Temp de Marcia Francese
Heitor Villa Lobos
Quintette en Forme de Choros
John Downey / Agort
Jean Francaix / Quintette
The Woodwind Arts Quintet
Orion Master Recordings Inc. ORS 73123
1973
From the back cover: HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS (1887-1959) stands out as the best known of Latin American composers. Born in Rio de Janeiro on March 5, 1887, his early music training was with his cellist father, and later with Francisco Braga and Agnelo Franca. Having toured Brazil as a concert pianist, he also undertook numerous folklore expeditions into the interior of his vast and exciting native country. His dedication and lifelong research in folk music expresses itself profusely in his creative work. His compositions are saturated with flowing warmth, rhythm and the wild passion of the jungle.Villa-Lobos' enormous musical output (an estimated two thousand works) includes operas, ballets, chamber music, orchestral music, concertos, piano pieces, songs, masses, an oratorio and a musical comedy. In addition he contributed significantly as conductor, educator and writer of countless articles on Brazilian folklore.
Quintette en Forme de Choros
John Downey / Agort
Jean Francaix / Quintette
The Woodwind Arts Quintet
Orion Master Recordings Inc. ORS 73123
1973
From the back cover: HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS (1887-1959) stands out as the best known of Latin American composers. Born in Rio de Janeiro on March 5, 1887, his early music training was with his cellist father, and later with Francisco Braga and Agnelo Franca. Having toured Brazil as a concert pianist, he also undertook numerous folklore expeditions into the interior of his vast and exciting native country. His dedication and lifelong research in folk music expresses itself profusely in his creative work. His compositions are saturated with flowing warmth, rhythm and the wild passion of the jungle.Villa-Lobos' enormous musical output (an estimated two thousand works) includes operas, ballets, chamber music, orchestral music, concertos, piano pieces, songs, masses, an oratorio and a musical comedy. In addition he contributed significantly as conductor, educator and writer of countless articles on Brazilian folklore.
The Quintette en forme de choros (Villa-Lobos used this title to describe music of an informal serenade-like nature, based on folk tunes) was composed in Paris in 1928 for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, English Horn and Bassoon. In 1953 he revised the instrumentation by substituting the French Horn for the English Horn, thus making it accessible to the standard woodwind quintet ensemble. In doing so, the composer had to give a large portion of the English Horn high tessitura passagework to the clarinet in order to make life easier for the French Hornist. In this recording, however, we chose the original 1928 version with all of the English Horn writing performed by the French Horn. The composition moves from a recitative-like opening statement through seemingly free cadenza style writing, sustained expressive singing by each individual instrument, strongly driving rhythms, virtuoso fireworks, extremely varied color combinations, to a truly brilliant bravura ending. Most importantly, the work is intense, passionate, exotic and haunting. – Israel Borouchoff
JOHN DOWNEY was born in Chicago, Ill., Oct. 5, 1927. After receiving his B.M. from De Paul Univ., and his M.M. from the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt Univ., he left that city, and with a Fulbright Scholarship to Paris, he began his artistic activities abroad. After a number of years, during which time he traveled extensively throughout Western Europe, and after having earned a Ph.D. from the Univ. of Paris and a Prix de Composition from the Paris Conservatory, he returned to the U.S. At present, he is a Professor of Theory and Composition at the Univ. of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where he resides with his linguist wife, Irusha, and their two children, Lydia and Marc.
He has composed a large variety of works, some of which include the electronic medium. He has had major performances of his works both in Europe and the U.S. In addition, he has been the recipient of a number of important commissions which include: String Quartet for the Fine Arts String Quartet Foundation in Chicago; Earthplace, a half hour T.V. electronic sound score for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; Jingalodeon, for the Milwaukee Symphony Children's Concerts; Cello Sonata, for George Sopkin (recorded on C.R.I.); Prospectations III-III, for three orchestras simultaneously and four conductors, for Music For Youth of Milwaukee; and Symphonic Modules Five (a 41 min. work for large orchestra) for the Milwaukee Symphony, Kenneth Schermerhorn, conductor.
