Friday 1 January 2016
Traditional Irish jig
This set of variations on the Irish tune “The Gobby-O” is taken from Chicago police officer Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. The tune became popular in American fife and drum repertory, especially under the title “Jefferson and Liberty”, the name of a campaign song set to the melody.
One suggestion regarding the meaning of the title postulates a progressive derivation from “Gaberlunzie Boy” (i.e. beggar boy), shortened to “Gaby Boy”, and finally morphing into “Gobby-O”. Other sources say that the title refers to a ‘gobby-stick’ (a flute or fife), the inference being that these woodwind instruments are hollow sticks played with the mouth (‘gob’ is the Gaelic word for ‘beak’ or ‘mouth’).
Saturday 2 January 2016
from Flute Sonata No. 6 in D major
This “Andante non molto” is the first movement of a Sonata in D major for flute and continuo, written around 1750 by Italian Classical composer Giuseppe Sarti.
Sunday 3 January 2016
Flute duet by Spyros Kontolatis
Today we present a very nice piece for two flutes composed by one of our visitors, Spyros Kontolatis from Greece.
While practising the high octave, the main melody just came to me and I started humming it. After it was vaguely formed, I figured the exact scale for it on my guitar, because theory and harmony come easier to me there, and decided to write it as a flute duet in G minor. The main reason for the moderate tempo is that I wanted to focus on tone practice and to make transitions in the high octave easy. I added the second flute part so that the song would sound fuller harmonically, and so that I could use it to practise tuning with my teacher.
I named the piece “Fall of a Star”, because that's what the melody reminded me of. Then I shared it with my teacher and some friends and, since they liked it, I decided to try to submit it to flutetunes.com, because I figured, if it helps me learn, why not help others too?
Thank you for your contribution, Spyros!
Monday 4 January 2016
from “24 Etudes for solo flute”
This jumpy study in E-flat minor constitutes the fourteenth piece from a collection of 24 Etudes for the flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute and improved its fingering system.
Tuesday 5 January 2016
Traditional American tune
This reel, a distanced American variant of the Scottish “Duke of Gordon's Rant”, is taken from the third volume of George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, originally published in Baltimore in 1839.
Wednesday 6 January 2016
from Mussorgsky's “Pictures at an Exhibition”
Today we present the second movement of Modest Mussorgsky's famous suite for piano “Pictures at an Exhibition”, which has also become known through various orchestrations and arrangements, with Ravel's arrangement being the most recorded and performed. This movement, whose Italian title means “The Old Castle”, is thought to be based on a watercolor depiction of an Italian castle. The tempo marking reads “Andante molto cantabile e con dolore”, which translates literally as “At walking pace, very singable and with sorrow”.
Thanks to Peter for suggesting this piece!
Thursday 7 January 2016
Traditional English song, arranged for flute trio
This song, dating back to the beginning of the 19th century, comes from Wiltshire, a county in South West England. The present arrangement for three flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
Friday 8 January 2016
from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”
This “Cantabile” in D major is the forty-second piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
Saturday 9 January 2016
Traditional American tune
This old A-Dorian reel is taken from the third volume of George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, originally published in Baltimore in 1839.
Sunday 10 January 2016
by Edvard Grieg, arranged for flute and piano
This memorable piece appears in the fifth of the ten volumes comprising Grieg's Lyric Pieces for solo piano, published in 1891. It is certainly among the most well-known pieces by the Norwegian composer. Cast in a well-defined ABA form, it contrasts the firm, rhythmic (dwarves are marching, after all!) material of the outer sections with a sweet lyrical melody.
Thanks to Sophia for suggesting this piece!
Monday 11 January 2016
from Flute duet No. 4
This Andante in E major is the central movement of the fourth flute duet from Six duos faciles et brillants by Danish flutist and composer Niels Peter Jensen.
Tuesday 12 January 2016
from “24 Etudes for solo flute”
This Andante in B major constitutes the fifteenth piece from a collection of 24 Etudes for the flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute and improved its fingering system.
Wednesday 13 January 2016
Traditional Scottish tune
This marching tune appears in Chicago police officer Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. The original name of the tune could not be ascertained, so O'Neill named it “The Rambler from Ross” as it was a favorite of Highland piper William McLean's, who was a native of Ross, Scotland.
Thursday 14 January 2016
from Sonata in A major
This minuet and its two accompanying variations constitute the third and final movement of a Sonata in A major for flute or violin written by Czech Classical composer Johann Baptist Wanhal.
Friday 15 January 2016
arranged for two flutes
Johann Sebastian Bach's Two-Part Inventions are a collection of fifteen short keyboard compositions, originally written as musical exercises for his students.
Today we present the fourteenth of the inventions in an arrangement for two flutes by Wilhelm Schönicke, originally published in 1902.
Saturday 16 January 2016
from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”
This Andantino in D minor is the forty-third piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
Sunday 17 January 2016
Traditional American tune
This reel appears in the third volume of George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, originally published in Baltimore in 1839, where it is attributed to a L.W. Webb. The James River is a major waterway in eastern Virginia, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.
