Clarinet Quintet (Brahms)
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Johannes Brahms's Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 was first performed in November of 1891 by the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld. The piece is known for its dark and somber mood. It consists of a clarinet in A with a string quartet and has a duration of approximately thirty-five minutes. Brahms modeled the composition after Mozart's Clarinet Quintet. Only a few works between the time Mozart's Quintet was composed and this work by Brahms was completed were written for this ensemble; those being composed by Anton Reicha, Carl Maria von Weber, and Heinrich Baermann.
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[edit] Structure
The piece consists of four movements.
- Allegro in B minor, in 6:8 time
- Adagio in B major, in 3:4 time modulating into B minor and then B-flat minor and back to B major
- Andantino in D major, in common time evolving into Presto non assai, ma con sentimento in B minor in 2:4 time
- Con Moto in B minor, in 2:4 with a key transition to B major returning to B minor into a meter of 3:8 and then transforming into 6:8 time
[edit] First Movement
Like the Mozart, the strings play the theme at the beginning. This movement sets a dark and somber mood for the rest of the composition. One phrase, towards the middle played by the clarinet, sounds closely related to one in the first movement of Carl Maria von Weber's Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor. This was possibly written because when Brahms listened to Richard Mühlfeld at his recital, he was playing this concerto.
[edit] Second Movement
The melody is a reflective love song first introduced by the clarinet. Later, the mood changes back to the gloomy atmosphere of the first movement. The clarinet undergoes technical runs playing from all ranges. It returns back to the beginning theme and then subsides.
[edit] Third Movement
Clarinet Quintet - 3. Andantino
The shortest of all four, the movement begins sweetly being one of the composition's few uplifting passages. In measure twenty-three, the clarinet and violin play as if they were talking in a conversation. It modulates back from its heart-warming D major into the darken B minor. This section is highly influenced by the first part and even ends the same except being in a 2:4 meter.
[edit] Fourth Movement
Clarinet Quintet - 4. Con Moto
This movement is titled "With Motion" and contains theme and variations complying with the Mozart and Brahms's later Clarinet Sonata No. 2. Tempo varies according to the musician. Another sweet song which resembles the second movement is in this part and is in the same B major key. Later, it brings back the theme from the Allegro and ends with a loud chord which eventually fades away.