Twice he has been an invited participant at the Aspen School of Music, the Princeton Siminars in Advanced Musical Techniques, and a Fellow at the MacDowell Colony. Among his many teachers were Stein, Shapiro, Tarnowsky, Ganz, Margolies, Krenek, Tcherepnin, Rieti, Boulanger, Honegger, Milhaud, Rivier, Messiaen, Chailley, Brailoui, Sessions, Cone and Babbitt.
The title of the composition is based on two parallel running concepts: one is derived from the linguistic and phonetic qualities inherent in the synthetic word AGORT; i.e., movements I and III, being slow and open, are characterized by vowels with their potential for prolonga- tion while the fast movements, II and IV, are associated with consonants and their capacity for staccato-like reiteration. Mov. IV, in particular is symbolized by the so-called "liquid R" reflecting its own tempo indication. The Vth and final movement, although predominantly slow, is continuously truncated by fast running passages, and because of this, as well as for sheer sound, the consonant "T" was chosen to complete the title word.
The second associative concept of AGORT derives from a similar aggregate of letters in the Greek word "agora", one meaning of which has to do with an open gathering of people assembled to discuss ideas of mutual interest such as philosophy or politics. In this latter sense, we have the concept of democratic discourse in the ideal tradition of true chamber music. AGORT'S five movements bear the markings:
A G O R T
A A Q e P A
n m l m u P A
d i l o a m r n r
a s e l s o s L d e
n t g t i l t q a f
t e r o t o u n l
e r o a o i i c
i d d n t
o a r o o i
s g u v
o i b o
o a
t
o
"An ingenious work"... Walter Monfried, the Milwaukee Journal
"A fluid sweep of conceptions"... Jay Joslyn, the Milwaukee Sentinel
"Well written for the instruments.
o a
t
o
"An ingenious work"... Walter Monfried, the Milwaukee Journal
"A fluid sweep of conceptions"... Jay Joslyn, the Milwaukee Sentinel
"Well written for the instruments.
Indeed, its chief interest lay in its exploitation of sonorities"...
Allen Hughes, the New York Times
This composition was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1973.
JEAN FRANÇAIX was born in Le Mans on May 23, 1912 into a musical family. In his own words: "It appears that I first drew attention to myself at the age of eighteen months by beating out on a table, with a wooden ruler, the rhythm of a military march played on the piano by my father, who introduced tricky rallentandos and accelerandos. When I was five, seated one day at the piano with manuscript paper before me, I enjoined silence upon a venerable bearded visitor with the remark: 'Don't disturb me. I'm inspiring!'". At the age of 12 Françaix became a private pupil of Nadia Boulanger. He also won numerous prizes at the Conservatoire of Le Mans and in 1930 the Premier Prix de Piano at the Paris Conservatoire.
His creative work includes orchestral music, concertos, chamber music, ballet, theatre music and comic opera. His Serenade for Small Orchestra was choreographed in 1951 by George Balanchine to create the ballet "A la Françaix".
The Quintette dates from 1948 and was dedicated to the Woodwind Quintet of l'Orchestre National de Paris. Neo-classical in style, it is spirited, charming, piquant, lighthearted and effervescent. To quote Françaix: "My desire is to communicate joy rather than sorrow. Why be sad when you live in Paris? It would amount to cowardice towards your neighbour. Leave sorrow to silly people or to the truly great. Aim at simplicity in music, in science, even in politics. Simplicity is more than a virtue; it is a faculty. But it is a posthumous faculty, acquired through sacrificing one's life to it..." – Israel Borouchoff
THE WOODWIND ARTS QUINTET has received consistent nationwide acclaim from enthusiastic audiences and critics. The ensemble was founded in 1966 and is presently in residence in the School of Fine Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Each of its five members is a high caliber virtuoso with extensive solo, chamber music and orchestral background on a national and international scale.
