String Quintet in E Major, Op. 11, No.5 – Luigi Boccherini
Luigi
Boccherini was a virtuoso cellist born in Lucca, Italy in 1743 to double-bass
and cellist player Leopoldo Boccherini, who was one of three brothers to produce
successful work in the world of music during the classical period. There was
ill to be gotten fortune for Luigi in Lucca, Italy concerning his musical
works; it wasn’t until his experience in Rome, teachings from Giovanni Battista
Sammartini (one of the great symphony composers of the time), and highly successful
performances in Vienna did his career begin to flourish.
It wasn’t until 1771 that Boccherini’s
String Quintet in E Major, Op. 11, No, 5 was written and while it was not soon
after was attributed as one of his best works, its claim to greatness was
eventually realized by the masses. His cello string quintet consisted of 6
quintets beginning with a andantino mosso (amoroso) tempo for the 1st
movement and picks up with the following lively pace of allegro e con spirito in
the second. The first movement carries bright melodies of E major delivering a happy feeling to the
audience which blends with his even more up-tempo movement 2. Arriving to his
most famous of the 4 movements to his obviously classical style, Boccherini’s 3rd
movement takes the cake in delivering his beloved minuetto, with historical
reference to its typical atmosphere of being played at a French dance,
respectively with a 3/4 time signature. Albeit has a plethora of cadences which
seem to give the musical phrases a focused sense of completeness, the final
movement places the piece in its final key of A major. Boccherini stays true to
the galant style in his Op. 11 no. 5 string quintet while throwing in dynamics
and complexity, with intricacies parallel to that of the high boroque period.
Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_Quintet_in_E_major,_Op._11,_No._5_(Boccherini)
Where his intentions to combine so many styles of music, and do any of his other works reflect that?
ReplyDeleteI never knew that there was such a thing as a string quintet. I would like to see if there are any more examples of this during the 19th century.
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