This short étude in G-sharp minor is the twentieth piece from Studi per il flauto in tutti j tuoni e modi (“Flute studies in all keys and modes”) by the 18th-century French-Italian flutist and composer Niccolò Dôthel (a.k.a. Nicolas D'Hotel).
The “Ballad of the Green Mountain Boys”, also known as “The Green Mountaineer”, is a folk ballad in honor of the Green Mountain Boys, Vermont's homegrown revolutionary army during the American War of Independence. The origins of the tune are unknown, but the lyrics come from “The Song of the Vermonters, 1779”, a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier that was first published in 1838.
Thanks to Ralph for suggesting this tune!
Published in 1840, Robert Schumann's song cycle Myrthen, Op. 25, is dedicated to the composer's wife, Clara. The 26 songs included were presented to her on the occasion of their wedding. Myrthen, or myrtles, are European evergreen shrubs with white or rosy flowers that are often used to make bridal wreaths.
The second piece of the cycle, “Freisinn” (“Free Spirit”), sets to music a poem by Goethe.
Just let me show what I can do in the saddle!
You can stay in your huts and your tents!
And I ride joyously into the boundless distance,
with only the stars above my cap.
Today we propose the opening movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 5 in B-flat major, published in 1685. Like the other Op. 2 sonatas, this is a sonata da camera (“chamber sonata”), and expresses the Italian style of the period. Composed for two melodic instruments (e.g. two violins, or two flutes) and basso continuo, it was intended not only for professional musicians, but also for the private enjoyment of refined amateurs.
Thanks to Mario for contributing this piece!
This is the fifteenth piece from 22 Studies in Expression and Facility, Op. 89 by Italian flutist and composer Ernesto Köhler. This collection was originally published in 1904 with the German title 22 Vortrags- und Geläufigkeits Etuden für Flöte.
This popular nursery rhyme, also known as “Johnny's So Long at the Fair”, can be traced back as far as the 1770s in England, when it was published as part of the Mansfield manuscript, a collection of Scots songs.
O Dear! What can the matter be?
Johnny's so long at the Fair.
He promised he'd bring me a basket of posies,
A garland of lilies, a garland of roses,
A little straw hat to set off the blue ribbons
That tie up my bonny brown hair.
This rondeau is the second movement of Amusement de Bellone, a suite for solo instrument (“musette, vielle, flute and oboe” according to the original edition) and continuo by the French Baroque composer Nicolas Chédeville.
This melody was originally written by London-born composer and singer Charles Edward Horn. It was published in an arrangement for voice and piano in 1825, with the caption “a ballad sung with rapturous applause by Miss George, in the opera of John of Paris”.
Farewell to my harp for its numbers are o'ver,
Well a day! Well a day! Well a day!
Its chords shall resound to my fingers no more;
And hush'd is the song that my soul loved to pour.
The present arrangement for two flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
This study in A major is the twenty-first piece from Studi per il flauto in tutti j tuoni e modi (“Flute studies in all keys and modes”) by French-Italian flutist and composer Niccolò Dôthel (a.k.a. Nicolas D'Hotel).
The earliest appearance of this tune is in the fifth volume of James Aird's A Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, published in Glasgow in 1801. The tune was there printed as a strathspey, while in more recent Irish publications the dotted rhythms have been excised and the tune is proposed as a reel.
This Lied is taken from Dichterliebe (“A Poet's Love”), the best-known song cycle by Robert Schumann. Composed in 1840, it sets to music 16 short poems by the famous German poet Heinrich Heine.
I bear no grudge, though my heart breaks.
Love lost forever, I bear no grudge.
Though you shine in diamond splendor,
no ray falls into the night of your heart,
I have long known it.
I truly saw you in my dreams
And saw the night in your heart,
And saw the snake that devours your heart.
I saw, my love, how very miserable you are.
This is the second movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 5 in B-flat major, published in 1685. Like the other Op. 2 sonatas, this is a sonata da camera (“chamber sonata”) for two melodic instruments (e.g. two violins, or two flutes) and basso continuo. It was intended not only for professional musicians, but also for the private enjoyment of refined amateurs.
Thanks to Mario for contributing this piece!
This is the sixteenth piece from 22 Studies in Expression and Facility, Op. 89 by Italian flutist and composer Ernesto Köhler. This collection was originally published in 1904 with the German title 22 Vortrags- und Geläufigkeits Etuden für Flöte.
