Franz Lachner
Franz Paul Lachner (2 April 1803 – 20 January 1890) was a German composer and conductor.
Biography
Lachner was born in Rain am Lech to a musical family (his brothers Ignaz, Theodor and Vinzenz also became musicians). He studied music with ...
's Octet in B-flat major, Op. 156 is a composition for eight
wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...
s composed around 1850.
While scored for a chamber ensemble, the work is considered to be symphonic in scope.
Instrumentation
The composition is scored for
flute,
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
, 2
clarinets , 2
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
and 2
bassoons. This scoring is shared with the octets composed by
Theodore Gouvy (Op. 71) and
Carl Reinecke (
Op. 216). It is unclear why Lachner elected to replace one of the oboes in the standard
Harmonie is a German word that, in the context of the history of music, designates an ensemble of wind instruments (usually about five to eight players) employed by an aristocratic patron, particularly during the Classical era of the 18th century. The Harm ...
with a flute, but Rentería notes that, at the time the Octet was composed flutes were beginning to be made out of metal, producing a stronger sound that better blended with the other instruments.
Structure
The composition is in four movements:
#''
Allegro moderato
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
''
#''Adagio''
#''
Scherzo
A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often re ...
: Allegro assai''
#''
Finale: Allegro non troppo''
A typical performance takes around 25 minutes.
References
;Notes
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External links
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Compositions by Franz Lachner
Compositions for octet
1850 compositions
Compositions in B-flat major
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