Chineke! Septet

Chineke! Septet

Richard Strauss Til Eulenspiegel

Ignatius Sancho Septet arrangements of two minuets

Franz Berwald Grand Septet

Errollyn Wallen NNENNA

Ludwig van Beethoven Septet

A joyous frolic through German folk hero Til Eulenspiegel’s merriest of pranks (differently for once!) in Franz Hasenöhrl’s reduction for five instruments of the orchestral original.

Master of the King’s Music Errollyn Wallen wrote NNENNA in 2018 in memory of Mgbafor Nnenna Inyama (1963–1986), the piece ends with an arrangement of the highlife song Sweet Mother by Prince Nico Mbarga, sometimes referred to as ‘Africa’s National Anthem’.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Septet was one of the most popular works during the composer’s lifetime, much to his annoyance ‘that damn work! I wish it were burned!’. Thankfully it wasn’t burned as the sublime work influenced other great works on the wind/ string repertoire including nonets by Louis Spohr and Louise Farrenc, and Franz Schubert’s Octet.