The first appearance of this tune in print seems to be in Ryan's Mammoth Collection, which was published in Boston in 1883. The melody descends from an earlier and somewhat simpler Irish reel known as “The First Rose”.
Today we propose the first piece from a collection of 17 Capricci for Flauto Traverso by Italian flutist and composer Filippo Ruge. Born in Rome around 1725, Ruge appears to have spent most of his professional life in France, and especially in Paris, where several of his compositions were published, ranging from small-scale chamber music to large-scale symphonic works.
Today we propose the opening movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 8 in B minor, published in 1685. Corelli was a violinist, and this sonata was originally scored for two violins and continuo; however, adapting it to two flutes required only one small modification; namely, changing the low A in measure 8 of the second violin. There are two “easy” solutions here: one could either move the A up one octave, or replace it with a C-sharp (as shown in the sheet music).
Thanks to Mario for contributing this piece!
This étude is the fourth piece from the second book of Italian composer Ernesto Köhler's Progress in Flute Playing, Op. 33. The same work was also published in Germany as Der Fortschritt im Flötenspiel, and in France as Le progrès dans l'art de la flûte.
This tune was collected in the Cotswold villages of Field Town and Brackley, England. Versions of the melody can also be found in the music manuscript copybook of Michael Turner (1796–1885), for fifty years a parish clerk, sexton and choir leader in Warnham, Sussex.
This rondeau is the seventh and last 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 refers to the German municipality of Oggersheim, which has become the largest suburb of the city of Ludwigshafen, located on the Rhine river opposite Mannheim.
This is the melody of a cavatina sung in Act II of Gioachino Rossini's 1817 opera La Cenerentola. The present arrangement for two flutes appeared in Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
Today's piece is the fourth study from 40 Esercizi per Flauto (40 Exercises for Flute), Op. 101, by Italian flutist, composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.
This reel is taken from Chicago police officer Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. O'Neill's source is the Rice-Walsh manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of Jeremiah Breen, a blind fiddler from North Kerry, Ireland.
This is the second piece from a collection of 17 Capricci for Flauto Traverso by Italian flutist and composer Filippo Ruge. Born in Rome around 1725, Ruge appears to have spent most of his professional life in France, and especially in Paris, where several of his compositions were published, ranging from small-scale chamber music to large-scale symphonic works.
This Allemanda is the second movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 8 in B minor, published in 1685. It is worth noting that, like the preceding prelude, this movement starts with the three notes B, C, D; this gives an idea of a thematic connection between the differently developed sections. This piece also contains examples of the so called “Corelli bumps” (for instance, at the start of measures 12 and 20), which move the piece forward, even if it is a calm Largo.
Thanks to Mario for contributing this piece!
This étude is the fifth piece from the second book of Italian composer Ernesto Köhler's Progress in Flute Playing, Op. 33. The same work was also published in Germany as Der Fortschritt im Flötenspiel, and in France as Le progrès dans l'art de la flûte.
This old Scottish melody can be played either as a slow air or as a Highland Fling. One of the earliest versions of the tune appears in Lady Margaret Wemmyss's lute manuscript from the 1640s, under the title “My Lady Binnis Lilt”. The original and ancient ballad is called “John of Hazelgreen”, but later the lyrics were substantially reworked (as was the melody) with additional words by Sir Walter Scott. Scott's “Jock o' Hazeldean” tells the tale of a young woman forced into an arranged marriage by her family who elopes on her wedding day with her true love, Jock O' Hazeldean.
Today's piece was kindly contributed to our collection by its composer, Paul Merkus from the Netherlands. It was written in early 2007.
Although the famous “Syrinx” for flute solo by Debussy is very inspiring for the early flute student, it can also be a bridge too far. This small piece called “Monologue” may be a good exercise in free rubato playing and as such an easier alternative and a step-up towards the real “Syrinx” at maybe a later stage.
This famous aria is sung by Angelina at the end of Gioachino Rossini's 1817 opera La Cenerentola (Cinderella). Rossini had composed the tune a year earlier for Count Almaviva's final aria, “Ah! il più lieto, il più felice”, in The Barber of Seville, a number that is generally omitted from productions nowadays.
