Calefax Reed Quintet marks a bittersweet milestone with this single: the final recording made with bass clarinetist Jelte Althuis before his departure from the ensemble after 32 years. Fittingly, the piece is Althuis’s own last arrangement for the group — Bach’s early Aria Variata alla Maniera Italiana, composed during the years the young Bach was tasked with copying popular Italian repertoire. Althuis describes writing the arrangement while wrestling with his decision to leave, and hearing his own shifting moods in the work’s ten variations, which swing from ordered restraint to near-frenzy before settling into quiet resolution. The release closes a remarkable chapter, with personal tributes from each member reflecting on more than three decades of music-making together.

Calefax Reed Quintet