Friday 1 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in C major by Boehm

 from “24 Caprice-Etudes for Flute”

This lively study in C major is the opening piece of a collection of 24 “Caprice-Études” for flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute. These studies originally served as a proof of the playability of Boehm's improved instrument in all 24 keys, but they are also very useful technical exercises.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 2 April 2016

Tune of the Day: A Trip to the Baltic

 Traditional English country dance tune

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

Categories: Dance tunes Jigs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Sunday 3 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Flower March

 from “Don Quixote”, transcribed for solo flute

This cheerful march is the leading music to the famous “Grand Pas de Deux” from Marius Petipa's 1869 ballet Don Quixote. The music for the ballet was written by Ludwig Minkus, an Austrian composer and violin virtuoso who served as the official Composer of Ballet Music to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres in Russia.

Categories: Ballet excerpts Marches Romantic Difficulty: intermediate
Monday 4 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Duet in A major by Hugues

 from “School of Flute”

Today we propose duet No. 20 from the second volume of Luigi Hugues's La scuola del flauto (The School of the Flute).

Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!

Categories: Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 5 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in C major by Drouet

 from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”

This “Allegro moderato” is the forty-ninth 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
Wednesday 6 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Hawaiʻi Aloha

 anthem of the Hawaiian people

“Hawaiʻi Aloha”, also known as “Kuʻu One Hanau”, is a revered anthem of the native Hawaiian people and Hawaiʻi residents alike. It is typically sung in both small and large, formal and informal gatherings, both in Hawaiʻi and abroad, while participants stand in a circle with joined hands.

The song was written in the 1870s by Rev. Lorenzo Lyons to the hymn tune “I Left It All with Jesus” by the 19th-century American musician and composer James McGranahan.

Categories: Christian music Hymn tunes Patriotic Difficulty: easy
Thursday 7 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Andante by Wanhal

 from Sonata No. 5 in G major

This Andante is the second movement of a Sonata in G major for flute or violin written by Czech Classical composer Johann Baptist Wanhal.

Categories: Classical Sonatas Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 8 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Adagio by Mozart

 from “12 Horn Duos”, arranged for two flutes

This Adagio is the seventh of Mozart's Twelve Duos for Horn, K. 487, which he composed in Vienna in 1786. They were probably intended for the basset horn, a wind instrument similar to the clarinet, but larger, in F (less often in G), and with a darker sound.

Categories: Classical Difficulty: easy
Saturday 9 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in A minor by Boehm

 from “24 Caprice-Etudes for Flute”

This lively Allegro in A minor is the second piece from a collection of 24 “Caprice-Études” for flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute. These studies originally served as a proof of the playability of Boehm's improved instrument in all 24 keys, but they are also very useful technical exercises.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 10 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Far, Far O'er Hill and Dell

 Traditional Spanish tune, arranged for flute trio

This traditional Spanish tune has been used as the music to several hymns, including “Come Christians, Join to Sing”, “Come, Ye Children of the Lord”, and “Blessed Savior, Thee I Love”. The most widely used arrangement of this melody, known as “Madrid” or simply as “Spanish Hymn”, was written in 1824 by English composer Benjamin Carr.

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

Categories: Hymn tunes Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Monday 11 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Basilio's Variation

  from “Don Quixote”, transcribed for solo flute

This catchy waltz-like tune, also known simply as the “Male Variation” music, is taken from Act III of Marius Petipa's 1869 ballet Don Quixote. The music for the entire ballet was written by Ludwig Minkus, an Austrian composer and violin virtuoso who served as the official Composer of Ballet Music to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres in Russia.

Thanks to Alessandro for suggesting this piece!

Categories: Ballet excerpts Difficulty: easy
Tuesday 12 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Duet in C major by Gariboldi

 from “Six Easy Duets”

Today we propose the first of the Six Easy Duets (or Six duos faciles in French), Op. 145 by Italian flutist and composer Giuseppe Gariboldi.

Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!

Categories: Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 13 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in G major by Drouet

 from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”

This jumpy “Allegro molto” is the fiftieth 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
Thursday 14 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Miss Adams's Waltz

 Traditional English dance tune

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

Categories: Traditional/Folk Waltzes Difficulty: easy
Friday 15 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Menuetto by Wanhal

 from Sonata No. 5 in G major

This minuet and its six 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.