The present arrangement for two flutes appeared in Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
Today's piece is the fifth study from 40 Esercizi per Flauto (40 Exercises for Flute), Op. 101, by Italian flutist, composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.
This tune appears in the Drummond Castle Manuscript, inscribed “A Collection of Country Dances written for the use of his Grace the Duke of Perth by David Young, 1734”. Nearly simultaneously, the melody was printed in London by John Walsh in his Third Book of the Compleat Country Dancing Master (1735). The piece retained its popularity through that century and into the next, and to this day it is a core tune in Northumbrian piping repertory.
This is the third piece from a collection of 17 Capricci for Flauto Traverso by Italian flutist and composer Filippo Ruge. Born in Rome around 1725, Ruge appears to have spent most of his professional life in France, and especially in Paris, where several of his compositions were published, ranging from small-scale chamber music to large-scale symphonic works.
This Sarabanda is the third movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 8 in B minor, published in 1685. Like the preceding prelude and allemanda, this movement also starts with a combination of the three notes B, C-sharp, D, which provides a thematic connection.
Thanks to Mario for contributing this piece!
This étude is the sixth piece from the second book of Italian composer Ernesto Köhler's Progress in Flute Playing, Op. 33. The same work was also published in Germany as Der Fortschritt im Flötenspiel, and in France as Le progrès dans l'art de la flûte.
This old-time tune is taken from Harding's All-Round Collection of Jigs, Reels and Country Dances, published in New York in 1905. The piece is called a “banjo jig”, a term which, while referencing the instrument, also describes a group of duple-time, syncopated, binary melodies that were often used for dancing.
“Eternal source of light divine” is the first line of the Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, a secular cantata by George Frideric Handel. It was probably composed for a performance on 6 February 1713, Queen Anne's birthday, although there is no record of the performance having actually taken place.
On 19 May 2018, the piece was performed as the processional music for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Thanks to Dawn for suggesting this piece!
This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833. The tune appears in a number of English and Scottish music manuscripts and printed collections of the early 19th century, but the earliest appearance of the melody was printed as “Irish Air from Robin Hood” in Thompson's Hibernian Muse (1786).
The title “The Young May Moon” comes from a song set to the tune by Thomas Moore and published in his Irish Melodies.
Today's piece is the sixth study from 40 Esercizi per Flauto (40 Exercises for Flute), Op. 101, by Italian flutist, composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.
The earliest appearance of this popular Mixolydian-mode Irish jig under the title “Banish Misfortune” is in Ryan's Mammoth Collection, published in Boston in 1883. However, a very similar melody had previously been printed in Howe's 1000 Jigs and Reels (c. 1867) as “The Bag of Meal”.
Thanks to Heather for suggesting this tune!
This is the fourth piece from a collection of 17 Capricci for Flauto Traverso by Italian flutist and composer Filippo Ruge. Born in Rome around 1725, Ruge appears to have spent most of his professional life in France, and especially in Paris, where several of his compositions were published, ranging from small-scale chamber music to large-scale symphonic works.
This elegant gavotte is the fourth and final movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 8 in B minor, published in 1685. It is worth noting that, like the preceding prelude and allemanda, this movement also starts on the three notes B, C-sharp, D.
Thanks to Mario for contributing this piece!
This étude is the seventh piece from the second book of Italian composer Ernesto Köhler's Progress in Flute Playing, Op. 33. The same work was also published in Germany as Der Fortschritt im Flötenspiel, and in France as Le progrès dans l'art de la flûte.
The only known appearance of this Irish reel in print is in Harding's All-Round Collection of Jigs, Reels and Country Dances, published in New York in 1905. Skibbereen is a town in South West Ireland, whose name means “little boat harbour”.
Today we propose the opening movement of Amusement militaire, 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 French title (where “Rhim” is probably a misspelling of “Rhin”, the Rhine river in modern-day Germany) translates as “The Return from the Rhine”.
This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833. We were unable to track the exact origins of this melody, but it was probably composed at most 50 years before this publication.
Kosciuszko's Garden is a small retreat garden built by the Polish-Lithuanian military engineer Tadeusz Kościuszko on the side of a cliff overlooking the Hudson River at West Point, New York. Constructed in 1778, it still offers visitors and cadets a place of quiet tranquility during the warmer months.