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Programme Note

Composer Note:

In my Double Quintet I have been fascinated by the textural and timbral characteristics of the two wind groups (and frequently of splinter groups within each quintet).

Thus I have chosen two primary approaches: on the one hand, to preserve and contrast the sonoric purity of the two choirs; on the other hand to combine these in various combinations so as to achieve a maximum in sonoric depth.

The first movement initially presents each quintet separately, then combines them in two opposing choirs. Later, the two groups are split in two overlapping strands of duet combinations, and in the final phase, the total 10-instrument texture is disintegrated still further, eventually “evaporating” into silence.

The variational procedures employed in the second movement are based not on thematic variation, but on varying and developing the original structure and timbral characteristics of the “exposition.” My primary concern was to preserve or to elaborate the “mirror” aspects of the original statement (for example, the middle of each variation experiences a thickening or lightening of texture, heightening or lessening of dynamics, etc.).

The last movement alternates various duo and trio combinations with the full ten-instruments complement.

—Gunther Schuller