Friday 1 September 2017
from Sonata for two flutes in E major
This Allegro is the second movement of a Sonata in E major for two flutes or recorders by a German composer named Johann Christoph Schultze. This is not to be confused with the apparently unrelated composer of the same name who was born in 1733, as this sonata was first published in Hamburg in 1729.
Saturday 2 September 2017
from “26 Little Caprices”
Today's piece is the twenty-fifth study from a collection of 26 Little Caprices for flute (XXVI kleine Capricen für die Flöte) by Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen, published in 1890.
Sunday 3 September 2017
Traditional Irish slip jig
This 9/8-time Irish jig appears in James Aird's Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, first published in 1782. More recently, the tune was included under the same title in Francis O'Neill's famous 1922 collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody.
Monday 4 September 2017
from “Il pastor fido” Sonata No. 5
This gigue is the fourth movement of the fifth of the Il pastor fido sonatas, first published in 1737 and traditionally attributed to Antonio Vivaldi. The actual composer, Nicolas Chédeville, made a secret agreement with Jean-Noël Marchand to publish a collection of his own compositions as Vivaldi's Op. 13. Chédeville supplied the money and received the profits, all of which was recorded in a notarial act. This may have been an attempt to give his instrument, the musette, the endorsement of a great composer which it lacked.
Tuesday 5 September 2017
arranged for flute duet
This waltz for two flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833. We suspect the piece to have American origins, but unfortunately we were unable to trace its composer.
Wednesday 6 September 2017
from “Studi per il flauto”
Today we present the opening 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).
Thursday 7 September 2017
Traditional English country dance
This country dance tune, probably of English origin, is taken from Harding's All-Round Collection of Jigs, Reels and Country Dances, published in New York in 1905.
Friday 8 September 2017
from “Five Old French Dances”
This piece was composed by the famous French viol player Marin Marais. The viol (also called viola da gamba, an Italian expression indicating that the instrument is meant to rest vertically on one's leg) is an old instrument that was primarily used during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. It is similar to a cello, but it has six strings and it is fretted like a guitar.
The French title “L'Agréable” translates literally as “The Pleasant One”.
Saturday 9 September 2017
from Sonata for two flutes in E major
This Andante is the third movement of a Sonata in E major for two flutes or recorders by a German composer named Johann Christoph Schultze. This is not to be confused with the apparently unrelated composer of the same name who was born in 1733, as this sonata was first published in Hamburg in 1729.
Sunday 10 September 2017
from “26 Little Caprices”
This 6/8-time Presto in E-flat minor is the last piece from a collection of 26 Little Caprices for flute (XXVI kleine Capricen für die Flöte) by Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen, published in 1890.
Monday 11 September 2017
Traditional American march tune
The first appearance of this tune in print is in George B. Bruce and Daniel D. Emmett's The Drummers' and Fifers' Guide, published in New York in 1861.
Its origins are uncertain, but many historians believe the melody was most likely written to immortalize either one of two military events: the 1791 defeat that the young United States Army suffered at the hands of the native Indians at the Battle of the Wabash, or the Battle of Tippecanoe along the Wabash River in 1811. Some, however, believe that Bruce and Emmett adapted an old fiddle tune and simply gave it a new arbitrary title, as they did for many other pieces.
The tune is featured in the piece “Fife and Gun”, which Randy Edelman wrote for the 1993 film Gettysburg.
Thanks to Steve for suggesting this tune!
Tuesday 12 September 2017
from Partita No. 5, arranged for flute and keyboard
This piece is the sixth movement and fifth “aria” of Georg Philipp Telemann's Partita No. 5 in E minor, TWV 41:e1, originally published in 1716 as part of the Kleine Kammermusik (“little chamber music”) collection. The original edition indicates that the melody is intended to be played by an oboe, a violin, or a flute.
Wednesday 13 September 2017
from Trio Sonata in D major, transcribed for two flutes
Today we propose the opening movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 1 in D major, 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!
Thursday 14 September 2017
from “Studi per il flauto”
Today we present the 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).
Friday 15 September 2017
Traditional American song
This song was collected in the early 1900s by New York City born ethnomusicologist Natalie Curtis, who published it in The Indians' Book: An Offering by the American Indians of Indian Lore, Musical and Narrative, to Form a Record of the Songs and Legends of their Race (1907).
The Maliseet, or Wolastoqiyik, are the Indigenous people of the Saint John River valley; their territory extends across the current borders of New Brunswick and Quebec in Canada, and parts of Maine in the United States.