ISRAEL BOROUCHOFF, Flute
Israel Borouchoff has played and recorded with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; was Solo Flutist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for eight years; member of the Casals Festival Orchestra in Puerto Rico and in Caracas, Venezuela; Solo Flutist with the Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia with which he recorded seven albums for RCA; Soloist with the St. Louis Symphony, Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia, The Aristeia Ensemble on numerous occasions, the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble of New York, Temple University Summer Music Festival and many others. Mr. Borouchoff is also a frequent recitalist.
PAUL KRAMER, Oboe
Paul Kramer, who studied with Philip Kirchner and Fernand Gillet, was a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where he recorded with William Steinberg; the Cleveland Orchestra, Boston "Pops" and Esplanade Orchestras, the Symphony of the Air, Stokowski's American Symphony Orchestra, Chatauqua Symphony Orchestra, and has per- formed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He taught and per- formed as a member of the resident woodwind quintet at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and has coached chamber music at Boston University and Brandeis University.
JACK SNAVELY, Clarinet
Jack Snavely is very active nationally and internationally as a soloist, conductor, clinician, recitalist, adjudicator, clarinetist in the Woodwind Arts Quintet, and saxophonist in the Leblanc Fine Arts Saxophone Quartet. He has been a member of the Milwaukee Symphony, the Waukesha Symphony, the Thor Johnson Chamber Music Orchestra, the United States Army Band, Washington, D.C., and has recorded for Golden Crest Records. His many publications include clarinet and saxophone methods and studies, works for clarinet choir and band, and numerous articles in the leading music and music education periodicals. He received degrees from Lebanon Valley College and the University of Michigan.
BASIL TYLER, French Horn
Basil Tyler has performed as principal French Horn with the Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia, Mantovani Orchestra, New Orleans Philharmonic, Florida Symphony, American Wind Symphony, Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, and numerous radio and television programs and recordings including RCA and Capitol. He has also toured extensively, with more than twenty foreign countries on past itineraries.
ROBERT THOMPSON, Bassoon
Robert Thompson has a distinguished career as a bassoon soloist, chamber musician and orchestral performer. Solo appearances at Carnegie Recital Hall and Yale University by Mr. Thompson received high praise, and he has recorded an album of solo bassoon compositions for the Musical Heritage Society. He was formerly the first bassoonist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
"Each of the five men is an acknowledged expert, and their blending and overall team play were something to admire." – Milwaukee Journal
"THE WOODWIND ARTS QUINTET....IS TAKING A BACK SEAT TO NO OTHERS IN THE PROFESSION." – Milwaukee Journal
"They made the points of each work and their feelings about it without forcing or straining for effects." – New York Times
"WOODWINDS FILL HALL WITH MAGICAL SOUND." – Milwaukee Sentinel
Heitor Villa Lobos
Quintette en Forme de Choros
John Downey - Agort (1972)
Jean Francaix Quintette (1948)
Allen Hughes, the New York Times
This composition was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1973.
JEAN FRANÇAIX was born in Le Mans on May 23, 1912 into a musical family. In his own words: "It appears that I first drew attention to myself at the age of eighteen months by beating out on a table, with a wooden ruler, the rhythm of a military march played on the piano by my father, who introduced tricky rallentandos and accelerandos. When I was five, seated one day at the piano with manuscript paper before me, I enjoined silence upon a venerable bearded visitor with the remark: 'Don't disturb me. I'm inspiring!'". At the age of 12 Françaix became a private pupil of Nadia Boulanger. He also won numerous prizes at the Conservatoire of Le Mans and in 1930 the Premier Prix de Piano at the Paris Conservatoire.
His creative work includes orchestral music, concertos, chamber music, ballet, theatre music and comic opera. His Serenade for Small Orchestra was choreographed in 1951 by George Balanchine to create the ballet "A la Françaix".
