Ravel for Winds.

 

Maurice Ravel:

  • Arrangements for Wind Quintet

Ravel himself was an amazing arranger of his own music, and a master orchestrator, as well. It is a real treat therefore to listen to these excellent arrangements of Ravel’s Sonatine (originally for piano solo), his string quartet, and the popular suite from Ma mère l’oye (originally for piano 4 hands).

The combination of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn offers a completely new spectrum of sounds and colors, without doing any injustice to the original music.

These are excellent performances by Dutch wind players, who are soloists and first desk players of the Amsterdam and Rotterdam orchestras.

We hear the following:

Maurice Ravel:

  • String Quartet in F major
  • Danse generale from Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2
  • Sonatine

Performed by the Orlando Wind Quintet

Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite (Ma mère l’oye) exists in two forms created by the composer: the original for piano four-hands and the subsequent arrangement for orchestra.

Since wind instruments play a dominant part in the orchestral version of the Suite, it is not such a far cry for the entire thing to be played by winds and indeed one can sometimes forget, when listening to it, that one is not hearing the original.

As in the String Quartet, the Orlando Wind Quintet play like the masters they are.

The players are:

  • Marieke Schneemann (flute)
  • Pauline Oostenrijk (oboe)
  • Lars Wouters van den Oudenweijer (clarinet)
  • Bram van Sambeek (bassoon)
  • Ron Schaaper (horn)

Here is Ravel’s Mother Goose, adapted for for Wind Quintet:

 

http://youtu.be/3oqcfytZMvI

And next, here is the original version of the Ravel String Quartet in F, as performed beautifully by the outstanding Hagen Quartet:

 

http://youtu.be/lwErH_hd5Uk

 

Tags: Maurice Ravel, Orlando Wind Quintet, Sonatine. Quartet