Josef Mysliveček - Wind Octet No. 3 (1778)

Josef Mysliveček (9 March 1737 - 4 February 1781) was a Czech composer who contributed to the formation of late eighteenth-century classicism in music. Mysliveček provided his younger friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with significant compositional models in the genres of symphony, Italian serious opera, and violin concerto; both Wolfgang and his father Leopold Mozart considered him an intimate friend. He was a pioneer in the composition of music for wind ensemble, the outstanding examples of which are his three wind octets. It may be fair to say that his greatest composition is the oratorio Isacco figura del Redentore, first performed in Florence in 1776. His violin concertos are perhaps the finest composed between the generation of Vivaldi and the Mozart violin concertos of 1775.
He was also one of the most gifted and most prolific composers of eighteenth-century symphonies, although his contributions to this genre have been ignored by musicologists in western Europe and North America almost as completely as his operas have been.
Wind Octet No. 3 in B-flat major. Donauschingen 1777 or 1778
1. Allegro (0:00)
2. Larghetto con un poco di moto (4:34)
3. Presto (7:20)
L'Orfeo Bläserensemble (Period instruments) conducted by Carin van Heerden
Early Harmoniemusik was scored for six instruments, even as few as four on some occasions, as indicated by the clarinet and horn bands of England and France. The clarinet was the preferred treble instrument in the west, while the Germans and Austrians generally preferred oboes. By the early 1780's the most common instrumentation, known as the Vienna tradition, consisted of 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, and 2 bassoons, or more concisely, 2222.2 According to tradition, in 1763 Frederick the Great was first to standardize his military bands into the octet, from which Harmonie developed. However, there seems to be no reference to prove such a claim. In fact, Roger Hellyer, a leading authority on Harmoniemusik, found no mention of clarinets in Berlin before the 1791 wedding of the Duke of York to Princess Friederike, for which Rosetti was commissioned to write two partitas for 2222.3 While eight players became the norm, there were notable exceptions. Instrumentation in the 19th century required up to twelve players, perhaps due to the increased harmonic demands of music of the Romantic period. On the occasion of the coronation of Kaiser Joseph II at Pressburg, the Harmonien of Prince Grassalkowitz and Prince Esterhazy combined to perform a piece for 21 wind instruments written by Georg Druschetsky.
Frequently a contrabass line was added which brought the octet to nine players. The part was not designed as a solo line, but rather enhanced the sonority of the ensemble.

[@alterbridelius]

This, as well as every other, Mysliveček's composition is a firework of melodies. Amazing.

[@andreagriseri7656]

One of the finest composer of half XVIII century his influence on Mozart is clear: but he deserves to be mentioned for the present quality of his music not only as influencr of Mozart that held hinin great great esteem. Wolfgang went to visit him during his last hillness in 1781

[@jan-stefanvanderwalt6491]

The double bass adds so much depth - genius!

[@AdamGillett]

Nice to see this popping into my feed. Mysliveček's octets are spectacular. Similar inventiveness to Haydn with the soaring lines and tight composition of Mozart. All this focus on Vienna, Salzburg, Paris and London when Prague seems to have provoked much of the melodic invention to which we now ascribe so much importance in the late Baroque and Classical periods!

[@AdamGillett]

I tip the Zelenka trio sonatas if you want to dig into earlier examples of scions of the city doing melody well

[@_PROCLUS]

💝💝💝 TY

[@theclarinetjooddsandends3753]

Wonderful discovery !

[@mmbmbmbmb]

Incredible how a composer of such significance could have slipped my attention. Never too late to discover though, right? Thank you!

[@asaadnaeem4121]

Very nice

[@donaldgoodell7675]

Such a travesty that such a rare musically-inventive talent (and not without genius) should be struck down by tertiary syphilis at the very height of his powers of creativity still in his mid-forties in 1781...had he stayed-away from the street-whores in his younger days he might have been able to live long enough to absorb the many changes in western art music between 1780 -1800 -a gap of time which would certainly have given our Joseph the chance for posterity to appreciate his musical output-but, as Mozart himself was said to have utter’d on his own deathbed only 10 short years later-‘alas ! one cannot choose the length of one’s time spent here’-and- in the case of Myslivicek-and J.C. Bach (who died on the night of 31 December the same year...) we must again apply to Myslivecek what Mozart said about the ‘London’ Bach : ‘O what a terrible loss for the musical world !!’

[@christianwouters6764]

Very inventive part writing. Better even than Haydn, who never ventured composing for such a demanding combination of instruments.

[@medvevaros1051]

Shostakovich please

[@soetkindesmet4817]

B flat