Tune of the Day: Study in A-flat major by Kummer
This is the thirteenth study from German flutist and composer Caspar Kummer's 32 Etudes amusantes et instructives, Op. 129, first published in 1858.
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This is the thirteenth study from German flutist and composer Caspar Kummer's 32 Etudes amusantes et instructives, Op. 129, first published in 1858.
This is the second movement from the sixth 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 number is taken from the beginning of Act I of Bizet's famous opera Carmen. The act is set in a square in the Spanish city of Seville. From a distance is heard a military march, followed by a band of urchins for the changing of the guard, singing:
With the mounting guard, we arrive; here we are!
Sound, dazzling trumpet! Ta ra ta ta ta ra ta ta.
We march, heads high, like little soldiers,
Marking, without making a mistake,
One, two, marking the step.
The earliest known appearance of this 9/8-time jig is found in Francis O'Neill's collection The Dance Music of Ireland, published in Chicago in 1907.
Today we present the eleventh study from Italian composer Giuseppe Gariboldi's Etudes mignonnes (Dainty Studies), Op. 131.
This Allegro in E minor is taken from Belgian Baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Loeillet's second book of Six sonatas of two parts, made on purpose for two German flutes, first published in London in 1720.
Thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!
César Antonovich Cui was a Russian army officer and a teacher of fortifications; of course, he was also a composer and music critic, and in this sideline he is known as a member of The Five, the group of Russian composers under the leadership of Mily Balakirev dedicated to the production of a specifically Russian type of music.
Like so much of Cui's music, the 24 miniatures that together make up his Kaleidoscope for violin and piano are now forgotten — with the exception of the famous “Orientale”, which has been a staple on violinists' and cellists' encore lists for a full century now. This 6/8 time Allegretto rides along on a tambourine rhythm set up by the soloist in the opening bars. The main tune is offered by the piano a few bars in, and later taken up “con morbidezza” (“with tenderness”) by the violin/cello/flute.
Thanks to Kathrine for suggesting this tune!