Neukomm Nonette Octuor et Septuor Kammensemble Oper Berlin - CPO777621 - Petits prix

During the first half of the nineteenth century Sigismund Neukomm numbered among Europe’s most highly esteemed composers. His rightful claim to this status is very convincingly demonstrated not only by his four original orchestral fantasies (cpo 777 573-2) but also by his chamber music. Neukomm loved experimentation. In symphonic music he invented the genre of the »Fantaisie à grand orchestre,« and in chamber music he tested unusual ensembles and programmatic content as well as individual movement sequences and formal processes. Neukomm was often concerned less with the dramaturgy of contrasting themes than with the development of the tonal charm of instruments so very different in character. Here too, however, Neukomm did not do without original formal ideas, and he was very much aware of the exoticism sometimes manifesting itself in his instrumental combinations. His chamber music for large ensembles of strings and winds can be regarded as a self-contained work group; it comprises one nonet, one octet, and three septets composed during the years from 1832 to 1836. Neukomm composed all these works while residing or traveling in England. Of Neukomm’s three septets, the second cannot be located at the present time. A special feature of instrumentation distinguishes Neukomm’s works of this kind from older nonets, octets, and septets such as those by Beethoven, Schubert, Hummel, or Spohr: the winds are more dominant than the strings. In Neukomm’s works the wind instruments typical of this epoch (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet) are prescribed in a simple instrumentation, and he even calls for the trumpet, an instrument still rarely featured in solo roles during his time. The string lineup varies : the septets call for double bass; the octet, for violoncello and double bass; and the nonet for viola, violoncello and double bass.