Harbison: Quintet; Rochberg: Slow Fires of Autumn
Liner Notes   Cat. No. NWCRL436     Release Date: 2011-03-15

Aulos Wind Quintet [Judith Mendenhall, flute; Rudolph Vrbsky, oboe; David Singer, clarinet; Alexander Heller, bassoon; Robert Routch, horn]; Carol Wincenc, flute; Nancy Allen, harp

John Harbison writes:

Quintet, the Naumburg Foundation commission, was a welcome opportunity, because I admired the Aulos' playing, because I had been writing a string of impractical pieces, and because I regarded the writing of a quintet for woodwinds as challenging. It is not a naturally felicitous combination of instruments, such as a string quartet.

“I determined to deal in mixtures rather than counterpoints, and to strive for a classical simplicity of surface — to maximize what I felt to be the great strength of the combination, the ability to present things clearly...

George Rochberg writes:

“I wrote Slow Fires of Autumn for flute and harp between November 1978 and January 1979, on commission from the Naumburg Foundation for Carol Wincenc's New York debut. Since it borrows some material from an earlier work for harp solo which I called 'Ukiyo-e.' I decided to sub-title the new work 'Ukiyo-e II.'

“The term ukiyo-e (oo-key-oh-ay) refers to a traditional school of Japanese painting whose great beauty and often piercing charm lies in its power to image the world not as static, fixed forms of 'reality' but as floating pictures of radiant qualities which range from states of forlorness and emptiness to quiet or ecstatic joy...


This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.

Various Artists

Harbison: Quintet; Rochberg: Slow Fires of Autumn

MP3/320 $13.00
FLAC $13.00
WAV $13.00
CD-R $13.00
CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print material or jewel case included.
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
   Liner Notes



Track Listing

Quintet: I. -
John Harbison
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Quintet: II. -
John Harbison
Buy
Quintet: III. -
John Harbison
Buy
Quintet: IV. -
John Harbison
Buy
Quintet: V. -
John Harbison
Buy
Slow Fires of Autumn
George Rochberg
Buy