Friday 1 January 2016

Tune of the Day: The Gobby O and Variations

 Traditional Irish jig

This set of variations on the Irish tune “The Gobby-O” is taken from Chicago police officer Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. The tune became popular in American fife and drum repertory, especially under the title “Jefferson and Liberty”, the name of a campaign song set to the melody.

One suggestion regarding the meaning of the title postulates a progressive derivation from “Gaberlunzie Boy” (i.e. beggar boy), shortened to “Gaby Boy”, and finally morphing into “Gobby-O”. Other sources say that the title refers to a ‘gobby-stick’ (a flute or fife), the inference being that these woodwind instruments are hollow sticks played with the mouth (‘gob’ is the Gaelic word for ‘beak’ or ‘mouth’).

Categories: Celtic Music Jigs Traditional/Folk Variations Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 2 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Andante non molto by Sarti

 from Flute Sonata No. 6 in D major

This “Andante non molto” is the first movement of a Sonata in D major for flute and continuo, written around 1750 by Italian Classical composer Giuseppe Sarti.

Categories: Classical Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 3 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Fall Of A Star

 Flute duet by Spyros Kontolatis

Today we present a very nice piece for two flutes composed by one of our visitors, Spyros Kontolatis from Greece.

While practising the high octave, the main melody just came to me and I started humming it. After it was vaguely formed, I figured the exact scale for it on my guitar, because theory and harmony come easier to me there, and decided to write it as a flute duet in G minor. The main reason for the moderate tempo is that I wanted to focus on tone practice and to make transitions in the high octave easy. I added the second flute part so that the song would sound fuller harmonically, and so that I could use it to practise tuning with my teacher.

I named the piece “Fall of a Star”, because that's what the melody reminded me of. Then I shared it with my teacher and some friends and, since they liked it, I decided to try to submit it to flutetunes.com, because I figured, if it helps me learn, why not help others too?

Thank you for your contribution, Spyros!

Categories: Contemporary Written for Flute Difficulty: easy
Monday 4 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in E-flat minor by Boehm

 from “24 Etudes for solo flute”

This jumpy study in E-flat minor constitutes the fourteenth 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.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: advanced
Tuesday 5 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Scott's Favorite

 Traditional American tune

This reel, a distanced American variant of the Scottish “Duke of Gordon's Rant”, is taken from the third volume of George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, originally published in Baltimore in 1839.

Categories: Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Wednesday 6 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Il vecchio castello

 from Mussorgsky's “Pictures at an Exhibition”

Today we present the second movement of Modest Mussorgsky's famous suite for piano “Pictures at an Exhibition”, which has also become known through various orchestrations and arrangements, with Ravel's arrangement being the most recorded and performed. This movement, whose Italian title means “The Old Castle”, is thought to be based on a watercolor depiction of an Italian castle. The tempo marking reads “Andante molto cantabile e con dolore”, which translates literally as “At walking pace, very singable and with sorrow”.

Thanks to Peter for suggesting this piece!

Categories: Romantic Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 7 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Here's a Health to All Good Lasses

 Traditional English song, arranged for flute trio

This song, dating back to the beginning of the 19th century, comes from Wiltshire, a county in South West England. The present arrangement for three flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.

Categories: Drinking songs Glee Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Friday 8 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in D major by Drouet

 from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”

This “Cantabile” in D major is the forty-second piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 9 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Lady of the Lake

 Traditional American tune

This old A-Dorian reel is taken from the third volume of George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, originally published in Baltimore in 1839.

Categories: Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Sunday 10 January 2016

Tune of the Day: March of the Dwarfs

 by Edvard Grieg, arranged for flute and piano

This memorable piece appears in the fifth of the ten volumes comprising Grieg's Lyric Pieces for solo piano, published in 1891. It is certainly among the most well-known pieces by the Norwegian composer. Cast in a well-defined ABA form, it contrasts the firm, rhythmic (dwarves are marching, after all!) material of the outer sections with a sweet lyrical melody.

Thanks to Sophia for suggesting this piece!

Categories: Romantic Difficulty: intermediate
Monday 11 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Andante by Jensen

 from Flute duet No. 4

This Andante in E major is the central movement of the fourth flute duet from Six duos faciles et brillants by Danish flutist and composer Niels Peter Jensen.

Categories: Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 12 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in B major by Boehm

 from “24 Etudes for solo flute”

This Andante in B major constitutes the fifteenth 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.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 13 January 2016

Tune of the Day: The Rambler from Ross

 Traditional Scottish tune

This marching tune appears in Chicago police officer Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. The original name of the tune could not be ascertained, so O'Neill named it “The Rambler from Ross” as it was a favorite of Highland piper William McLean's, who was a native of Ross, Scotland.

Categories: Celtic Music Marches Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Thursday 14 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Menuetto con Variazione

 from Sonata in A major

This minuet and its two accompanying variations constitute the third and final movement of a Sonata in A major for flute or violin written by Czech Classical composer Johann Baptist Wanhal.

Categories: Classical Minuets Sonatas Variations Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 15 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Invention in B-flat major by J.S. Bach

 arranged for two flutes

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 fourteenth of the inventions in an arrangement for two flutes by Wilhelm Schönicke, originally published in 1902.

