Edition Schott

Florian Leopold Gaßmann's (1729-1774) Op. 2, 'Sei quintetti, Dilatamenti, Notturni o sia Serenate Per Violino o Flauto, Violino Secondo, Due Viole e Baßso ... ' belongs among the earliest quintets, alongside those by Aumann, Vanhall, Wagenseil and a few others. In contrast to three other quintets of this series, the principal part in this quintet is free of typical instructions for the strings and double stops ; it may therefore even be played by the flute.
As in Joseph Haydn's first quartets Op. 1, two minuets in the current quintet frame a slow middle section, a minor movement, which interrupts the common equality of keys. Typical of the early quintet settings of the Viennese area is the arrangement of violins and violas in pairs so that the parts are often similar to a trio setting accompanied in thirds. This arrangement of parts is sometimes broken up, in this case by the solo of the principal viola in the second trio or by the brief ensemble playing of the principal violin and cello in the slow movement.
Instrumentation : 2 violins, 2 violas and cello op. 2/6