''Summer Music'', Op. 31, is a classical composition for

wind quintet A wind quintet, also known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon). Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the i ...

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor (music), conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the mid-20th century. Principally influenced ...

Background

Samuel Barber received a commission in 1953 from the Chamber Music Society of Detroit to write a piece of music for

string instrument In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

s and

woodwind instrument Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and ...

s. Barber drew from some of his previous work, including the unpublished orchestral piece ''Horizon'' (1945), as material for ''Summer Music''. Originally meant to be a septet for three woodwinds, three strings, and piano, ''Summer Music'' evolved into a quintet as Barber experimented with some tuning études written by hornist John Barrows for himself and his colleagues in the

New York Woodwind Quintet The New York Woodwind Quintet has been an ensemble-in-residence at the Juilliard School in New York City since 1987. At Juilliard, the members of the New York Woodwind Quintet present seminars each year for student woodwind ensembles, regularly coa ...

. On March 20, 1956, as part of the twelfth season of the Chamber Music Society, the premiere of ''Summer Music'' took place at the Detroit Institute of Arts, performed by the first-desk players of the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall (Detroit, Michigan), Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown, Detroit, ...

: James Pellerite (flute), Arno Mariotti (oboe), Albert Luconi (clarinet), Charles Sirard (bassoon), and Ray Alonge (horn). The performance was received warmly by the audience, its success partially attributable to the audience's investment in the piece. Instead of a commissioning fee, Barber agreed to accept donations from the audience, with the Chamber Music Society acting as guarantor for a minimum of $2000. ''Summer Music'' is Barber's only chamber composition for wind instruments, and has become a staple of the wind-quintet repertory. Citation on pp. 239–40.

Composition

''Summer Music'' showcases each instrument of the wind quintet for which it was composed, namely the

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

, and

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

. The piece is in a single movement, and has been described as ranging from lyrical and lazy to energetic and contrapuntal. Citation on p. 240.]

Notes

References

*Wentzel, Wayne C. ''Samuel Barber: A Guide to Research''. Routledge. New York, New York 2001.
Los Angeles Philharmonics
{{Authority control Chamber music by Samuel Barber Compositions for wind quintet 1956 compositions