George Onslow String Quintet No.15 in c minor, Op.38 "The Bullet"

George Onslow's String Quintet No.15 in c minor, Op.38 in dates from 1829. It is one of Onslow’s best known, perhaps because it programmatically recounts an incident in which he was accidentally shot in the face and nearly killed during a hunt in which he only came along as a spectator, hence the name. The movements bear such titles as Dolore, Convalenscenza and Guarigione. The opening begins with a powerful crashing chord and at once we know something bad is going to happen as a dramatic and melancholy theme is presented. In the second movement, Dolore, he has been shot. Tremendous use of downward plunging chromaticism, dynamics and powerful chords create a very heightened sense of terror. He convalesces in the slow movement, a quiet, almost religious Andante sostenuto. The finale begins with a frantic fanfare of the sort a movie star who has made a come back might use, but the rest of the movement is more jovial.

During his lifetime, Onslow, above all, was known as the composer of string quintets for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos. With the exception of Boccherini, all of the other major composers before him, including Mozart and Beethoven, wrote string quintets for 2 violins, 2 violas and cello. (Schubert's great work remained undiscovered until 1850 and unknown for another decade after that.) Schumann and Mendelssohn ranked Onslow's chamber music with that of Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn. George Onslow (1784-1853), certainly illustrates the fickleness of fame. He was born the son of an English father and French mother. His 36 string quartets and 34 string quintets were, during his own lifetime and up to the end of the 19th century, held in the highest regard, particularly in Germany, Austria and England where he was regularly placed in the front rank of composers. His work was admired by both Beethoven and Schubert, the latter modeling his own 2 cello quintet (D.956) on those of Onslow and not, as is so often claimed, on those of Boccherini. As tastes changed after the First World War, his music, along with that of so many other fine composers, fell into oblivion and up until 1984, the bicentennial of his birth, he remained virtually unknown. Since then, his music, to the delight of players and listeners alike, is slowly being rediscovered, played and recorded. Onslow’s writing was unique in that he was successfully able to merge the drama of the opera into the chamber music idiom perfected by the Vienna masters.

This is another of Onslow's fine string quintets. Our edition is based on the Probst edition, however, we have made several changes and improvements making the work easier to play and to perform

(A) 2 Violins, Viola & 2 Cellos-Parts	$29.95
(B) 2 Violins, Viola & 2 Cellos-Parts & Score	$39.95
(C) 2 Violins, 2 Violas & Cello-Parts	$29.95
(D) 2 Violins, 2 Violas & Cello-Parts & Score	$29.95
(E) All Six Parts	$36.95
(F) All Six Parts & Score	$46.95

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