Wednesday 5 November 2025
Traditional Scottish jig
This melody appears earliest in Wright's Compleat Collection of Celebrated Country Dances (London, 1742) and David Rutherford's Compleat Collection of 200 of the Most Celebrated Country Dances (London, 1756).
The title references the Scottish burgh of Duns in Berwickshire, in the Borders region of southeast Scotland.
Tuesday 4 November 2025
from “24 Etudes for Flute”
Here is another étude by Danish flutist Joachim Andersen. This “Andante con moto” in F major is study No. 23 from his Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33.
Monday 3 November 2025
from “School of Flute”
This is duet No. 10 from the first volume of Luigi Hugues's La scuola del flauto (The School of the Flute).
Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!
Sunday 2 November 2025
by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
The siciliana (or “siciliano”, or “sicilienne”) is a dance often included as a movement within larger works of music starting in the Baroque period. It can be in a slow 6/8 or 12/8 time, with lilting rhythms making it somewhat resemble a slow jig, and is usually in a minor key. It was used for arias in Baroque operas, and often appeared as a movement in instrumental works. The siciliana is traditionally associated with pastoral scenes and melancholy emotion.
The siciliana we present today was written by one of the greatest prodigies in musical history: the Italian baroque composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. It is a slow and gentle piece which has become somewhat popular among flutists and violinists.
Saturday 1 November 2025
Traditional Scottish jig
The Scottish town of Duns is located in the historic county of Berwickshire, in the Borders region. Directions for the dance to this tune were written down in 1752 by John McGill, dancing master in Girvan (Ayrshire), for his students. McGill is sometimes credited with the composition, although Scottish and English sources predominate, and it was printed in England long before McGill's dance, in John Walsh's Compleat Country Dancing-Master (1731) as “The Ladds of Dunce”.
Friday 31 October 2025
from “Thirty Easy and Progressive Studies”
This is étude No. 12 from Italian Romantic composer Giuseppe Gariboldi's collection of 30 Etudes faciles et progressives.
Thursday 30 October 2025
Flute duet by J.B. de Boismortier
Here is another duet from Joseph Bodin de Boismortier's 55 Easy Pieces, Op. 22. This is a light binary-form piece in D major.