Monday 18 January 2016
from Flute Sonata No. 6 in D major
This Allegro is the second and last movement of a Sonata in D major for flute and continuo, written around 1750 by Italian Classical composer Giuseppe Sarti.
Tuesday 19 January 2016
Traditional English tune, arranged for flute trio
This is the traditional marching song of British and Canadian grenadier units, and its tune dates back to the 17th century.
It makes its appearance in many movies, from Barry Lyndon to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, from The Four Feathers to Pride and Prejudice, and from The Patriot to The Italian Job.
The present arrangement for three flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
Wednesday 20 January 2016
from “24 Etudes for solo flute”
This Vivace in A-flat minor (that's right, all 7 flats in the key signature!) is the sixteenth piece from a collection of 24 Etudes for the flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor and musician who perfected the modern Western concert flute and improved its fingering system.
Playing in this uncommon key can be an excellent sight-reading exercise, but if you find it too difficult you can easily play the study in the plainer key of A minor. All you have to do is ignoring the flats in the key signature, and shifting all accidentals up a semitone: flats become naturals, naturals become sharps, etc.
Thursday 21 January 2016
Traditional Scottish air
This slow air is often attributed to Scottish music publisher, composer and dancing master James Oswald, who published it in his 1746 collection The Caledonian Pocket Companion. However, it is not marked as his tune, and it had appeared a few years earlier in William McGibbon's collection under the title “The House of Glamis”.
The air was used as a marching tune by the British army during the American Revolutionary War period. In his book Military Music of the American Revolution, Raoul Camus writes that the tune was the melody most often associated with funerals during the Revolution, and notes that legend has it that it was played by Scottish bagpipers stationed in New York at the time, in honor of the castle at Roslyn, Midlothian, Scotland. It was perhaps in a funereal state of mind that British troops in 1781 played the tune as they marched out the small Long Island, New York, village of Hempstead Harbor. The oppressed residents, however, rejoiced at the sound, and remembering this, in 1844 their descendants changed the name of their village to Roslyn.
Thanks to Ronald for suggesting this tune!
Friday 22 January 2016
from “Sonate accademiche”, transcribed for flute and bass instrument
This “Andante moderato” is the third movement of the sixth sonata from the Sonate accademiche collection by Italian Baroque composer Francesco Maria Veracini. Originally published in 1744 for violin and continuo, it is probably one of Veracini's best-known works.
Thanks to Istvan for suggesting this piece!
Saturday 23 January 2016
from Flute duet No. 4
This “Scherzando” (“jokingly”) in A is the closing movement of the fourth flute duet from Six duos faciles et brillants by Danish flutist and composer Niels Peter Jensen.
Sunday 24 January 2016
from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”
This “Risoluto ma non presto” (“boldly, but not too fast”) is the forty-fourth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
Monday 25 January 2016
Traditional Scottish tune
This reel was written by Nathaniel Gow, a famous Scottish fiddler of the 18th century. The tune also goes by the title “Colonel Renton's Favourite”, which refers to the Colonel Renton who owned the extensive estate of Lamberton in Berwickshire, Scotland. Until 1837, there was public horse racing held for several days at the end of May, and a ball was usually held at the end of the event.
Tuesday 26 January 2016
from Sonata No. 5 in G major
This elaborate Allegro is the opening movement of a Sonata in G major for flute or violin written by Czech Classical composer Johann Baptist Wanhal.
Wednesday 27 January 2016
arranged for two flutes
Johann Sebastian Bach's Two-Part Inventions are a collection of fifteen short keyboard compositions, originally written as musical exercises for his students.
Today we present the fifteenth and last of the inventions in an arrangement for two flutes by Wilhelm Schönicke, originally published in 1902.
Thursday 28 January 2016
from “24 Etudes for solo flute”
This “Allegretto con moto” in E major is the seventeenth piece from a collection of 24 Etudes for the flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute and improved its fingering system.
Friday 29 January 2016
Traditional Scottish jig
This country dance tune, also known as “Lanquenet”, dates back to at least 1753. The expression “Lamb Skinnet” has a documented history as the vulgar term for “Lansquenet”, the name of a card game, which is itself a corruption of the German Landsknecht, meaning a German mercenary soldier.
Thanks to Ronald for suggesting this tune!
Saturday 30 January 2016
from Partita No. 2, arranged for flute and keyboard
This is the opening movement of Georg Philipp Telemann's Partita No. 2 in G major, TWV 41:G2, originally published in 1716 as part of the Kleine Kammermusik (“little chamber music”) collection. The original edition indicates that the melody is intended to be played by an oboe, a violin, or a flute.
Sunday 31 January 2016
Traditional Scottish tune, arranged for flute trio
This Scottish patriotic song has served for centuries as an unofficial national anthem of the country. While the lyrics were written by Robert Burns in 1793, the tune is an old traditional air originally known as “Hey Tuttie Tatie”. The same tune has been used as the basis for several other songs, such as “Fill Up Your Bumpers High” (1718) and “Bridekirk's Hunting”.
The present arrangement for three flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.