The Quintette dates from 1948 and was dedicated to the Woodwind Quintet of l'Orchestre National de Paris. Neo-classical in style, it is spirited, charming, piquant, lighthearted and effervescent. To quote Françaix: "My desire is to communicate joy rather than sorrow. Why be sad when you live in Paris? It would amount to cowardice towards your neighbour. Leave sorrow to silly people or to the truly great. Aim at simplicity in music, in science, even in politics. Simplicity is more than a virtue; it is a faculty. But it is a posthumous faculty, acquired through sacrificing one's life to it..." – Israel Borouchoff
THE WOODWIND ARTS QUINTET has received consistent nationwide acclaim from enthusiastic audiences and critics. The ensemble was founded in 1966 and is presently in residence in the School of Fine Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Each of its five members is a high caliber virtuoso with extensive solo, chamber music and orchestral background on a national and international scale.
ISRAEL BOROUCHOFF, Flute
Israel Borouchoff has played and recorded with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; was Solo Flutist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for eight years; member of the Casals Festival Orchestra in Puerto Rico and in Caracas, Venezuela; Solo Flutist with the Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia with which he recorded seven albums for RCA; Soloist with the St. Louis Symphony, Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia, The Aristeia Ensemble on numerous occasions, the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble of New York, Temple University Summer Music Festival and many others. Mr. Borouchoff is also a frequent recitalist.
PAUL KRAMER, Oboe
Paul Kramer, who studied with Philip Kirchner and Fernand Gillet, was a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, where he recorded with William Steinberg; the Cleveland Orchestra, Boston "Pops" and Esplanade Orchestras, the Symphony of the Air, Stokowski's American Symphony Orchestra, Chatauqua Symphony Orchestra, and has per- formed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He taught and per- formed as a member of the resident woodwind quintet at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and has coached chamber music at Boston University and Brandeis University.
JACK SNAVELY, Clarinet
Jack Snavely is very active nationally and internationally as a soloist, conductor, clinician, recitalist, adjudicator, clarinetist in the Woodwind Arts Quintet, and saxophonist in the Leblanc Fine Arts Saxophone Quartet. He has been a member of the Milwaukee Symphony, the Waukesha Symphony, the Thor Johnson Chamber Music Orchestra, the United States Army Band, Washington, D.C., and has recorded for Golden Crest Records. His many publications include clarinet and saxophone methods and studies, works for clarinet choir and band, and numerous articles in the leading music and music education periodicals. He received degrees from Lebanon Valley College and the University of Michigan.
BASIL TYLER, French Horn
Basil Tyler has performed as principal French Horn with the Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia, Mantovani Orchestra, New Orleans Philharmonic, Florida Symphony, American Wind Symphony, Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, and numerous radio and television programs and recordings including RCA and Capitol. He has also toured extensively, with more than twenty foreign countries on past itineraries.
ROBERT THOMPSON, Bassoon
Robert Thompson has a distinguished career as a bassoon soloist, chamber musician and orchestral performer. Solo appearances at Carnegie Recital Hall and Yale University by Mr. Thompson received high praise, and he has recorded an album of solo bassoon compositions for the Musical Heritage Society. He was formerly the first bassoonist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
"Each of the five men is an acknowledged expert, and their blending and overall team play were something to admire." – Milwaukee Journal
"THE WOODWIND ARTS QUINTET....IS TAKING A BACK SEAT TO NO OTHERS IN THE PROFESSION." – Milwaukee Journal
"They made the points of each work and their feelings about it without forcing or straining for effects." – New York Times
"WOODWINDS FILL HALL WITH MAGICAL SOUND." – Milwaukee Sentinel
Heitor Villa Lobos
Quintette en Forme de Choros
John Downey - Agort (1972)
Jean Francaix Quintette (1948)
Andante tranquillo
Presto
Tema: Andante
Temp di marcia francese
Presto
Tema: Andante
Temp di marcia francese
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