Friday 1 August 2025
Traditional Irish jig
The earliest version of this tune can be found in Bartholomew Cooke's Collection of Favourite Country Dances for 1797 (Dublin, 1797), under the title “Jackson's Rowling Pin”. It had evolved into “Humors of Clare” by the time it was included in Francis O'Neill's collection The Dance Music of Ireland (Chicago, 1907). Patrick Weston Joyce printed a four-part version of the same tune in his Old Irish Folk Music and Songs (London and Dublin, 1909) as “The Cat's Bagpipes”.
Thursday 31 July 2025
from “24 Etudes for Flute”
Here is another étude by Danish flutist Joachim Andersen. This Allegretto in F# major is study No. 13 from his Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 33. It can easily be considered a study in accidentals... don't let all those sharps scare you!
Wednesday 30 July 2025
from Canonic Sonata for Two Flutes No. 6
This is the first movement from Georg Philipp Telemann's sixth Canonic Sonata for two flutes. As with all of these sonatas, the two players play the exact same melody, but (in this case) two measures apart. Most of the trills can be played with a turned ending.
Tuesday 29 July 2025
by Frédéric Chopin, arranged for Flute and Piano
Chopin's Polish Melodies, Op. 74 were not published during the composer's lifetime, and despite their high quality they have remained among his least popular works. All the songs in this collection were originally scored for soprano or tenor voice with piano accompaniment; some of them were later transcribed for piano solo by Franz Liszt.
The first of these pieces is titled “Mädchens Wünsch”, which is usually translated as “The Maiden's Wish”. Written in 1829, it features a mazurka rhythm and an easily singable melody. The subject matter of the original song text deals with love, beauty and flirtation, and the music is lively and full of high spirits.
Monday 28 July 2025
Traditional Irish jig
This tune is first found, under the name “An Irish Lilt”, in the first volume of New York publisher Edward Riley's Flute Melodies, published in 1814. The title “Miss Walsh's Fancy” first appears in Francis O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland (Chicago, 1907).
Sunday 27 July 2025
from “Thirty Easy and Progressive Studies”
This is the very first étude from Giuseppe Gariboldi's collection of 30 Etudes faciles et progressives. It is extremely simple and offers no technical difficulty whatsoever; for this reason, you should strive to play it perfectly, respecting all of the provided indications. Remember to play it at a slow but steady tempo.
Saturday 26 July 2025
from Handel's “Messiah”, arranged for two flutes
The famous “Pastoral Symphony” that serves as an instrumental interlude before the Christmas section in Handel's oratorio Messiah was originally entitled “Pifa”. The composer alludes to the music of the pifferari, the country bagpipers who descended the Italian mountains during the Christmas season to play in village streets.
James Galway included a solo version of this piece in his album Pachelbel Canon and Other Baroque Favorites.
