Music archive entry

First of all, the title: "L'Aube." Why not "Serenade," or "Notturno," or "Barcarolle," or even "Intermezzo"? These are evening words, and this piece for wind quintet sounds more ante meridien than post meridien to me. Yes, the title could be "Daybreak," but that bespeaks a too time-specific meaning for music that has something of an improvisatory air. The monosyllabic, intoned, long sound of the French "l'aube" (for "dawn" . . . well, one of the French words for "Dawn") seems right. "L'Aube" is a simple, five-minute work for wind quintet, in a slow-ish pulse of two, with a basic rocking rhythm.

The piece is essentially quiet, unruffled, with little bits of interplay among the five instruments, but no rigorous contrapuntal activity. Here and there come chirps and twitters, all over a ground of sustained harmonic wash.