Septet

Paul Dean's Septet was commissioned by Andrew Johnston for the Melbourne Ensemble as part of a joint plan between the Melbourne based group and Ensemble Q to grow the repertoire, especially Australia repertoire, for the combinations of both the Beethoven Septet and the Schubert Octet. We think of these groupings of instruments as stuck in the early Romantic era and are simply viewed in many circles as time pieces. But the possibilities are endless. Why didn't the Septet/Octet formations live beyond their short lives is hard to fathom when the success of these two monster pieces was shared by performers and audiences and even critics alike. Many composers from the era tried but failed to hit the mark with their attempts at extending the repertoire.

Paul Dean's work, a companion piece to the Beethoven Septet, delves into the contemporary notion of how the pairing and or groupings of instruments within the ensemble can be treated, in a sympathetic and also contrasting way to how Beethoven envisaged the work. With a modern ear for string harmonics, the use of the bass clarinet, an enlarged role for the double bass and bassoon, and a strong sense of bitonality and polytonality, Dean has created a work that gives life to the "museum" ensemble in an exciting, imaginative and compelling way. The second movement stands out as an emotional outpouring to the memory of his cousin who died suddenly from a late cancer diagnosis, and the last mvt Tarantella gives a frenetic life to an old dance form whilst paying tribute to the ghost of Beethoven in the room.