This arrangement for three flutes of the celebrated Overture to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 1786 opera Le nozze di Figaro was written by Henry Lea, an English flutist of the 19th century.
Many thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!
This étude, originally written as a study for solo piano by German pianist and composer Friedrich Burgmüller, is taken from his 25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100. The title can be translated as “The Limpid Stream”.
This traditional English tune is taken from a collection of Twenty Four Country Dances for the Year 1808, published in London by Goulding & Co.
Today we present the second movement of a flute sonata in A major by Jean-Christophe Naudot, a French composer and flutist of the early 18th century.
This sarabande is the third movement of the fourth sonata from a collection of 12 “little sonatas” for two flutes by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.
This “Allegro con moto” is the twenty-sixth study from German flutist and composer Caspar Kummer's 32 Etudes amusantes et instructives, Op. 129, first published in 1858.
This traditional Scottish hornpipe appears in the third volume of James S. Kerr's Merry Melodies, originally published in the 1870s. The expression “natal day” means ‛birthday’.
Composed circa 1720, this E-minor sonata (HWV 379) is Handel's own compilation of movements taken from three other solo sonatas. Confusingly, this sonata has sometimes been numbered Op. 1, no. 1a, when in fact it never appeared in Opus 1.
The central Largo borrows its rising arpeggio theme from the first movement of Handel's early Flute Sonata in D, HWV 378, a piece little known in the composer's lifetime.
This short piece is the third duet in C major from the 55 Easy Pieces collection by French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. “Reître” is an old French word used to indicate a type of cavalry of German origin which started to appear in the armies of Western Europe in the 16th century.
This short piece, originally written as a study for solo piano by German pianist and composer Friedrich Burgmüller, is taken from his 25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100.
This A-Mixolydian jig is taken from Gow's Repository of the Dance Music of Scotland, Part 2, originally published in Edinburgh in 1802. Allan Ramsay was the renowned Scottish composer of several famous works such as the Tea Table Miscellany.
The Vivace we present today is the second movement of a Quartet in D minor for recorder, two flutes and continuo from Telemann's Tafelmusik (Musique de table in French, literally “Table Music”, that is, music played at feasts and banquets), first published in 1733.
Thanks to Benny for requesting this piece!
This gigue is the fourth and final movement of the fourth sonata from a collection of 12 “little sonatas” for two flutes by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.
This Allegro is the twenty-seventh study from German flutist and composer Caspar Kummer's 32 Etudes amusantes et instructives, Op. 129, first published in 1858.
This traditional English hornpipe is taken from Thomas Wilson's A Companion to the Ball Room, published in London in 1816.
This is the central movement of Johann Joachim Quantz's Sonata No. 4 in D major for flute and continuo. It is one of the many works for flute that Quantz composed for his student and patron Frederick II, King of Prussia.
This prelude opens the eighth section of the 55 Easy Pieces collection by French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.
This short piece, originally written as a study for solo piano by German pianist and composer Friedrich Burgmüller, is taken from his 25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100. The title, “Tendre fleur”, is French for “Tender flower”.
The “Onion Song” was one of the favorite songs sung by Napoleon's Imperial Guard while they charged on the battlefield. According to legend, the song originated shortly before the Battle of Marengo (1800), when Napoleon came across some grenadiers vigorously rubbing onions on crusts of bread to give them flavor.
Thanks to Steve for suggesting this tune!
The “Grave Adagio” in B-flat major we present today is the opening movement of the twelfth Sonata from the Trattenimenti armonici collection by Italian Baroque composer Tomaso Albinoni.
This is the opening movement of the fifth sonata from a collection of 12 “little sonatas” for two flutes by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.
This “Adagio non tanto” is the twenty-eighth study from German flutist and composer Caspar Kummer's 32 Etudes amusantes et instructives, Op. 129, first published in 1858.
In spite of the French title, this song does not come from France! The origin of the tune has been traced back to a drinking song published by F.D. Benteen in Baltimore in 1844, and a German version has been traced back to 1818. During the American Civil War, it was the tune for the 1861 Confederate song “Chivalrous C.S.A.”
Thanks to Ronald for suggesting this tune!
This Czardas, a typical Hungarian dance, is taken from Act III of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's celebrated ballet Swan Lake.
Thanks to Natasha for suggesting this tune!
This courante constitutes the second duet in D minor from the 55 Easy Pieces collection by French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.
This short piece, originally written as a study for solo piano by German pianist and composer Friedrich Burgmüller, is taken from his 25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100. “Bergeronnette” is the French name of the wagtail, a small bird mostly found in Europe and Asia.
This traditional tune is taken from Twenty Four Country Dances for the Year 1808, published in London by Goulding & Co.
The title perhaps refers to Jane Mildmay, who married Sir Henry Paulet St. John-Mildmay in 1786. Lady Jane was a harp player, as evidenced by a portrait of her by John Francis Rigaud dating from 1785.
This is the opening movement of a Sonata in E minor for recorder and basso continuo, written by Italian composer Benedetto Marcello around 1712.
This air is the second movement of the fifth sonata from a collection of 12 “little sonatas” for two flutes by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.
This Allegro is the twenty-ninth study from German flutist and composer Caspar Kummer's 32 Etudes amusantes et instructives, Op. 129, first published in 1858.