Tuesday 1 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Chevaliers de la table ronde

 Traditional French tune

“Chevaliers de la table ronde” (“Knights of the Round Table”) is a French-language student song that can be heard in France, Canada, New England, Switzerland and Belgium.

Thanks to Ronald for suggesting this tune!

Categories: Drinking songs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Wednesday 2 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Lentement by Naudot

 from Flute Sonata in A major

This slow piece in F-sharp minor constitutes the third movement of a flute sonata in A major by Jean-Christophe Naudot, a French composer and flutist of the early 18th century.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: easy
Thursday 3 July 2014

Tune of the Day: La Perplexe

 Flute duet by J.B. de Boismortier

This short piece constitutes the third duet in D minor from the 55 Easy Pieces collection by French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.

Categories: Baroque Written for Flute Difficulty: easy
Friday 4 July 2014

Tune of the Day: L'Adieu

 by Friedrich Burgmüller, transcribed for solo flute

This lively “Farewell” in A minor, 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.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 5 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Wakefield Jigg

 Traditional English tune

This jig is taken from Walsh's third collection of Lancashire tunes (Lancashire Jiggs, Hornpipes, Joaks, etc.), published around 1730.

Categories: Jigs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Sunday 6 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Handel

 from Flute Sonata in E minor

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 fourth movement, the only Allegro in the sonata, was plucked by Handel from his Violin Sonata in D minor, but was significantly revised to meet the needs of the flute.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Monday 7 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Lentement

 from “Petites sonates à deux flûtes traversières”

This tiny little piece constitutes the slow third 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.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: easy
Tuesday 8 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Study in A minor by Kummer

 from “32 Etudes amusantes et instructives”

This Allegretto is the 30th study from German flutist and composer Caspar Kummer's 32 Etudes amusantes et instructives, Op. 129, first published in 1858.

Categories: Classical Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 9 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Marching to Pretoria

 Traditional march

This song originated from the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), in which the British Empire fought the Boers, the Dutch settlers that had made South Africa a colony of Holland 200 years prior. The British troops sang the song as they marched toward Pretoria, then the capital city of the South African Boer colony, as the song's chorus goes:

We are marching to Pretoria, Pretoria, Pretoria
We are marching to Pretoria, Pretoria, Hurrah

Thanks to Ronald for suggesting this tune!

Categories: Marches Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Thursday 10 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Quantz

 from Flute Sonata in D major

This is the third and final 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.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 11 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Les Harangères

 Flute duet by J.B. de Boismortier

This rondeau constitutes the fourth duet in D minor from the 55 Easy Pieces collection by French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.

Categories: Baroque Rondos Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 12 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Consolation

 by Friedrich Burgmüller, transcribed for solo flute

This “Consolation” in C major, 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.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 13 July 2014

Tune of the Day: The Imperial Quick Step

 Traditional English tune

This lively march appears in O'Farrell's Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union Pipes, Volume II, published in London 1806.

Categories: Marches Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Monday 14 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Nocturne by Mendelssohn

 from “A Midsummer Night's Dream”

This calm Nocturne, with its famous French horn solo, was written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1842, as part of his incidental music to Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. Today, it is often played as an independent piece, just like the popular Wedding March, also from the same work.

Thanks to Kaylee for suggesting this piece!

Categories: Nocturnes Romantic Difficulty: easy
Tuesday 15 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Gavotte by Boismortier

 from “Petites sonates à deux flûtes traversières”

This gavotte constitutes the fourth and final 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.

Categories: Baroque Gavottes Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 16 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Study in E major by Kummer

 from “32 Etudes amusantes et instructives”

This “Allegro non tanto” is the 31st study from German flutist and composer Caspar Kummer's 32 Etudes amusantes et instructives, Op. 129, first published in 1858.

Categories: Classical Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 17 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Harbour Lights

 Traditional Scottish tune

This traditional Scottish hornpipe appears in the fourth volume of James S. Kerr's Collection of Merry Melodies, published around 1880.

Categories: Celtic Music Hornpipes Traditional/Folk Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 18 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Prélude in E minor

 by Frédéric Chopin, transcribed for flute and piano

The Prelude Op. 28, No. 4 is one of the 24 Chopin preludes. By Chopin's request, this piece was played at his own funeral, along with Mozart's Requiem.

