AAM - Harmoniemusik: From field to table

Mozart               Divertimento K 270

Beethoven         Duo No.1 in C major

Beethoven         Sextet Op.71

Krommer           Partita in F major Op.73

 

Academy of Ancient Music

Peter Whelan  director & bassoon

 

From humble beginnings in farmers’ fields and military bands, woodwinds in the 1700s were to undergo a period of rapid development and wild experimentation that would culminate in the popularity of the Harmonie or wind band by the end of the century. Wealthy patrons and nobles in German-speaking lands who had previously employed small orchestras adopted the Harmonie instead to provide music at dinner, evening serenades and even morning-music to wake especially favoured guests, driving a huge demand for new music. In this programme, virtuoso bassoonist and director Peter Whelan directs some of the finest Harmoniemusik of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, including Beethoven’s beloved Sextet Op.71.