This is the eighteenth 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 recorded appearance of this reel is in David Young's Duke of Perth Manuscript (a.k.a. the Drummond Castle MS), which dates back to 1734. It was probably derived from “Buttered Peas”, an air that can be found in James Ralph's 1730 opera Fashionable Lady.
This piece is the fifth 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.
There is a small town in Germany called Weinolsheim, and it is located right next to another small town called Dolgesheim. Since Amusement de Bellone also has a movement titled “Le Dolgelsheim”, we're inclined to think that this is more than just a coincidence.
This song/poem was written by Irish poet, singer and songwriter Thomas Moore, who is now best remembered for authoring the lyrics of “The Minstrel Boy” and “The Last Rose of Summer”. It is uncertain whether Moore also composed the music to this song.
I give thee all—I can no more
Though poor the off'ring be;
My heart and lute are all the store
That I can bring to thee.
A lute whose gentle song reveals
the soul of love full well;
And, better far, a heart that feels
Much more than lute could tell.
The present arrangement for two flutes appeared in Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
This little minuet-like study in A-flat minor (everything flat!) is the twenty-fourth 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 11th edition of Henry Playford's The Dancing Master, dated 1701.
Over the last century, “Portsmouth” has achieved a revival of sorts among English country dancing aficionados. English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams used the melody as one of three for the basis of his march Sea Songs, originally arranged for military band in 1923 as the second movement of his English Folk Song Suite, and subsequently re-arranged for full orchestra in 1942.
In 1952, “Portsmouth” was used as the signature tune for BBC television series Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School.
Popular musician Mike Oldfield (of “Tubular Bells” fame) recorded an instrumental arrangement of the tune in 1976. Released as a single, it is Oldfield's highest charting single in the United Kingdom, where it reached number three.
Thanks to Phil for suggesting this tune!
This simple, delicate song was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1780 to words by Johann Martin Miller. Its German title translates as “Contentment”.
There are actually two songs by Mozart titled “Die Zufriedenheit”. One can distinguish them by their catalogue number: the present song is labeled K. 349, the other one K. 473.
This Largo is the opening movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 6 in G minor, published in 1685. Unlike most of the other Op. 2 sonatas, this one has no explicitly designated prelude, so this slow Allemanda acts as one in practice.
Thanks to Mario for contributing this piece!
This is the nineteenth 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 appearance of this tune is in the 4th edition of Henry Playford's The Dancing Master, dated 1670, under the title “Jameko”. The 19th-century antiquarian William Chappell notes that the tune seems to have appeared shortly after the Spanish island of Santiago was appropriated by the English in 1655, and renamed “Jamaica”.
Several sets of lyrics have been set to this tune, including most notably “The Jovial Broom Man” and “The Slow Men of London; or, the Widow Brown”.
Thanks to Phil for suggesting this tune!
This lively piece is the closing 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. The houzarts of the title is probably an old form of the French houzards, which translates as “hussars”, a class of light cavalry that was very common in 17th-century European armies.
This lively piece dates back to the first half of the 19th century. The present arrangement for two flutes appeared in Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
This study in triplets is the twenty-fifth 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 is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. O'Neill notes:
Well-born and of surprising loveliness only equaled by their poverty, the famous Gunning sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, born in Roscommon and educated in Dublin, became Lady Coventry, and Dutchess of Hamilton respectively, in 1752, one year after their arrival in London. The marriages of “two Irish girls of no fortune who are declared the handsomest women alive” were great public events. “May the Luck of the Gunnings attend you” was a proverbial Irish blessing. The above setting of a tune composed in their honor, and printed in James Aird's Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 1, 1782 is doubtless the original.
Czech Romantic composer Antonín Dvořák wrote this piece in 1880, as the fourth of seven songs that constitute his cycle Gypsy Songs (Czech: Cigánské melodie), B. 104, Op. 55. It is, without a doubt, the most popular song in the entire cycle, and one of Dvořák's most beloved songs.
The piece features an unusual rhythmical structure: the melody line is written in 2/4 time, while the piano accompaniment is in 6/8 time. Because of this, there is a constant 2-against-3 feel that yields a rich and flowing texture.
