Today's piece is the sixth study from a collection of 24 studies for the flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute and improved its fingering system.
This old-style hornpipe in 3/2 time appears in Walsh's third volume of Lancashire tunes, called Lancashire Jigs, Hornpipes, Joaks, etc., published around the year 1730. The title refers to the character of Polly Peachum from John Gay's 1728 ballad opera The Beggar's Opera, but this tune does not appear to be part of the original music by Johann Christoph Pepusch.
This popular mezzo-soprano aria from Camille Saint-Saëns's 1887 opera Samson et Dalila is known in English as “Softly awakes my heart”, or more literally “My heart opens itself to your voice”. It is sung by Delilah in Act II as she attempts to seduce Samson into revealing the secret of his strength.
Thanks to Phil for suggesting this piece!
The little sarabande we present today is the third movement of the twelfth sonata from a collection of 12 “little sonatas” for two flutes by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.
This Larghetto in D-flat major is the thirty-fourth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
This D-major reel is taken from the third volume of George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, originally published in Baltimore in 1839.
This elaborate Allegro is the opening movement of a Sonata in G major for flute or violin written by Czech Classical composer Johann Baptist Wanhal.
Johann Sebastian Bach's Two-Part Inventions are a collection of fifteen short keyboard compositions, originally written as musical exercises for his students.
Today we present the ninth of the inventions in an arrangement for two flutes by Wilhelm Schönicke, originally published in 1902.
This “festively majestic” piece constitutes the seventh study from a collection of 24 studies for the flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute and improved its fingering system.
Conductor Gottfried Piefke composed “Preußens Gloria” (“Prussia's Glory”) in 1871, after the Kingdom of Prussia's victory in the Franco-Prussian War, which led to the unification of the German states into the new Prussian-led German Empire. As part of the victory parade of the returning troops, the march was performed for the first time in public in Frankfurt an der Oder (not to be confused with the larger city of Frankfurt am Main), where Piefke's garrison was based. As Piefke only performed it on important occasions, the march was unknown to a broader public for a long time. In 1909 the manuscript of the almost forgotten tune turned up and was included in the collection of Prussian army marches.
Today it is one of the best known German army marches, and is often played at official ceremonies and state visits. It is also a standard tune in many international military bands. In Germany it is often played by non-professional bands due to its popularity. Also, it is played in the military parades of Chile, performed by the Chilean Army.
Thanks to Ralph for suggesting this tune!
This Rondo constitutes the closing movement of a Sonata in G major for flute and continuo, written around 1750 by Italian composer Giuseppe Sarti.
This brilliant “Maestoso” (the full tempo marking literally translates as “majestic with a little movement”) is the opening movement of the first of 3 Duos Brillans & Faciles pour Deux Flûtes by French flutist and composer Tranquille Berbiguier, Op. 46.
Thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!
This study in C major is the thirty-fifth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
This Irish reel was collected by Chicago police captain Francis O'Neill, who included it in his collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. The exact same tune had previously appeared as “Miss Bushby Maitland's Reel” in the first book of Köhler's Violin Repository of Dance Music, published in Edinburgh in 1881.
This minuet and its four accompanying variations constitute the third and final movement of a Sonata in G major for flute or violin written by Czech Classical composer Johann Baptist Wanhal.
This jolly 3/8-time piece is the closing movement of the twelfth sonata from a collection of 12 “little sonatas” for two flutes by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.
This study in intervals constitutes the eighth piece from a collection of 24 studies for the flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute and improved its fingering system.
This melody first appears under the title “George Booker” in the third volume of George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels (Baltimore, 1839), apparently in honor of a Revolutionary War leader and local hero from Virginia. The tune is probably a derivation of a strathspey called “The Marquis of Huntly's Farewell” by the Scottish composer William Marshall.
This Andantino is the first movement of a Sonata in F major for flute and continuo, written around 1750 by Italian Classical composer Giuseppe Sarti.
This ternary-form Andantino constitutes the central movement of the first of 3 Duos Brillans & Faciles pour Deux Flûtes by French flutist and composer Tranquille Berbiguier, Op. 46.
Thanks to Joyce Kai for contributing this piece!
This study on E major scales is the thirty-sixth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
This country dance tune is named after Vauxhall Gardens, a place of entertainment for Londoners on the south bank of the Thames. The Gardens are believed to have opened around 1660, and lasted till 1859, when they were closed and most of the land was sold for building purposes.
Few people know that the 1965 pop song “A Groovy Kind of Love”, which was notably recorded by Phil Collins in 1988, is heavily based on a honest-to-goodness Classical piece. This piece is the Rondo from Sonatina No. 5 in G major, Op. 36, written by Italian pianist and composer Muzio Clementi at the end of the 18th century. Unlike Clementi's Rondo, which is quick and upbeat, Collins's version is a slow, soft ballad; the theme, however, is virtually identical!
This Larghetto is the opening movement of a Sonata in E minor for two flutes or recorders by a German composer named Johann Christoph Schultze. This is not to be confused with the apparently unrelated composer of the same name who was born in 1733, as this sonata was first published in Hamburg in 1729.
Thanks to Anna for suggesting this piece!
This Allegretto constitutes the eighth piece from a collection of 24 Etudes for the flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute and improved its fingering system.
This melody appears in the 3rd volume of George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, published in Baltimore in 1839. The title refers to Colonel David “Davy” Crockett, the famous frontiersman and statesman, who perished at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. Three years after his death, when the tune appeared in print, he was already a legend!
This Andante is the central movement of a Sonata in A major for flute or violin written by Czech Classical composer Johann Baptist Wanhal.
Johann Sebastian Bach's Two-Part Inventions are a collection of fifteen short keyboard compositions, originally written as musical exercises for his students.
Today we present the tenth of the inventions in an arrangement for two flutes by Wilhelm Schönicke, originally published in 1902.
This study in octaves is the thirty-seventh piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
This song, composed by violinist Alexei Lvov, was chosen as the national anthem of the Russian Empire in a competition held in 1833. It was the anthem until the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Many composers made use of the theme in their compositions, most notably Tchaikovsky, who quoted it in the 1812 Overture, the Marche Slave, his overture on the Danish national anthem, and the Festival Coronation March. During the Soviet era, authorities altered Tchaikovsky's music, substituting other patriotic melodies, such as the “Glory” chorus from Mikhail Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar, for “God Save the Tsar”. Charles Gounod used the theme in his Fantaisie sur l'Hymne National Russe (Fantasy on the Russian National Hymn).
Today, Lvov's melody is used with different lyrics for various institutional songs: “Hail, Pennsylvania!” (alma mater of the University of Pennsylvania), “Dear Old Macalester” (alma mater of Macalester College), “Hail, Delta Upsilon” (Delta Upsilon Fraternity), “Firm Bound in Brotherhood” (official song of the Order of the Arrow), and many others.
Maurice Jarre's score for the famous film 1965 film Doctor Zhivago also uses this song in several tracks, most notably in the Overture.
Thanks to Steve for suggesting this tune!