According to Alfred Moffat (Minstrelsy of Ireland, 1897), this air was composed by English organist Jonathan Blewitt, who, at the time of its composition, between 1811–14, was musical director of the Theatre Royal, Dublin. It was most likely first produced as a jig for stage dancing, and was later set to the words “Barney Brallaghan's Courtship” by Thomas Hudson.
This rondeau is the third movement of Amusement de Bellone, a suite for solo instrument (“musette, vielle, flute and oboe” according to the original edition) and continuo by the French Baroque composer Nicolas Chédeville.
Today we propose an arrangement for two flutes of a waltz from Saverio Mercadante's 1821 opera Elisa e Claudio (a.k.a. Eliza and Claudio, or Love Protected by Friendship). This arrangement appeared in Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
This study in A minor is the twenty-second piece from Studi per il flauto in tutti j tuoni e modi (“Flute studies in all keys and modes”) by French-Italian flutist and composer Niccolò Dôthel (a.k.a. Nicolas D'Hotel).
The earliest appearance of this reel was in the 5th volume of James Aird's Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, published in Glasgow in 1797.
This delightful short piece for flute and guitar was kindly contributed to our collection by its composer, guitarist Peter Pope.
“Alpiglen” is a short evocation of those moments walking in the Jungfrau Region (Switzerland), when after an arduous (but rewarding) uphill trek, a spectacular view of the Alps opens up at the top of a ridge or around a bend.
Many thanks for sharing your music with us, Peter!
This is the third movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 5 in B-flat major, published in 1685. Like the other Op. 2 sonatas, this is a sonata da camera (“chamber sonata”) for two melodic instruments (e.g. two violins, or two flutes) and basso continuo. It was intended not only for professional musicians, but also for the private enjoyment of refined amateurs.
Thanks to Mario for contributing this piece!
This unusually lively Andante is the seventeenth piece from 22 Studies in Expression and Facility, Op. 89 by Italian flutist and composer Ernesto Köhler. This collection was originally published in 1904 with the German title 22 Vortrags- und Geläufigkeits Etuden für Flöte.
The earliest known appearance of this melody in print is in Rutherford's Choice Collection of Sixty of the Most Celebrated Country Dances, which was published in London in 1750. However, the tune is probably much older; some sources even trace it back to 14th-century plain chant. Other sources think that “Merrily Danced” was either derived from “The Mill Oh”, or that both tunes share a common origin.
The melody was well-known in America at the time of the War for Independence, where it was employed as both a quick march and dance tune.
This piece is the fourth movement of Amusement de Bellone, a suite for solo instrument (“musette, vielle, flute and oboe” according to the original edition) and continuo by the French Baroque composer Nicolas Chédeville.
We could not find any reputable information on the meaning of the title. However: there is a small town in Germany called Dolgesheim, and it is located right next to another small town called Weinolsheim. Since the next movement in Amusement de Bellone is titled “Le Weynolsheim”, we're inclined to think that this is more than just a coincidence.
This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833.
The title probably refers to Jan III Sobieski, who was king of Poland from 1674 until his death in 1696. Sobieski was an able military commander, most famous for his victory over the Turks at the 1683 Battle of Vienna. Very popular among his subjects, he briefly restored the kingdom of Poland-Lithuania to greatness for the last time.
This minuet in A-flat major is the twenty-third piece from Studi per il flauto in tutti j tuoni e modi (“Flute studies in all keys and modes”) by French-Italian flutist and composer Niccolò Dôthel (a.k.a. Nicolas D'Hotel).
This reel was collected by Chicago Police captain Francis O'Neill around the turn of the 20th Century, and published in his 1903 collection Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies.
Joseph Ascher was a Dutch-Jewish composer and pianist who was active in London and Paris for most of his life. He composed mainly piano pieces, but it was the song “Alice, Where Art Thou?”, published in 1868, that became his most popular composition.
This is the fourth and final movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 5 in B-flat major, published in 1685. Like the other Op. 2 sonatas, this is a sonata da camera (“chamber sonata”) for two melodic instruments (e.g. two violins, or two flutes) and basso continuo. It was intended not only for professional musicians, but also for the private enjoyment of refined amateurs.
Thanks to Mario for contributing this piece!