "The Barber of Seville," and "The Thieving Magpie"?

Answer: Gioacchino Rossini

Originally composed (at the age of 12!) as works for the nonstandard string ensemble of two violins, cello, and bass, Rossini transcribed the set for flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon when he was 16.

Beethoven's lovely quintet for three horns, oboe, and bassoon is another piece from this period to feature an unusual combination of instruments.

Source recordings: On the Naxos label, "Beethoven: Chamber Music for Horns, Winds, and Strings" performed by various Hungarian instrumentalists. As for the Rossini... well, modesty forbids!
5. The woodwind quintet is now a standard ensemble composed of one each of flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon. Numerous composers from the 19th century forward have given us a wide range of works for this versatile, colorful ensemble. Who is considered one of the pioneers of wind quintet music?

Answer: Antonín Reicha

John Humphries called Reicha (1770-1836) "the doyen of French wind music," but let us not forget another great early composer in this genre, Franz Danzi, who dedicated his first set of quintets to Reicha.

Source recordings: various discs on the Naxos label recorded by the Michael Thompson Wind Quintet. The Danzi discs include a horn sonata and a sextet for pairs of horns, clarinets, and bassoons.
6. Chamber music of the Romantic period heavily emphasized strings and the piano, but one prolific man penned an exquisite serenade for nine wind instruments plus bass parts. Who was this Czech master of "New World Symphony" renown?

Answer: Antonín Dvořák

Dvořák could not resist adding a cello and string bass, but the winds are undeniably the stars of this piece. The Op. 44 serenade features a march-inspired first movement, a minuetto, and a dance-like finale framing an extended andante. A notable stroke of Dvořák's genius is the sudden reappearance of the dark and solemn march theme in the last movement, before the piece proceeds to its galloping, whirlwind conclusion.

Composed around the same time as Dvořák's serenade, Charles Gounod's "Petite Symphonie" is another gorgeous piece of ear candy for nine wind instruments. A highlight is the extended flute solo in the third movement, a tender, sweet, pure, singing romance.

Source recordings: The Oslo Philharmonic wind soloists on Naxos's "Dvořák: Serenade for Wind," and the Athena Ensemble on Chandos Collect's "French Music for Wind Ensemble." The former disc also includes pieces by Enescu and Janáček, while the latter features works by Poulenc and Ibert.
7. Over the long span of his career, one composer experimented with larger wind ensembles. Not properly called a concert band, as the performance forces do not call for trumpets, trombones, saxophones, or percussion, one may still consider these pieces part of the chamber wind music canon. Sharing the same family name with a certain "Waltz King," what composer wrote these expansive wind symphonies?

Answer: Richard Strauss

Richard Strauss's tone poems ("Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche," "Ein Heldenleben," and others) and operas (including "Salome," "Elektra," and "Der Rosenkavalier") earned him wide acclaim, but his wind music is also pleasurable listening indeed. Composed between 1881 and 1945, these works for 13 and 16 winds include two sonatinas, a suite, and a serenade. The sonatina no. 2, or symphony in E-flat major, goes by the nickname "Fröhliche Werkstatt," the "Happy Workshop." Strauss's title has actually influenced my everyday speech: when my colleagues are all busily working on various projects, I will comment that our workplace is a fröhliche Werkstatt!

Source recording: The London Winds under the direction of Michael Collins on Hyperion's "Richard Strauss: Complete Music for Winds."
8. What French composer wrote "La Cheminée du Roi René," a suite for wind quintet, for a 1939 film?

Answer: Darius Milhaud

This suite was one of the first pieces I played as a member of a college quintet. The movements are titled "Cortčge," "Aubade," "Jongleurs," "La Malousinglade," "Joutes sur l'Arc," "Chasse ŕ Valabre," and "Madrigal - Nocturne."

Source recording: another Chandos Collect disc, "Milhaud: Music for Wind Instruments," again played by the Athena Ensemble. Also on the disc are two other pieces for wind quintet and two pieces for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. The liner notes explain in more detail the premise of the film, "Cavalcade d'amour," and how Milhaud came to write part of its score.
9. British composer Malcom Arnold's three _____ for woodwind quintet are captivating transformations of the sailing songs "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?," "Boney was a warrior," and "Johnny come down to Hilo." What nautical music word belongs in the blank?

Answer: Shanties

Shanty is a variant spelling of chantey or chanty, a sailor's work song.

I agree with Hugo Cole's opinion that the 1943 "Shanties" "... remain among the most played and best-loved of all Arnold's entertainment works, and with good reason."

Source recording: the Nash Ensemble on Hyperion/Helios: "The Chamber Music of Malcolm Arnold Vol. 3."
10. All of these gentlemen composed music for woodwind quintet in the 20th century, but who is the odd one out in terms of national origin?

Answer: Elliott Carter

Ligeti, Kurtág, and Veress are Hungarian masters, while Carter (who composed his "Eight Etudes and a Fantasy" for woodwind quintet in 1950) was born in New York.

Ligeti's "Six Bagatelles" (1953) will be familiar to devotees of the quintet literature, while the meritorious works of Kurtág and Veress deserve wider exposure and greater appreciation.

Source recordings: Carter's quintet is on Boston Skyline's "The Best of the New York Woodwind Quintet Vol. 1," along with works by Neilsen, Barber, Sweelinck, Reicha, Pierné, and Barrows. The Albert Schweitzer Quintet recorded the Hungarian works -- which range in date of composition from the early '30s to the late '60s -- on the cpo label.
Source: Author celicadriver

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