François Devienne: Quartett in g op. 73 Nr. 3: Kammerensemble

The “Trois Quatuors Pour Basson, Violon, Alto et Basse, op. 73”, published by Erard (Paris) in 1798, were dedicated to Devienne’s friend, Garnier of Lyon. This may have been François Joseph Garnier (1755-1825), a noted French oboist and flautist, also a composer of solo and wind chamber music and a widely-used method for oboe. These quartets are somewhat superior to most of those contemporaneous works written for a wind instrument and strings. Although the bassoon part is a brilliant one, each of the string voices enjoys a high degree of independence.