Tune of the Day: Adagio by Wanhal
This Adagio in G major is the central movement of a Sonata in D major for flute or violin written by Czech Classical composer Johann Baptist Wanhal.
This Adagio in G major is the central movement of a Sonata in D major for flute or violin written by Czech Classical composer Johann Baptist Wanhal.
This Andante is the tenth of Mozart's Twelve Duos for Horn, K. 487, which he composed in Vienna in 1786. They were probably intended for the basset horn, a wind instrument similar to the clarinet, but larger, in F (less often in G), and with a darker sound.
This Presto in G minor is the sixth piece from a collection of 24 “Caprice-Études” for flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute. These studies originally served as a proof of the playability of Boehm's improved instrument in all 24 keys, but they are also very useful technical exercises.
This jig is taken from the fourth volume of James Aird's A Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, first published in 1782.
Georg Philipp Telemann's collection of 12 Fantasias for Solo Violin, TWV 40:14–25, was published in Hamburg in 1735. It is one of Telemann's collections of music for unaccompanied instruments, like the twelve fantasias for solo flute.
This first fantasia is originally in the key of B-flat major, but we propose it today in the key of E-flat major, which makes it playable on the flute. The original fantasia also includes some polyphony, which had to be simplified.
Thanks to Jonnathan for suggesting this piece!
Today we propose the fourth of the Six Easy Duets (or Six duos faciles in French), Op. 145 by Italian flutist and composer Giuseppe Gariboldi.
Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!
This march-tempoed étude is the fifty-third piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
The earliest appearance of this tune in print is in A Selection of Elegant & Fashionable Country Dances, Reels, Waltzs, &c. for the Ensuing Season 1808, originally published in London. Miss Esther Jane Gayton was a dancer and actress who played a Sylph at Drury Lane as early as 1806.
Shropshire poet and musician John Moore entered the hornpipe into his manuscript collection as “Miss Heaton's Hornpipe”, while Francis O'Neill printed the tune under the title “Sailor's Hornpipe”.
This Larghetto is the second movement of the fourth of 5 Divertimentos for three basset horns composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from 1783 to 1785. These pieces were later rearranged for solo piano and published as the Six Viennese Sonatinas, which is why this piece is also known as the Adagio from Sonatina No. 5.
Thanks to Johann for suggesting this piece!
This minuet is the eleventh of Mozart's Twelve Duos for Horn, K. 487, which he composed in Vienna in 1786. They were probably intended for the basset horn, a wind instrument similar to the clarinet, but larger, in F (less often in G), and with a darker sound.
This study in E-flat major is the seventh piece of a collection of 24 “Caprice-Études” for flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute. These studies originally served as a proof of the playability of Boehm's improved instrument in all 24 keys, but they are also very useful technical exercises.
This F-major reel is taken from Harding's All-Round Collection of Jigs, Reels and Country Dances, published in New York in 1905.
The Allegro we propose today is the third and final movement of a Sonata in D major for flute or violin written by Czech Classical composer Johann Baptist Wanhal.
Today we propose the fifth of the Six Easy Duets (or Six duos faciles in French), Op. 145 by Italian flutist and composer Giuseppe Gariboldi.
Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!
This quick-paced étude is the fifty-fourth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
This G-major reel, probably of Scottish origin, is taken from Harding's All-Round Collection of Jigs, Reels and Country Dances, published in New York in 1905.
Austrian violinist and composer Johann Heinrich Schmelzer probably wrote his Ciaccona in A major for Violin in the spring of 1669. Schmelzer was one of the most important violinists of the period, and one of the most influential composers of instrumental music of the 17th century.
Thanks to Marcello from Italy for suggesting this piece!
This fine Allegro is the last of Mozart's Twelve Duos for Horn, K. 487, which he composed in Vienna in 1786. They were probably intended for the basset horn, a wind instrument similar to the clarinet, but larger, in F (less often in G), and with a darker sound.
This agitated Moderato in C minor is the eighth piece from a collection of 24 “Caprice-Études” for flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute. These studies originally served as a proof of the playability of Boehm's improved instrument in all 24 keys, but they are also very useful (if somewhat demanding) technical exercises.
