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The Italian title of this piece suggests, of course, that it is to be played in a martial, solemn manner. Its main theme, assigned to the first flute, sounds like a brilliant 4/4-time march in C major; the central section, on the other hand, makes use of chromatic passages and has a darker mood to it.
“Original Rags” was the first of Scott Joplin's rags to appear in print, in early 1899, preceding his “Maple Leaf Rag” by half a year.
The original cover page showed an old man picking up rags in front of a ramshackle cabin, and has been interpreted as a double pun, first on the activities of a rag (or junk) picker, and second on a slang term for ragtime, “picking the piano”. The piece was given the following credits: “Picked By Scott Joplin, Arranged By Chas. N. Daniels”. However, it is not known whether Charles N. Daniels actually arranged the piece, or merely transcribed it.
The rag is mostly in G major, except for the third section, which is in C major, and the fifth section (marked “Brilliant” in the sheet music), which is in D major.
The earliest appearance of this jig in print can be found under the title “The Mug of Brown Ale” in the first volume of James Kerr's Merry Melodies, published in Glasgow around 1875. The title “Delaney's Drummers” is from Francis O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland (Chicago, 1907).
Here is another étude by Danish flutist Joachim Andersen. This common-time Allegro animato in A major is study No. 7 from his Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33.
Here is the flute duet version of a famous chorus from Le nozze di Figaro. It appears near the end of Act I, when a group of peasants led by Figaro sing Count Almaviva's praises:
Greet him with flowers,
Torn from May bowers,
Wet with the summer show'rs,
Children of Spring;
Freely he gives you
Blossoms much dearer,
Ev'ry heart nearer—
Dance, then, and sing.
This Andante for flute and classical guitar was kindly contributed to our collection by its composer, guitarist Peter Pope. Many thanks for sharing your music with us, Peter!
The earliest known appearance of this tune is in the American collection Howe's 1000 Jigs and Reels, published in Boston around 1867.
Charlie Piggott, in the essay on Kilmaley, County Clare, fiddler, flute player and uilleann piper Peader O'Loughlin in his book Blooming Meadows (1998), remarks on tunes being disseminated into local, isolated traditions in Ireland by visiting musicians. Such was the case for “Blooming Meadows”, which was introduced into the Kilmaley-Connolly area by traveling piper Jerry O'Shea many generations ago.