Saturday 24 January 2026
Traditional Irish jig
The earliest appearance of this oddly-titled jig is found in the third volume of Edward Bunting's The Ancient Music of Ireland, published in Dublin in 1840. Even in such an old book, the notes call this tune “very ancient”!
Friday 23 January 2026
from “30 Caprices for Flute Solo”
This is the fourth étude from Sigfried Karg-Elert's 30 Caprices: a “Gradus ad Parnassum” of the modern technique for flute solo.
Thursday 22 January 2026
from “Sonates sans Basse à deux Flutes traverses”
Here is the third movement from the fourth of Telemann's Sonates sans Basse à deux Flutes traverses, ou à deux Violons, ou à deux Flutes à bec, or “Sonatas without Bass for Two Transverse Flutes, or Two Violins, or Two Recorders”. This slow movement is marked “Affettuoso”, which in Italian literally means “affectionate”, “tender”, “warm-hearted”.
Wednesday 21 January 2026
from “Rosamunde” by Franz Schubert
In 1823 Schubert provided an overture and ten numbers for a play called Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern (“Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus”) by Wilhelmine von Chézy. The play was a resounding flop, closing in two nights, but the music was well-received. Even so, Schubert did not take advantage of the evident high regard the audience had for it by extracting the music for concert purposes; that service was not performed until 1867, when George Grove and Arthur Sullivan made their famous discovery of a treasury of forgotten Schubert scores.
The Entr'acte No. 3 in B-flat major is one of the two best-known pieces in the score, the other being Ballet Music No. 2. Schubert reused the main theme of this entr'acte in the second movement of his String Quartet in A minor, D.804 and, in a modified form, in the Impromptu in B-flat, D.935, No. 3.
Tuesday 20 January 2026
Traditional Irish jig
This tune is taken from Chicago Police Chief Francis O'Neill's collection Music of Ireland, published in 1903. The source for this tune was Mary O'Neill, the sister of Sergeant James O'Neill, who also emigrated to Chicago. They are no relation to Francis O'Neill, but James assisted greatly on Chief O'Neill's volumes, and Francis wrote in a letter to A.P. Graves that Mary was skillful on the mandolin and violin.
Monday 19 January 2026
from “Thirty Easy and Progressive Studies”
This study in articulation is étude No. 21 from Italian Romantic composer Giuseppe Gariboldi's collection of 30 Etudes faciles et progressives.
Sunday 18 January 2026
flute duet by Anne E. McKennon and Sophia Parra
Today's piece, “a fanfare with a fairy tale vibe”, was kindly contributed to our collection by its composers, Anne E. McKennon and Sophia Parra.
Once upon a time, Anne McKennon and Sophia Parra formed a flute duo playing concerts with sonatas, poetry, character pieces, and narrated musical stories. Storybook Fanfare (formerly Fanfare No. 1) began as a theme song to introduce those concerts. As it turns out, the fanfare held potential. With a little more imagination, it now fits ensembles large and small. It is filled with the charm and curiosity of “Once upon a time...”
I wonder what happens next?