Martin Joseph Mengal
Three Quartets, Op. 18, for Flute, Clarinet (or Oboe), Horn and Bassoon
The Mengal brothers are frequently confused in the specialist literature. There were two composers: Martin Joseph Mengal (1784–1851) and his younger brother Jean Mengal (1796–1878), both accomplished horn players. Below you will find some biographical information on Martin Joseph Mengal. His younger brother Jean trained in Paris under the horn player Domnich and, like his brother in 1809, won 1st Prize at the Paris Conservatoire, in his case in 1814. He served as principal horn at the Paris Opéra and also composed for his instrument. As a result, individual works cannot always be attributed with certainty to one brother or the other.
The quartets edited here are by Martin Joseph Mengal. They date from his Paris years. The title page names Mengal as principal horn at the Royal Opéra-Comique in Paris. The print of these quartets was published in 1816 by the Paris publisher Bochsa.
In the clarinet part of these quartets, Mengal notes that it may also be played on oboe. Alongside the original part in C, our edition therefore also includes a clarinet part in B♭.
