One of the delightful things about music is that that there is always something new to hear. This past spring the Wind Quintet by Paul Taffanel came to my attention for the first time and left me (again) asking myself “how have I never heard this delightful piece before?” Of course, as a flute player I am familiar with the beloved but strict taskmaster Taffanel of the famous 17 Grands Exercises Journaliers de Mechanisme, but here was a different Taffanel; a Taffanel who is playful, joyous, and light.

Paul Taffanel composed this quintet in 1876 for a competition organized by Le Société des Compositeurs; the piece won the prize and was premiered in May 1878. And while I personally am only recently acquainted with it, the quintet has been a staple of the woodwind quintet repertoire for over a century.

My fascination with this well constructed piece led me to try putting he first few phrases into the computer to see how it might sound for flute choir or quintet and I was soon caught up in the work. If you know the piece or if, like me, you are a new to this work; I hope that you enjoy getting acquainted with M. Taffanel through this quintet.

This is a digital version of the piece that you can download as a PDF and print.