This minuet and its accompanying trio constitute the third movement of a Sonata for flute and basso continuo in E minor, composed around 1743 by Giovanni Platti.
Thanks to Nina for suggesting this piece!
This is the opening Allegro of a Sonata in D major written for three German flutes by Johann Scherer, a German composer of the 18th century.
Thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!
This is the eleventh étude from 18 exercices pour la flûte traversière by French Romantic composer Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier.
Windsor Forest was a royal forest that at one time covered most of Berkshire, England. The melody to this country dance tune was printed in numerous publications in the 18th century, such as David Rutherford's Choice Collection of Sixty of the Most Celebrated Country Dances (1750) and John Johnson's Two Hundred Favourite Country Dances.
This binary-form Presto in G minor is the fourth movement of the fourth of six sonatas for flute and continuo that Michel Blavet published in Paris in 1732.
Thanks to Monique for suggesting this piece!
This is the fifth duet from La scuola del flauto (The School of the Flute) by Italian composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.
Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!
This study in articulation, originally subtitled “non c'è mai fine” (“there is never an end”), is written in the style of a moto perpetuo, i.e. a piece which is characterized by a continuous steady stream of notes. It was kindly contributed to our collection by its author, Italian flutist and arranger Corrado Cristaldi.
This is one of the first composed and most famous tunes by Scots fiddler William Marshall. It was written around 1775 in honor of Margaret Gordon, daughter of Admiral William Gordon.
“Miss Admiral Gordon” was first published in Marshall's Strathspey Reels, in 1781. Its popularity is due in part to the fact that Robert Burns wrote one of his best songs to it, which begins: “Of a' the airts the wind can blaw”.
The melody has been used for other songs, including a Canadian folksong, “The Scarborough Settlers' Lament”, and the Scottish song “The Scottish Settlers' Lament”.
This gavotte is taken from the end of Act III of Christoph Willibald Gluck's opera Paride ed Elena (Paris and Helen), which premiered in Vienna in 1770. The opera tells the story of the events between the mythical Judgment of Prince Paris and the flight of Paris and Helen to Troy.
The same Gavotte was reused by Gluck in Act II, Scene 3 of his 1774 opera Iphigénie en Aulide.
This Adagio is the second movement of a Sonata in D major written for three German flutes by Johann Scherer, a German composer of the 18th century.
Thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!
This Prestissimo in B-flat major is the twelfth étude from 18 exercices pour la flûte traversière by French Romantic composer Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier.
The earliest appearance of this strathspey in print is in Angus Cumming's 1780 collection; the melody is also known as “Highland Plaid” when played as a reel.
The MacKenzies of Seaforth were an old Jacobite family whose lands were forfeited after the uprising of 1715, the then 5th Earl, William, escaping to the Western Isles, then to France. William’s son Kenneth wisely stayed out of Bonnie Prince Charlie's 1745 rebellion, in token of which Seaforth honors and holdings were partially restored. However, the tune is probably dedicated (going by its date of first publication) to Kenneth’s son, also Kenneth MacKenzie, who entered the army, was raised to the peerage in 1766, and was created Earl of Seaforth in 1771. Seaforth raised a Regiment in that year from among his own clan, and was appointed their colonel. They carried the name of the 78th or Ross-shire Regiment of Highlanders, but when time came for the unit to debark for India a mutiny arose over grievances of pay and promises (not the least of which was that they should not serve in the dangerous tropical climate), and they encamped on Arthur’s Seat, refusing to budge. A settlement was finally negotiated, and the Regiment descended from their encampment on the height with Seaforth at their head. They did not go to India, at least at first, but rather to the channel islands of Guernsey and Jersey, where they stayed for some time. However, in 1781 the 78th, along with the Earl, boarded ships for India and embarked on an ill-fated voyage to that country. On the journey to the East a quarter of them died from scurvy, with the Earl succumbing on the voyage, not even reaching St. Helena.
