de Guise, Jean François – Clarinet Quintet for Clarinet in Bb and String Quartet op. 17, No. 10

Guise Jean François de
Clarinet Quintet for Clarinet in Bb and String Quartet
op. 17, No. 10

In 2015 this quintet was born out of a collaboration with the cellist Ithay Khen.
That the chosen solo instrument is the clarinet may be surprising, knowing that Ithay Khen is considered one of today's leading Israeli cellists. He appears not only as a soloist, but also as a member of various chamber music ensembles, where he gives way to colleagues as a soloist.
However, if one takes a close look at the distribution of tasks in the quintet, one quickly notices that the clarinet and the cello act in a corresponding manner and that the cello develops motifs which the clarinet then takes over and expands in a varying manner. Even in the passages where these two instruments communicate directly with each other, the cello does not have an accompanying role, but rather functions as a duo partner.
The violins and viola follow the two outside voices and complete the movement. The quintet that Jean François de Guise composed here has power and vitality. Like almost all of his works, of recent times, he deals here with a sound structure based on the extended 12-tone technique, which gives it its very own spheres of sound, rhythm and musical composition.

clarinet, 2 violins, viola, violoncello
score & parts / 31 pages