This tune is taken from O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. O'Neill considers it “a much better jig than ‘Larry Grogan’ of which it is a variant. The latter was composed early in the 18th century by Lawrence Grogan of Johnstown Castle, Kilkenny, a ‘gentleman piper’, celebrated in song and story.”
Tramore is a seaside town in County Waterford on the southeast coast of Ireland. It was a small fishing village until 1853, when the Waterford-Tramore railway was completed and a tourism boom almost immediately started, drawn by the wide sandy beaches.
This Adagio is the fourth movement of the fourth of 5 Divertimentos for three basset horns composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from 1783 to 1785. These pieces were later rearranged for solo piano and published as the Six Viennese Sonatinas, which is why this piece is also known as the Adagio from Sonatina No. 6.
Today we propose the sixth of the Six Easy Duets (or Six duos faciles in French), Op. 145 by Italian flutist and composer Giuseppe Gariboldi.
Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!
This “Allegro ritenuto” (“kept-back allegro”) is the fifty-fifth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
This G-major hornpipe is taken from Harding's All-Round Collection of Jigs, Reels and Country Dances, published in New York in 1905.
A bo'sun, or boatswain, is the senior crewman of the deck department of a ship; he supervises the other members of the department and is responsible for the components of the ship's hull.
This broodingly contemplative piece, whose title means “the human voices”, appears in French composer Marin Marais's Deuxième livre de pièces de viole, published in 1701. It is the penultimate movement of Suite No. 3 in D major for bass viol and continuo. The viol, or viola da gamba, is a bowed instrument somewhat similar to a cello, but fretted like a guitar. It was very popular during the Baroque period.
Thanks to Leonardo and Caroline for suggesting this piece!
This fine Allegretto in G minor is the second and final movement of the fifth flute duet from Six duos faciles et brillants by Danish flutist and composer Niels Peter Jensen.
This study in A-flat major is the ninth piece of a collection of 24 “Caprice-Études” for flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute. These studies originally served as a proof of the playability of Boehm's improved instrument in all 24 keys, but they are also very useful technical exercises.
This E-minor jig is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922, in which it is referred to as “a superior variant of ‛The Dancing Master’”. The tune is also closely related to “The Swallowtail Jig”, but while the two “A” parts are almost identical, “Dromey's Fancy” offers what many consider a more interesting “B” part.
This piece was originally written for solo piano by German composer and music teacher Theodor Oesten, and first published in 1861. Its title literally means “Alpine Glow”, but it is often also translated as “Sunset on the Alps”.
Thanks to Sofia for suggesting this piece!
This lovely piece for two flutes and piano was kindly contributed to our collection by Spanish composer Pablo Toribio. “Rivera” is the last of a set of four compositions for two flutes and piano titled La Princesa de la Media Luna (“The Princess of the Crescent Moon”).
The title refers to an imaginary legend about the impossible love of a Christian prince for an Arab princess during the Spanish Middle Ages (The Crescent Moon is the reference to the corresponding Arab religious symbol). Rivera was the name of the Christian prince's legendary horse.
This piece (which is actually a dance) is structured in several parts. The first part contains melodic material with an emotional character, using harmonies from the past such as a variant of the bass ostinato known as the Folia. The second part increases in dynamism and resorts to an ancient Spanish harmonic device: the Andalusian cadence. Around the harmonic ostinato, zigzagging passages for the different instruments appear. A subsequent part consists of a dance in ternary rhythm which is followed by another section containing essences of Arabic melodies. The piece ends vigorously.
The formal organization of the piece consists of small thematic units, each with its own tonal character development, which are colored by the timbre of the transverse flute in its various registers.
This piece, with its marked Spanish character, was successfully premiered by Trio Rigoletto in England (2014), and has subsequently been interpreted in different cities such as Seville, Jerez, Valladolid, Valencia and Bilbao.
This 3/8-time “Allegro moderato” in C minor is the fifty-sixth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
This Dorian-mode jig appears in Francis O'Neill's Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. The tune comes from the manuscripts in the possession of Chicago Police Sergeant James O'Neill, originally from County Down, Ireland.