Thanks to Heather for suggesting this tune!
Saturday 16 September 2017
from Divertimento No. 1, transcribed for flute and piano
This minuet is the fourth movement of the first of 5 Divertimentos for three basset horns composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart between 1783 and 1785.
Sunday 17 September 2017
traditional song, arranged for two flutes
This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833. The piece appears to be an adaptation of a Spanish song known as “La Cachucha”, which had previously appeared in the Musical Gem, published in London in 1831.
Look from thy lattice, love, look! and see,
O'er the dark waters shining,
See where my bark draws near for thee,
Hasten, for day is declining,
Softly afar, Dies the dim ray, love,
Lo! The night star, Hither away, love,
Hither away! Ev'ry vain fear Pry'thee allay, love,
Freedom is here, Hither away, love, Hither away!
Monday 18 September 2017
from “26 Little Caprices”
This study in mordents is the fifteenth piece from a collection of 26 Little Caprices for flute (XXVI kleine Capricen für die Flöte) by Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen, published in 1890.
Tuesday 19 September 2017
Traditional Irish slip jig
This traditional Irish 9/8-time jig first appeared in print in the fourth volume of O'Farrell's Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union Pipes, published circa 1810.
Wednesday 20 September 2017
from “Il pastor fido” Sonata No. 5
This is the fifth movement of the fifth of the Il pastor fido sonatas, first published in 1737 and traditionally attributed to Antonio Vivaldi. The actual composer, Nicolas Chédeville, made a secret agreement with Jean-Noël Marchand to publish a collection of his own compositions as Vivaldi's Op. 13. Chédeville supplied the money and received the profits, all of which was recorded in a notarial act. This may have been an attempt to give his instrument, the musette, the endorsement of a great composer which it lacked.
Thursday 21 September 2017
from Sonata for two flutes in E major
This Vivace is the fourth and final movement of a Sonata in E major for two flutes or recorders by a German composer named Johann Christoph Schultze. This is not to be confused with the apparently unrelated composer of the same name who was born in 1733, as this sonata was first published in Hamburg in 1729.
Friday 22 September 2017
from “Studi per il flauto”
This little study in C-sharp major (everything sharp!) is the 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).
Saturday 23 September 2017
Traditional Scottish jig
The earliest appearance of this lively jig in print is in John Watlen's Celebrated Circus Tunes, published in 1791. The title of Watlen's volume refers to the Royal Circus in Edinburgh, an extension of Phillip Astley's London-based Royal Circus. The Flag Dance, or most likely any number of dances with flags, seems to have been quite popular at the time.
Sunday 24 September 2017
from “Five Old French Dances”
This piece was composed by the famous French viol player Marin Marais. The viol (also called viola da gamba, an Italian expression indicating that the instrument is meant to rest vertically on one's leg) is an old instrument that was primarily used during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. It is similar to a cello, but it has six strings and it is fretted like a guitar.
As you may know, Provence is a maritime region in southeastern France.
Monday 25 September 2017
from Trio Sonata in D major, transcribed for two flutes
This allemande is the second movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Trio Sonata No. 1 in D major, 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!
Tuesday 26 September 2017
from “26 Little Caprices”
This study in turns is the twentieth piece from a collection of 26 Little Caprices for flute (XXVI kleine Capricen für die Flöte) by Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen, published in 1890.
Wednesday 27 September 2017
Traditional English slip jig
Early printings of this 9/8-time jig appear in John Johnson's Choice Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances (1748), David Rutherford's Compleat Collection of 200 of the Most Celebrated Country Dances (1756), and James Aird's Selections of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs (1782).
The “long room” of the title refers to a large assembly hall constructed for dancing, one of the principal recreations of the leisure class in the 18th century.
Thursday 28 September 2017
from Partita No. 5, arranged for flute and keyboard
This piece is the seventh movement and sixth “aria” of Georg Philipp Telemann's Partita No. 5 in E minor, TWV 41:e1, originally published in 1716 as part of the Kleine Kammermusik (“little chamber music”) collection. The original edition indicates that the melody is intended to be played by an oboe, a violin, or a flute.
Friday 29 September 2017
from “Cinderella”, arranged for three flutes
This flute trio appears in Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833. It is an arrangement of a piece from Cinderella, the 1831 English-language adaptation of Rossini's La Cenerentola by Irish violinist and composer Michael Rophino Lacy.
Saturday 30 September 2017
from “Studi per il flauto”
This nice little study in C-sharp minor is the 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).