Boccherini: Guitar Quintet No.4 in D major, G.448
Pastorale
Allegro maestoso
Grave assai – Fandango
Luigi Boccherini was born at Lucca, in Tuscany; his father was a professional double-bass player, and it was from him that the young boy received his first lessons on the ‘cello. Soon he was being hailed as a virtuoso on his instrument and following a series of tours around Europe he settled in Spain. There he composed industriously under the patronage of the Infante until the latter’s death in 1785, after which he became chamber composer to the cello-playing King of Prussia. When he, too, died, Boccherini returned to Spain with his Spanish wife, where he reputedly spent his last few years in poverty. He was an amazingly prolific composer, much the largest part of his output consisting of chamber music: altogether he produced over fifty string trios and about a hundred each of quartets and quintets, plus many duos and works for various other combinations. It must be said that the quality of his music is at times uneven, yet it rarely fails to charm. His style has a directness and melodiousness, with a general avoidance of the most rigorous thematic development, tending instead towards an imaginative and appealing exploitation of texture – which might explain why his music has enjoyed a certain renaissance with the advent of the period instrument movement.
Towards the end of his life, he tried to eke out a living by arranging some of his earlier music for the Marquis Benavente, who played the guitar. The D major quintet was made up of separate movements from different piano- and two cello- quintets, resulting in a new cello part – complete with such effects as harmonics and glissandi – which (not unexpectedly!) often overshadows the guitar in its overtly concertante rôle. The finale is particularly effective and an inevitable hit: the fandango was a lively Spanish dance in triple time, which had become popular during the current century, although it may previously have originated in South America. There is an optional part for castanets, so if any member of the audience – instruments in pocket – feels in an exhibitionistic frame of mind!
© Alan George
