Tuesday 1 December 2015
from Sonata in C major
This piece, alternating slow and quick sections, is the opening movement of a Recorder Sonata in C major by Belgian Baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Loeillet, who is often called Loeillet de Gant (or Loeillet of Ghent) to avoid confusion with his cousin, Jean-Baptiste Loeillet of London, who also was a well-known musician and composer.
Thanks to Jean-Pierre for suggesting this piece!
Wednesday 2 December 2015
from “3 Duos Brillans & Faciles pour Deux Flûtes”
This cut-time rondo is the third and final movement of the first of 3 Duos Brillans & Faciles pour Deux Flûtes, Op. 46 by French flutist and composer Tranquille Berbiguier.
Thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!
Thursday 3 December 2015
from “24 Etudes for solo flute”
This jumpy study in F minor constitutes the tenth 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 4 December 2015
American ragtime song, transcribed for flute and piano
This ragtime song was composed in 1896 by German-American composer Theodore A. Metz. While on tour with the McIntyre and Heath Minstrels, of whom he was the band leader, their train arrived at a place called “Old Town”. From their train window, he could see a group of children starting a fire, near the tracks. One of the other minstrels remarked that “there'll be a hot time in the old town tonight”. Metz noted the remark on a scrap of paper, intending to write a march with that motif. He did indeed write the march the very next day. It was then used by the McIntyre and Heath Minstrels in their Street parades. The song was very popular, even before Joe Hayden, a singer in the minstrel company, added the lyric.
The song was a favorite of the American military around the start of the 20th century, particularly during the Spanish–American War and the Boxer Rebellion. The tune became popular in the military after it was used as a theme by Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders.
Thanks to Steve for suggesting this song!
Saturday 5 December 2015
from Flute Concerto No. 3 in G major
This rondo is the closing movement of a flute concerto in G major by German-Czech Classical composer Antonio Rosetti, first published around 1781. A double-bass player, Rosetti was born Franz Anton Rösler in Litoměřice, a town in Northern Bohemia, but later moved to Germany. He was a contemporary of Haydn and Mozart, and wrote a great deal of instrumental music, including many symphonies and concertos.
Thanks to Johann Friedrich for suggesting this piece!
Sunday 6 December 2015
from Sonata for two flutes in E minor
This Allegro is the second movement of a Sonata in E minor for two flutes or recorders by a German composer named Johann Christoph Schultze. This is not to be confused with the apparently unrelated composer of the same name who was born in 1733, as this sonata was first published in Hamburg in 1729.
Thanks to Anna for suggesting this piece!
Monday 7 December 2015
from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”
This arpeggiated Adagio is the thirty-eighth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
Tuesday 8 December 2015
Traditional Scottish strathspey
This minor-mode Scottisch strathspey dates back to at least 1870.
The craw killed the pussy, O
The craw killed the pussy, O
The mother cat sat doon an' grat
For her wee bit pussy, O
Thanks to Ronald for suggesting this tune!
Wednesday 9 December 2015
from Flute Sonata No. 5 in F major
This 3/8-time Presto is the second and last movement of a Sonata in F major for flute and continuo, written around 1750 by Italian Classical composer Giuseppe Sarti.
Thursday 10 December 2015
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 eleventh of the inventions in an arrangement for two flutes by Wilhelm Schönicke, originally published in 1902.
Friday 11 December 2015
from “24 Etudes for solo flute”
This jumpy study in D-flat major constitutes the eleventh 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.
Saturday 12 December 2015
Traditional Irish jig
This jig is taken from Harding's All-Round Collection of Jigs, Reels and Country Dances, published in New York in 1905. In the Arabian Nights Morgiana was a brave and sharp-witted slave girl who aids Ali Baba, whom at the end of the tale he frees and betroths to his nephew. The name Morgiana is also a variant of Morgan le Fay, sister to King Arthur and a famous witch.
Sunday 13 December 2015
from Sonata in C major
This Adagio is the third movement of a Recorder Sonata in C major by Belgian Baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Loeillet, who is often called Loeillet de Gant (or Loeillet of Ghent) to avoid confusion with his cousin, Jean-Baptiste Loeillet of London, who also was a well-known musician and composer.
Monday 14 December 2015
from Sonata for two flutes in E minor
This Andante is the third movement of a Sonata in E minor for two flutes or recorders by a German composer named Johann Christoph Schultze. This is not to be confused with the apparently unrelated composer of the same name who was born in 1733, as this sonata was first published in Hamburg in 1729.
