Little is known of Jacques-Jules Bouffil (or Boufil, 1783–1868) before his admission to the newly founded Paris Conservatoire in 1801. There he became a clarinet student of Xavier Lefèvre, apparently making such rapid progress that he was awarded a premier prix on his graduation in 1806 and appointed second clarinet in the Opéra-Comique a year later. In the years following he began to share principal clarinet duties with Charles Duvernoy until eventually (in 1821) succeeding him outright in the post.

Enter the Czech-born composer Antonín Reicha, who had arrived in the French capital from Vienna in 1808 fleeing the conflict that had engulfed Europe. A later account of 1837 tells us that while the Théâtre Feydeau was performing Reicha’s opera Cagliostro, the composer was approached one day by Bouffil and a colleague, Guénée, both members of the orchestra, asking for composition lessons. Reicha agreed, and his private class soon swelled to include other talented Parisian instrumentalists, Joseph Guillou (flute), Gustave Vogt (oboe), Antoine Henry (bassoon) and Louis Dauprat (horn) among them.

The same account goes on to relay that, as the winds had been neglected as solo instruments in favour of strings by composers of the day (Mozart excepted), Reicha had the idea to combine the five principal winds, and after some research he published six wind quintets in succession, performed by Bouffil and the above-mentioned members of his composition studio over three consecutive winters, in the foyer of the Salle Favart.

Scored for clarinet with piano or harp accompaniment, the Duo, op.4, follows classical precedent with a sonata-form Allegro, a brief cantabile slow movement and a brilliant finale. Bouffil’s transcription for two clarinets of the overture to Boieldieu’s comic opera La Dame blanche would have come easy after countless nights performing the work in the pit at the Opéra-Comique. The three trios from Opp. 7 & 8 have been selected from nine such didactic works by Bouffil. Judging by the technical demands of many of the passages, he had highly advanced students in mind. The trios are structured in four movements, each with a menuet and trio, thus maintaining a tenuous link to the classical style. The three clarinet parts are complementary, with the melody line shared among them.

Thanks to eminent Italian clarinettist Luigi Magistrelli these works are recorded here for the first time, a delight for both clarinet players and music lovers alike.