Categories: Baroque Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 16 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in D minor by Drouet

 from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”

This Andantino in D minor is the forty-third piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 17 January 2016

Tune of the Day: James River Reel

 Traditional American tune

This reel appears in the third volume of George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, originally published in Baltimore in 1839, where it is attributed to a L.W. Webb. The James River is a major waterway in eastern Virginia, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

Categories: Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Monday 18 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Sarti

 from Flute Sonata No. 6 in D major

This Allegro is the second and last movement of a Sonata in D major for flute and continuo, written around 1750 by Italian Classical composer Giuseppe Sarti.

Categories: Classical Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 19 January 2016

Tune of the Day: British Grenadier's March

 Traditional English tune, arranged for flute trio

This is the traditional marching song of British and Canadian grenadier units, and its tune dates back to the 17th century.

It makes its appearance in many movies, from Barry Lyndon to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, from The Four Feathers to Pride and Prejudice, and from The Patriot to The Italian Job.

The present arrangement for three flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.

Categories: Film music Marches Military music Traditional/Folk Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 20 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in A-flat minor by Boehm

 from “24 Etudes for solo flute”

This Vivace in A-flat minor (that's right, all 7 flats in the key signature!) is the sixteenth piece from a collection of 24 Etudes for the flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor and musician who perfected the modern Western concert flute and improved its fingering system.

Playing in this uncommon key can be an excellent sight-reading exercise, but if you find it too difficult you can easily play the study in the plainer key of A minor. All you have to do is ignoring the flats in the key signature, and shifting all accidentals up a semitone: flats become naturals, naturals become sharps, etc.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: advanced
Thursday 21 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Roslin Castle

 Traditional Scottish air

This slow air is often attributed to Scottish music publisher, composer and dancing master James Oswald, who published it in his 1746 collection The Caledonian Pocket Companion. However, it is not marked as his tune, and it had appeared a few years earlier in William McGibbon's collection under the title “The House of Glamis”.

The air was used as a marching tune by the British army during the American Revolutionary War period. In his book Military Music of the American Revolution, Raoul Camus writes that the tune was the melody most often associated with funerals during the Revolution, and notes that legend has it that it was played by Scottish bagpipers stationed in New York at the time, in honor of the castle at Roslyn, Midlothian, Scotland. It was perhaps in a funereal state of mind that British troops in 1781 played the tune as they marched out the small Long Island, New York, village of Hempstead Harbor. The oppressed residents, however, rejoiced at the sound, and remembering this, in 1844 their descendants changed the name of their village to Roslyn.

Thanks to Ronald for suggesting this tune!

Friday 22 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Andante moderato by Veracini

 from “Sonate accademiche”, transcribed for flute and bass instrument

This “Andante moderato” is the third movement of the sixth sonata from the Sonate accademiche collection by Italian Baroque composer Francesco Maria Veracini. Originally published in 1744 for violin and continuo, it is probably one of Veracini's best-known works.

Thanks to Istvan for suggesting this piece!

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 23 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Scherzando by Jensen

 from Flute duet No. 4

This “Scherzando” (“jokingly”) in A is the closing movement of the fourth flute duet from Six duos faciles et brillants by Danish flutist and composer Niels Peter Jensen.

Categories: Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 24 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in A major by Drouet

 from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”

This “Risoluto ma non presto” (“boldly, but not too fast”) is the forty-fourth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Monday 25 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Lamberton Races

 Traditional Scottish tune

This reel was written by Nathaniel Gow, a famous Scottish fiddler of the 18th century. The tune also goes by the title “Colonel Renton's Favourite”, which refers to the Colonel Renton who owned the extensive estate of Lamberton in Berwickshire, Scotland. Until 1837, there was public horse racing held for several days at the end of May, and a ball was usually held at the end of the event.

Categories: Celtic Music Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Tuesday 26 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Wanhal

 from Sonata No. 5 in G major

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.

Categories: Classical Sonatas Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 27 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Invention in B minor by J.S. Bach

 arranged for two flutes

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 fifteenth and last of the inventions in an arrangement for two flutes by Wilhelm Schönicke, originally published in 1902.

Categories: Baroque Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 28 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in E major by Boehm

 from “24 Etudes for solo flute”

This “Allegretto con moto” in E major is the seventeenth 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.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 29 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Lamb Skinnet

 Traditional Scottish jig

This country dance tune, also known as “Lanquenet”, dates back to at least 1753. The expression “Lamb Skinnet” has a documented history as the vulgar term for “Lansquenet”, the name of a card game, which is itself a corruption of the German Landsknecht, meaning a German mercenary soldier.

Thanks to Ronald for suggesting this tune!

Categories: Celtic Music Jigs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Saturday 30 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Siciliana by Telemann

 from Partita No. 2, arranged for flute and keyboard

This is the opening movement of Georg Philipp Telemann's Partita No. 2 in G major, TWV 41:G2, originally published in 1716 as part of the Kleine Kammermusik (“little chamber music”) collection. The original edition indicates that the melody is intended to be played by an oboe, a violin, or a flute.

Categories: Baroque Sicilianas Difficulty: easy
Sunday 31 January 2016

Tune of the Day: Scots Wha Hae Wi' Wallace Bled

 Traditional Scottish tune, arranged for flute trio

This Scottish patriotic song has served for centuries as an unofficial national anthem of the country. While the lyrics were written by Robert Burns in 1793, the tune is an old traditional air originally known as “Hey Tuttie Tatie”. The same tune has been used as the basis for several other songs, such as “Fill Up Your Bumpers High” (1718) and “Bridekirk's Hunting”.

The present arrangement for three flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.