Hubert Parry's Nonet in B-flat major for nine wind instruments is a composition for chamber ensemble composed around 1877. Not performed in the composers lifetime, it remained unpublished until 1988 when Edition Compusic published the work under the posthumous opus number 70.

Background

The first mention of the composition is in a letter dating from

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of 1877 to Parrys then teacher

Edward Dannreuther Edward George Dannreuther (4 November 1844, Strasbourg – 12 February 1905, Hastings) was a German pianist and writer on music, resident from 1863 in England. His father had crossed the Atlantic, moving to Cincinnati, and there established a pia ...

where he referred to the work as "..an experiment...". Parry showed the incomplete composition to Dannreuther on the 21st of December 1877, but did not complete the work until the 31st of December 1877. Dibble notes that Parry continued to work on the Nonet into February 1878, and suggests that the composer may have considered having members of the Crystal Palace Orchestra perform it. The reasons for the lack of performance during the composers lifetime and the decision not to publish are unclear, but may be related to the fact that the experimental nature of the work, conceived as a test of the composers ability to score for wind instruments, or the composer may have simply been dissatisfied with the work.

Instrumentation

The composition is scored for

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, oboe,

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...

, 2

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

s, 2 horns and 2

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

Structure

The composition is in four movements: #''

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton * ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...

'' #''Allegro molto'' #''Largo'' #''Allegro'' A typical performance takes around 24 minutes.

Performance History

Dibble notes that the first confirmed performance of the Nonet did not take place until 1937. The first recording, by the chamber ensamble Capricorn was released by Hyperion Records in 1987.

References

;Notes ;References * * * Compositions by Hubert Parry

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1877 compositions Compositions in B-flat major

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