Unknown septets. The combination of instruments in which clarinet, bassoon and horn play together with violin, viola, cello and double bass conjured a lot of beauty during the 19th century.
The instigator of all this was Beethoven himself. His opus 20 for that instrumentation from 1800 proved to be a hit. The piece was widely played in people’s homes, and many arrangements exist. It is, in fact, a mini-orchestra. The Swede Franz Berwald composed a septet in 1845, and the Frenchman Adolphe Blanc did the same around 1860.
Playlist:
Franz Berwald – Great Septet in b-flat
Gaudier Ensemble
Adolphe Blanc – Septet in e major, op.40
Consortium Classicum
Franz Berwald – Quartet in e-flat for piano and wind instruments
Gaudier Ensemble