This march in A major is the fourth movement of Orchestral Suite No. 1 in D minor, which Tchaikovsky composed in 1878 and 1879. Scored for upper woodwinds (piccolo, two flutes, two oboes and two clarinets), with very discreet contributions from violins, triangle and bells, this music's confectionery lightness would have allowed it to fit easily into The Nutcracker. Because of its popularity, it is frequently played as a standalone piece.
This is the sixth duet from the first volume of La scuola del flauto (The School of the Flute) by Italian composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.
Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!
Today we propose the first étude from Joachim Andersen's Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33. This is basically a never-ending run of sixteenth notes, but don't be afraid to breathe!
Irish music collector Francis O'Neill already called this tune an “ancient Irish march“ in the early 20th century. It must certainly be over two centuries old, as its title appears in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes, which he published circa 1800.
This is the first of three gondola songs (boat songs supposed to be of the type sung by Venetian gondoliers at their work) that Felix Mendelssohn composed as part of his 48 “songs without words” (German: Lieder ohne Worte) for solo piano. The present piece is the sixth and last in Book 1, which was composed in 1829–1830.
Thanks to Malia for suggesting this piece!
This 3/4-time Vivace is the third movement of a Sonata in D major for three flutes written by Johann Scherer, a German composer of the 18th century.
Thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!
This Allegro in A major is the thirteenth étude from 18 exercices pour la flûte traversière by French Romantic composer Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier.
This melody appears in the mid-19th century music manuscript collection of Church of Ireland cleric James Goodman. Goodman, who played the uilleann pipes, collected from tradition in Cork and elsewhere in Munster, and obtained tunes from manuscripts and printed sources as well. It is interesting, if somewhat baffling, that a word of Indian origins like “bungalow” would appear in mid-19th century rural Ireland; unfortunately, Goodman does not give a source for the melody, and it is unclear where it was obtained.
This short and simple Adagio in E minor is the third movement of Georg Frideric Handel's Sonata in E minor for Flute, Op. 1, No. 1b. It makes a good exercise in Baroque ornamentation; listen to the sample recording for some ideas.
Thanks to Grise from Poland for suggesting this piece!
This is the seventh duet from the first volume of La scuola del flauto (The School of the Flute) by Italian composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.
Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!
Here is another étude by Joachim Andersen. This 9/8-time Andantino in G major is study No. 3 from Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33.
The title of this tune is possibly a corruption of “Iron League“, title by which the tune appears in various musician's manuscript collections from the 19th century. Others think that the title refers to the famous stage performer and dancer Giuseppe Grimaldi, known as ‘Iron Legs’ for his amazing leaps. Grimaldi is also remembered as the father of Joseph Grimaldi, the ‘father of clowning’, who invented the modern-day whiteface clown.
This siciliana (spelled “ciciliana” in this particular sonata) is the third movement of the fourth of six sonatas for flute and continuo that Michel Blavet published in Paris in 1732.
Thanks to Monique for suggesting this piece!
This minuet, along with its Trio, constitutes the fourth and last movement of the third Sonata for three flutes by Johann Scherer.
Thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!
This Allegro in E major is the fourteenth étude from 18 exercices pour la flûte traversière by French Romantic composer Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier.
This famous song was written by English composer Sir Henry Bishop, who adapted it from American dramatist John Howard Payne's 1823 opera Clari, Maid of Milan. “Home! Sweet Home!“ was very popular with troops on both sides of the American Civil War, but was reputedly banned from being played in Union Army camps for being too redolent of hearth and home and so likely to incite desertion.
Thanks to Jackie for suggesting this tune!
This binary-form Allegro in E minor is the fourth and final movement of Georg Frideric Handel's Sonata in E minor for Flute, Op. 1, No. 1b.
Thanks to Grise for suggesting this piece!
This is the eigth duet from the first volume of La scuola del flauto (The School of the Flute) by Italian composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.
Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!
Here is another étude by Joachim Andersen. This common-time Allegro moderato in E minor is study No. 4 from Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33.