Thanks to Kylee for suggesting this piece!

Categories: Funeral music Romantic Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 19 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Kuhlau

 from the Grand Trio No. 1 in E minor

This is the imposing opening movement of the first flute trio from Danish composer Friedrich Kuhlau's Three Grand Trios, Op. 86, composed in 1826.

Many thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!

Categories: Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 20 July 2014

Tune of the Day: La Styrienne

 by Friedrich Burgmüller, transcribed for solo flute

This waltz-like 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.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Difficulty: intermediate
Monday 21 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Auprès de ma blonde

 Traditional French tune

This popular song, also known as “Le Prisonnier de Hollande” (“The Prisoner of Holland”) dates to the 17th century. It appeared during or soon after the Franco-Dutch War (1672–78), during the reign of Louis XIV, when French sailors and soldiers were commonly imprisoned in the Netherlands.

An English version of the song, titled “I love only one girl” (“the one I've got my arms around”), was sung by Elvis Presley in the 1967 film Double Trouble. The song appears in various movies (such as The Day of the Jackal) and in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and is mentioned in many books. In Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes in Amber, Prince Corwin even claims to be the one who composed it!

Thanks to Ronald for suggesting this tune!

Categories: Marches Nursery rhymes Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Tuesday 22 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Allegro assai by Albinoni

 from “Trattenimenti armonici”

The “Allegro assai” in B-flat major we present today is the second movement of the twelfth Sonata from the Trattenimenti armonici collection by Italian Baroque composer Tomaso Albinoni.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 23 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Prélude in F major

 Flute duet by J.B. de Boismortier

This prelude opens the ninth section of the 55 Easy Pieces collection by French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.

Categories: Baroque Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 24 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Study in D-flat major by Kummer

 from “32 Etudes amusantes et instructives”

This Allegretto is the final study from German flutist and composer Caspar Kummer's 32 Etudes amusantes et instructives, Op. 129, first published in 1858.

Categories: Classical Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 25 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Admiral Gambier's Waltz

 Traditional English tune

This tune is taken from Twenty Four Country Dances for the Year 1808, published in London by Goulding & Co.

Admiral Lord James Gambier (1756–1833) was a career Royal Navy officer who served in the Channel Fleet during the wars with Napoleon. At the time of Goulding's publication Gambier had just been awarded the thanks of Parliament and a peerage, becoming Baron Gambier of Iver.

Categories: Traditional/Folk Waltzes Difficulty: easy
Saturday 26 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Benedetto Marcello

 from Recorder Sonata No. 4 in E minor

This is the second movement of a Sonata in E minor for recorder and basso continuo, written by Italian composer Benedetto Marcello around 1712.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 27 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Scherzo by Kuhlau

 from the Grand Trio No. 1 in E minor

This Scherzo and its accompanying Trio constitute the second movement of the first flute trio from Danish composer Friedrich Kuhlau's Three Grand Trios, Op. 86, composed in 1826.

Many thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!

Categories: Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Monday 28 July 2014

Tune of the Day: La Babillarde

 by Friedrich Burgmüller, transcribed for solo flute

This short piece in F major, 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 piece is also known by the English title “Chatterbox”.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 29 July 2014

Tune of the Day: En passant par la Lorraine

 Traditional French tune

This French folk song is sung both as a nursery rhyme and as a drinking song. It first appeared in print in 1535, and some sources indicate that the music may have been composed by Orlande de Lassus, an important Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance.

Thanks to Ronald for suggesting this tune!

Categories: Drinking songs Nursery rhymes Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Wednesday 30 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Air en Rondeau by Naudot

 from Flute Sonata in D major

These two nice airs, one in A major and one in A minor, constitute the fourth movement of a flute sonata in A major by Jean-Christophe Naudot, a French composer and flutist of the early 18th century.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 31 July 2014

Tune of the Day: Allemande by Boismortier

 from “Petites sonates à deux flûtes traversières”

This is the opening movement of the sixth sonata from a collection of 12 “little sonatas” for two flutes by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.

Categories: Allemandes Baroque Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate