Mozart had Anton Stadler and Brahms had Richard Mühlfeld – clarinettists who inspired late masterpieces for their instrument. Heinrich Joseph Baermann (1784-1847) was their counterpart in the first half of the 19th century, a single-reed muse most notably for Weber and Mendelssohn, both of whom composed a range of works for him. Weber wrote of Baermann’s ‘welcome homogeneity of tone from top to bottom’, and he became known as the Rubini of the clarinet – an appellation that perhaps has less resonance today than it did during the lifetimes of both clarinettist and tenor.

Baermann’s prowess is evident from those well-known works by his contemporaries and is confirmed by the music he wrote for himself. It’s frustratingly hard to ascertain precisely when he composed many of his works, although these three quintets for clarinet and strings were published between 1817 and 1821. A ringing, singing tone is clearly a requirement – less so a rich lower register, as these works more readily exploit the clarinet’s sonorous treble range than its throaty chalumeau – and Baermann was also clearly a finger technician of the highest order.

Op 23 in E flat is the centrepiece of the recording (whose printed material gives an incorrect running order) and frames a quasi-operatic Adagio with a moderately fast opener and a more playful finale. Op 19 in E flat and Op 22 in F minor both add to this layout a third-place minuet. None of the three works is really the equal in ambition or achievement of the quintets by Mozart, Weber or Brahms but Baermann was able to craft engaging music that went some way beyond being a simple vehicle for his virtuosity.

Henk de Graaf and the Schubert Consort Netherlands are recorded rather closely, making audible throughout the mechanics of woodwind-playing, including key clicks, leaking air and the sounds made by the interface between flesh and reed. That may or may not bother you but such up-front sound also reveals moments when the notes are not fully under the fingers or the tongue can’t articulate quite quickly enough. For a better recorded balance and more authoritative playing, including a greater dynamic range, the Swiss ensemble of clarinettist Rita Karin Meier and the Belenus Quartet, offering the same three works, may be preferable.