Tuesday 13 January 2026
from J.S. Bach's Flute Sonata in B minor
This is the slow middle movement of Johann Sebastian Bach's B-minor sonata for Flute and Harpsichord. It encompasses two beautifully simple themes, which contrast the complexity of the preceding and following movements.
Monday 12 January 2026
Traditional Irish jig
This jig is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Music of Ireland, published in Chicago in 1903. O'Neill obtained the tune from Chicago Police Sergeant James Cahill, a uilleann piper originally from County Kildare, Ireland.
Sunday 11 January 2026
from “Thirty Easy and Progressive Studies”
This is étude No. 20 from Italian Romantic composer Giuseppe Gariboldi's collection of 30 Etudes faciles et progressives.
Saturday 10 January 2026
from Canonic Sonata for Two Flutes No. 4
This Presto is the third and last movement of Georg Philipp Telemann's Canonic Sonata No. 4. It is mostly in the key of D minor, but it features a central section in D major. Although the time signature is 4/4, it is probably more natural to think of it in cut time (2/2).
Friday 9 January 2026
by Scott Joplin
The “Combination March” was Joplin's second published march. Appeared in 1896, it demonstrated the composer's ability to assemble well-structured themes, and is not all that far off from the ragtime he would be writing in short order. Joplin had been traveling with his Texas Medley Quartette (actually double that since there were eight members) and secured publication in Temple, Texas during their tour. The context of the title is unclear, whether Joplin is referring to a combination of styles or ideas, or the group with which he was playing.
Thanks to Guido from Brazil for suggesting this piece!
Thursday 8 January 2026
Traditional Irish jig
This jig was entered twice into the mid-19th-century music manuscript of Irish uilleann piper and cleric James Goodman, set in two different keys. Around the same time, the tune appeared in R.M. Levey's First Collection of the Dance Music of Ireland (1858).
A version for the Northumbrian small-pipes entitled “Puddle the Butter” was printed in 1913 by collector Cecil Sharp, originally from the music manuscript collection of the Crawhall family.
Wednesday 7 January 2026
from “30 Caprices for Flute Solo”
This is the second étude from Sigfried Karg-Elert's 30 Caprices: a “Gradus ad Parnassum” of the modern technique for flute solo.