What is a Reed Quintet?
*This blog post was written by All Classical Radio’s Fall 2024 intern Dexter Hidalgo.
In our previous music terms post, we learned about the string quartet, a small chamber group of four stringed instruments (typically, two violins, a viola, and a cello). Now, let’s explore a newer genre in classical music – the reed quintet!
Terms to know:
Chamber Music (review) – Instrumental music played by a small group of musicians, often with just one or two musicians per instrument. It’s called “chamber” music because it’s quieter than an orchestra and can be enjoyed in a smaller room.
Wind Instrument – A type of musical instrument that requires air or “wind” to produce sound, typically by the player blowing air into the instrument (such as a clarinet or trumpet).
String Instrument – A type of musical instrument that uses strings to produce sound (such as a violin or cello). The strings are usually plucked or pulled by a bow.
Reed – A reed is a thin piece of material that comes from Arundo Donax (also known as “Giant Cane”). For some wind instruments, a reed is used to create sound with air. When a musician blows air into the reed, the reed vibrates and creates sound.
What is a Reed Quintet?
A reed quintet is a type of chamber music ensemble with five musicians playing a specific set of wind instruments that all use reeds – an oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bass clarinet, and bassoon. Unlike the string quartet, which has been around for centuries, the reed quintet has only existed for about 40 years! Similar to the string quartet and most chamber music groups, reed quintets do not use a conductor. Instead, they rely on listening to each other, making eye contact, and moving together to play in sync.
Reed Quintets to Check Out
Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin
Calefax is a Dutch reed quintet that is regarded as the first reed quintet and is a pioneer for the genre’s popularity. They are known for their musical arrangements. An arrangement is a musical composition that is derived or adapted from an original work. This group has arrangements of music from Mozart, Bach, Debussy, Tchaikovsky and many more.
Many recognize George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. In this arrangement by Raaf Hekkema (the saxophonist of Calefax), Calefax takes this composition for solo piano with a full orchestra and compresses the work into just 5 reed instruments!
Listen to the opening of the Rhapsody in Blue. Do you recognize this iconic opening solo?
Splinter by Marc Mellits
The Akropolis Reed Quintet specializes in performing new works in the reed quintet genre. The billboard charting and national prize-winning group was first formed in 2009 at the University of Michigan. This group has premiered and commissioned hundreds of original works by living composers.
Enjoy selections of Splinter by Marc Mellits performed by Akropolis. Do you hear the heavy bass line in the bass clarinet and bassoon?
Keep Learning about the Reed Quintet
Check out this video of Alban Wesly and Calefax introducing the Reed Quintet:
In this video, Alban talks about the invention of the genre, its history, and demonstrates the versatility of sound. Do you hear the squeaky duck-like sounds of their reeds? Do you recognize their arrangements for Mozart or Duke Ellington?
Have you heard of the reed quintet before? What other types of chamber music do you know?
Before you go, you can check out all our music terms blog posts here.
