Reicha, Joseph - Parthia in D for 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Horns and 2 Bassoons & Basso (4°496)

Joseph Reicha

The cellist Joseph Reicha, born on February 12, 1752 in Chudenice near Klattau (West Bohemia), received his musical training in Prague. In 1774 he joined the Wallerstein court orchestra as the first cellist and from around 1780 he also took on the role of conductor in this orchestra. A year later, in 1781, he accepted his later famous nephew Anton Reicha (1770 - 1836) into the chapel and taught him various instruments, possibly also composition.

Prince Kraft Ernst obviously valued his bandmaster very much, because Reicha's salary of 750 guilders was twice as high as the highest income of the other musicians in the band. Despite this appreciation, Reicha left the Wallerstein court in 1785 to enter the service of the Cologne Archbishop Maximilian Franz as concertmaster. Shortly afterwards he was appointed concert director of the Bonn Court Orchestra with a salary of 1,000 guilders. In 1790, his nephew Anton played in this chapel as a violinist and flautist, as did the young Beethoven as a viola player.

Reicha suffered from gout in the early 1790s and died on March 5, 1795 in Bonn. Reicha's compositions were created almost exclusively during his 11 years in Wallerstein and include symphonies, solo concerts and chamber music.

Parthia in D  for 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Horns and  2 Bassoons & Basso

was composed in Wallerstein around 1784. The autograph score is located under the signature HR III 4 1/2 4°496 in the Oettingen-Wallerstein court library, and is now kept in the university library in Augsburg.

In 1783, Prince Kraft Ernst's court music was expanded to include two flautists and another bassoon. For this occasion, two flute parts were added to the Parthia in F (ROM 79), which had already been composed in 1782, but which had a doubling function. In the present Parthia in D, the two flute parts are composed independently.

What is particularly noticeable in the musical text is that the two clarinets were composed with a little less presence. Reports about the court orchestra show that at this time the level of performance of the two clarinetists was somewhat below that of the other wind players.

1. mov. Adagio - Allegro