Tuesday 15 December 2015
from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”
This Moderato in G-flat major (yes, that means 6 flats!) is the thirty-ninth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
Wednesday 16 December 2015
Traditional American tune
This C-major reel is taken from the third volume of George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, originally published in Baltimore in 1839.
Thursday 17 December 2015
from Sonata in A major
This gorgeous Allegro is the first movement of a Sonata in A major for flute or violin written by Czech Classical composer Johann Baptist Wanhal.
Friday 18 December 2015
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 twelfth of the inventions in an arrangement for two flutes by Wilhelm Schönicke, originally published in 1902.
Saturday 19 December 2015
from “24 Etudes for solo flute”
This Allegro in B-flat minor constitutes the twelfth 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. Try to play all the 16th notes evenly!
Sunday 20 December 2015
Traditional Irish/Scottish air
This tune appears in Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. It is known under a few rather contrasting titles, including “I Lost My Love”, “This is My Love, Do You Like Her?”, and “I Love You Not and I Care Not”.
Monday 21 December 2015
by Paganini, transcribed for solo flute
This Rondo is the third movement of Niccolò Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 7, composed in 1826. It owes its nickname “La Campanella” (or “La Clochette” in French) to the “little bell” which Paganini prescribes to presage each recurrence of the rondo theme.
Like most of Paganini's works, the original rondo is longish, and includes very demanding, virtuoso passages. It also features very high harmonics. To keep you and us sane, we decided not to make a complete transcription of it, but only of its most well-known part.
Thanks to Agnese from Rome for suggesting this piece!
Tuesday 22 December 2015
from Flute duet No. 4
This Allegro in A major is the opening movement of the fourth flute duet from Six duos faciles et brillants by Danish flutist and composer Niels Peter Jensen.
Wednesday 23 December 2015
from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”
This “Allegro moderato” in F-sharp major (that's 6-sharp key signature!) is the fortieth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
Thursday 24 December 2015
Traditional English tune
This jig version of Greensleeves is also known in Ireland under the titles “I'm a Silly Old Man” and “Bunch of Roses”. The latter was a common name for the red-coated British Army (which always had a large number of Irish conscripts), but also refers symbolically to the union of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
The first appearance of the tune in print appears to be in Howe's 1000 Jigs and Reels, published around 1867.
Friday 25 December 2015
Variations on “La Marseillaise” for Flute and bass instrument
This brilliant set of variations on the French National Anthem, “La Marseillaise”, was written by Italian violinist and composer Giuseppe Maria Cambini in 1794.
Merry Christmas from flutetunes.com!
Saturday 26 December 2015
arranged for three flutes
“Glorious Apollo” was written by organist and composer Samuel Webbe, Sr. in 1787 as a theme song for the newly founded London Glee Club. It is one of the most notable examples of glee, an English type of part song usually scored for at least three voices, and generally intended to be sung unaccompanied.
The present arrangement for three flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
Sunday 27 December 2015
from “24 Etudes for solo flute”
This “Non troppo vivo” (“not too lively”) in F-sharp major constitutes the thirteenth 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.
Monday 28 December 2015
Traditional march tune
This march appears in Chicago police officer Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. O'Neill notes:
In the heyday of Bonaparte's renown, early in the nineteenth century, many songs, marches, hornpipes, etc. were named in his honor in Ireland.
Most of the tunes, being traditional, retain their popularity. It is not claimed that “Bonaparte's Grand March” is an Irish composition. In fact we have no information concerning its history or origin, but there can be no question as to its circulation and popularity in Ireland in former times. Its rescue from the oblivion of faded manuscript to the publicity of the printed page may endow this spirited march with renewed vitality.
Tuesday 29 December 2015
from Sonata in C major
This is the fourth and last movement of a Recorder Sonata in C major by Belgian Baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Loeillet, who is often called Loeillet de Gant (or Loeillet of Ghent) to avoid confusion with his cousin, Jean-Baptiste Loeillet of London, who also was a well-known musician.
Wednesday 30 December 2015
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 thirteenth of the inventions in an arrangement for two flutes by Wilhelm Schönicke, originally published in 1902.
Thursday 31 December 2015
from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”
This “Molto moderato” (“very moderately”, meaning not too fast) in B-flat major is the forty-first piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.