This corrente is the second movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 6 in G minor, published in 1685. Corelli was a violinist, and this sonata was originally scored for two violins and continuo; however, it can be played without issues by two flutes.
Thanks to Mario for contributing this piece!
This is the twentieth 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 tune is taken from Harding's All-Round Collection of Jigs, Reels and Country Dances, published in New York in 1905. The piece does not bear an actual title, and is designated simply as a “straight jig”, which is a type of old-time tune whose name is derived from the type of dance it was originally meant to accompany. It is not to be confused with “regular” jigs, which are always in triple meter (e.g. 6/8).
Today's piece is the opening movement of Amusement de Mars, 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 duet was composed by English tenor opera singer John Braham as part of his opera Narensky, or, The road to Yaroslaf, which premiered in London in 1814, and in which Braham played the chief part.
When thy bosom heaves the sigh,
When the tear o'erflows thine eye;
May sweet hope afford relief,
Cheer thy heart and calm thy grief.
The present arrangement for two flutes appeared in Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
This Allegretto in B minor is the twenty-sixth 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 Irish folk song is named after a type of edible seaweed known in English as “channelled wrack”. Its lyrics relate to the Irish practice of gathering seaweed for various purposes, dating from lean times when seaweed was valuable as a defense against famine.
There are many versions of the melody that come from the Irish folk song tradition. One version was recently featured in the 2014 animated film Song of the Sea.
Thanks to Gabrielle for suggesting this tune!
The three well-known Gymnopédies by Erik Satie have inspired many people, including our guest composer Paul Merkus from the Netherlands. Fully in the style of the original masterpieces, this tune is also a “Gymnopédie”, with all its characteristic traits: it is relaxing, reflective, soothing, elegant.
This “fourth” Gymnopédie, marked “Lent et serein” (“Slow and serene”), is dedicated to the master Erik Satie himself.
This beautiful Giga is the third and final movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 6 in G minor, published in 1685, which is a classical sonata da camera (“chamber sonata”), formed by a sequence of dance movements. This particular sonata has only 3 movements instead of 4 (the Sarabanda is missing), but the final Giga is a real jewel!
Thanks to Mario for contributing this piece!
This is the twenty-first 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 melody is known under several different titles (notably “Nellie Donovan” and “The Doon Reel”), and appears in many collections published in the early 20th century. In Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody (1922), Francis O'Neill recounts:
A few years ago as Mr. Leech was fingering a stray reel on his flute, Prof. John Cummings [...] remarked “that’s The Raveled Hank Of Yarn and I had forgotten it for the last forty years”. Although then in his 85th year he buckled on his pipes, and played the tune in a style which astonished his audience.
This musette is the second movement of Amusement de Mars, a suite for solo instrument (“musette, vielle, flute and oboe” according to the original edition) and continuo by the French Baroque composer Nicolas Chédeville.
The title probably refers to the German town of Ilvesheim, located near the Rhine river between Mannheim and Heidelberg.
This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833.
The origins of the melody are uncertain. There is a poem by Walter Scott titled “County Guy”, but it does not appear to be related.
The study we present today is the twenty-seventh 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 tune is taken from Harding's All-Round Collection of Jigs, Reels and Country Dances, published in New York in 1905. The piece does not bear an actual title, and is designated simply as a “straight jig”, which is a type of old-time tune whose name is derived from the type of dance it was originally meant to accompany. It is not to be confused with “regular” jigs, which are always in triple meter (e.g. 6/8).
Today's piece, a slow waltz for flute and guitar, was kindly contributed to our collection by its composer, guitarist Peter Pope.
The piece was inspired by the beautiful landscape around Cregneash, a historic village on the Isle of Man. Much of the village forms a “living museum” dedicated to the preservation of the traditional Manx ways of life. (For those who don't know, the Isle of Man is a self-governing island located between Great Britain and Ireland.)
Another year, another 365 tunes of the day! It is astonishing to think that our collection of flute music now hosts over 3300 pieces.
Once again, a huge thank you to everybody for sharing your passion for the flute with us!