This is the first 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”.
Today we present the tenth study from Italian composer Giuseppe Gariboldi's Etudes mignonnes (Dainty Studies), Op. 131.
Collector George Petrie found this “very old Munster tune” in a manuscript music book, and included it in his 1905 Complete Collection of Irish Music under the misspelled title “Gurty's Frolics”. The same melody had previously appeared in the 19th-century manuscript of musician Stephen Grier (1824–1894) from County Leitrim, but the title there was “Gusty's Frolics”.
Francis O'Neill (1913) identifies the composer of this piece as Gustavis Augustus “Gusty” Nicolls, a landlord and uilleann piper of the late 18th and early 19th century who lived near Carrigallen, in the southern part of County Leitrim. “Blessed with manly beauty, musical talents, and worldly wealth, Augustus earned the reputation of being an irresistible heartbreaker also”, says O'Neill. Nicolls was what would be considered a “gentleman piper” and owned an estate at Rossan in the parish of Aughavas. In addition to his other successes, he was remembered as a noted teacher of the pipes, and especially for his ability to teach disabled people, who often when young were trained as professional musicians to be able to make their way in the world.
Here is the second movement of Telemann's Sonata in F minor for bassoon and basso continuo. It is an Allegro in ternary (A-B-A) form which shows a particular rhythmic interest, in that key moments in phrases often occupy unexpected beats of the bar. As a fast movement, it is somewhat virtuosic, especially when the semiquavers come in. Be prepared for them!
This Largo in E minor opens the second of 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.
This is the twelfth study from German flutist and composer Caspar Kummer's 32 Etudes amusantes et instructives, Op. 129, first published in 1858.
This syncopated jig appears to be unique to Chicago Police Captain Francis O'Neill's 1907 collection The Dance Music of Ireland.
Cahiramee (or Cahirmee) is a place name in north County Cork (some two miles east of the town of Buttevant), the location of a famous horse fair. The exact start date of the Cahirmee Horse Fair is lost to history, but local legend dates it back to the time of Brian Boru in the 11th century, and written records mention it as early as the 15th century. According to local tradition, this is where Napoleon bought his famous white charger, Marengo.
The third movement of Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” clearly pays homage to Ludwig van Beethoven. Appropriately entitled after the “Molto vivace” (“very lively”) in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the first notes will make the listener feel they are suddenly listening to Beethoven all over again. Being so fast and lively, this dancing movement is a direct contrast to the Largo before it. The following “Poco sostenuto” trio in E major, on the other hand, recalls Dvorak's very strong Czech-Bohemian folk influences. Of course, Native American music had also been an influence on this symphony. In particular, Dvořák wrote that the third movement scherzo was “suggested by the scene at the feast in Hiawatha where the Indians dance“, referring to Longfellow's 1855 epic poem The Song of Hiawatha.
This is the central movement of a Flute Duet in A minor that the famous German flutist and composer Johann Joachim Quantz composed in 1759.
This Arabesque, originally written as a study for solo piano by German pianist and composer Friedrich Burgmüller, is taken from 25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100.
Thanks to Emily for suggesting this piece!
This slip jig is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Music of Ireland, published in Chicago in 1903. Melodically, the tune seems to cover much the same ground as the more frequently played “The Kid on the Mountain”, though it is itself a distinctive tune.
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!
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!
Today we present the eleventh study from Italian composer Giuseppe Gariboldi's Etudes mignonnes (Dainty Studies), Op. 131.
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.
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.
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 is the thirteenth study from German flutist and composer Caspar Kummer's 32 Etudes amusantes et instructives, Op. 129, first published in 1858.
This tune is very old, and although it has always been very popular in Ireland, it might have first originated in Scotland. Its earliest known appearance is in the Scottish Drummond Castle Manuscript, which is inscribed “A Collection of Country Dances written for the use of his Grace the Duke of Perth by Dav. Young, 1734”.
“Drops of Brandy” is also the name of a specific country dance known throughout the British Isles. O'Neill's Irish Minstrels and Musicians (1913) tells us that in Ireland “a special dance was performed to the melody”, and indeed, “Drops of Brandy” is a favorite tune for solo step dancing competitions.
This lively dance in 6/8 time is the last movement of Sonata No. 1 in C major from the collection of six sonatas titled Il pastor fido (“The Faithful Shepherd”).
This collection has always been attributed to Antonio Vivaldi until recently. According to modern scholars, however, in 1737 French composer Nicolas Chédeville made a secret agreement with Jean-Noël Marchand to publish a collection of his own compositions as Antonio Vivaldi's Il pastor fido. Chédeville supplied the money and received the profits, all of which was attested to in a notarial act by Marchand in 1749. This may have been an attempt to give his instrument, the musette (a sort of bagpipe), the endorsement of a great composer which it lacked.
Thanks to Béatrice for suggesting this piece!
This Largo in G major 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!
Today we present the twelfth study from Italian composer Giuseppe Gariboldi's Etudes mignonnes (Dainty Studies), Op. 131.
An early version of this tune first appeared in the 2nd edition of John Playford's Dancing Master (London, 1652) as “Winifred's Knot, or Open the Door to Three”.
The melody must have become popular in Ireland, because Smollett Holden later included it in his Collection of Favourite Irish Airs (London, 1806).
Here we are again with a new Fantasia for Solo Flute. This is No. 8, and it's in the key of E minor. It starts off with a slow, elegant Allemande full of large intervals. You will also find some rarely-heard chromatic lines, which give a very peculiar character to this movement. Rameau once wrote that the key of E minor is never merry, even in an allegro. His remark is certainly apt here: the central Spirituoso is way too agitated to be considered happy. The last movement is in the style of a Polonaise, a Polish dance in which the second beat should be played softer than the first one, and the third beat should gently lead to the next measure.
This is the third 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 is the fourteenth study from German flutist and composer Caspar Kummer's 32 Etudes amusantes et instructives, Op. 129, first published in 1858.
This 9/8-time jig probably originated in Scotland in the first half of the 18th century, when it started being included in a number of manuscripts. Its earliest known appearance is in the Scottish Drummond Castle Manuscript, which is inscribed “A Collection of Country Dances written for the use of his Grace the Duke of Perth by Dav. Young, 1734”.
O'Farrell's Pocket Companion (1806) gives the tune's provenance as Irish, but this appears to be an isolated opinion.