In the 18th century the family of wind instruments suddenly grew in importance. The pastoral character of the woodwinds and the stately character of the brass players made many rich noblemen request a special role for the wind section of their orchestras on many occasions. These wind ensembles, also known as “Harmonie”, played an important role in the music life of the Enlightenment and famous composers wrote masterpieces for winds in varying strengths. At the beginning of the 19th century the dominating position of patronage by the nobility gradually disappeared, mostly because of financial problems, and around 1820 most of the wind ensembles had vanished from the stage. In 1984 Paul Dombrecht founded Octophoros, with a view to revaluing the often forgotten music for this kind of cast, while concurrently singling out for special attention more recent compositions for similar ensembles. The core group consists of two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, and two horns. The CD with Mozart’s Gran Partita and the unique recording of Wind & Janissary Music have been awarded international prizes.