Categories: Classical Minuets Sonatas Variations Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 16 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Mozart

 from “12 Horn Duos”, arranged for two flutes

This Allegro is the eighth of Mozart's Twelve Duos for Horn, K. 487, which he composed in Vienna in 1786. They were probably intended for the basset horn, a wind instrument similar to the clarinet, but larger, in F (less often in G), and with a darker sound.

Categories: Classical Difficulty: easy
Sunday 17 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in F major by Boehm

 from “24 Caprice-Etudes for solo flute”

This study in F major is the third piece of a collection of 24 “Caprice-Études” for flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute. These studies originally served as a proof of the playability of Boehm's improved instrument in all 24 keys, but they are also very useful technical exercises.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Monday 18 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Trip to the Cottage

 Traditional Irish jig

The earliest appearance of this tune is probably in a circa-1840 manuscript by Shropshire musician John Moore. It was later printed in Ryan's Mammoth Collection, which was published in 1883.

“Trip to the Cottage” is also the name of a ceili dance, a form of folk dancing quite popular in Northern Ireland.

Categories: Jigs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Tuesday 19 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Larghetto by Bach

 from Keyboard Concerto in D major, arranged for flute and piano

Johann Sebastian Bach's 16 concertos for solo harpsichord are transcriptions for keyboard of concertos composed by different Italian and German composers.

The Larghetto we propose today is the central movement of Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D major, BWV 972, which is an arrangement of Violin Concerto RV 230, Op. 3, No. 9 by Antonio Vivaldi.

Categories: Baroque Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 20 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Duet in F major by Gariboldi

 from “Six Easy Duets”

Today we propose the second of the Six Easy Duets (or Six duos faciles in French), Op. 145 by Italian flutist and composer Giuseppe Gariboldi.

Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!

Categories: Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 21 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in D major by Drouet

 from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”

This “Andante grazioso” and its 3 accompanying variations consitute the fifty-first 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 Variations Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 22 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Bantry Bay Boys

 Traditional Irish jig

This jig is taken from Riley's Country Dances for 1798, and was later notably republished in O'Neill's 1922 collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody.

Bantry Bay is located in County Cork, Ireland, and runs approximately 35 km (22 mi) from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean.

Categories: Celtic Music Jigs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 23 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Wanhal

 from Sonata No. 6 in D major

This Allegro is the opening movement of a Sonata in D major for flute or violin written by Czech Classical composer Johann Baptist Wanhal. It contains enough Scotch snaps (a stressed sixteenth note followed by a dotted eighth note) and triplets to be considered a good rhythmic exercise.

Categories: Classical Sonatas Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 24 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Menuetto by Mozart

 from “12 Horn Duos”, arranged for two flutes

This minuet is the ninth of Mozart's Twelve Duos for Horn, K. 487, which he composed in Vienna in 1786. They were probably intended for the basset horn, a wind instrument similar to the clarinet, but larger, in F (less often in G), and with a darker sound.

Categories: Classical Minuets Difficulty: easy
Monday 25 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in D minor by Boehm

 from “24 Caprice-Etudes for Flute”

This Allegro in D minor is the fourth piece from a collection of 24 “Caprice-Études” for flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute. These studies originally served as a proof of the playability of Boehm's improved instrument in all 24 keys, but they are also very useful technical exercises.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 26 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Jerry O'Reilly's Jig

 Traditional Irish jig

This traditional Irish jig was published in Chicago police officer Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. The source for this tune is a Jeremiah O'Reilly from San Francisco, California.

Categories: Celtic Music Jigs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Wednesday 27 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Dumka by Dvořák

 from “Slavonic Dances”, transcribed for solo flute

This is the second piece from the second set of Slavonic Dances by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. This second set, Op. 72, was originally written in 1886 for piano four-hands, and later orchestrated at the request of Dvořák's publisher.

The Slavonic Dances were inspired by Johannes Brahms's own Hungarian Dances. Lively and full of national character, they were well received at the time, and today they are among the Dvořák's most memorable works.

Categories: Romantic Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 28 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Duet in D major by Gariboldi

 from “Six Easy Duets”

Today we propose the third of the Six Easy Duets (or Six duos faciles in French), Op. 145 by Italian flutist and composer Giuseppe Gariboldi.

Thanks to Paolo for contributing this piece!

Categories: Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 29 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Study in B-flat major by Drouet

 from “72 Studies for the Boehm Flute”

This playful Allegretto is the fifty-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 30 April 2016

Tune of the Day: Chester Castle

 Traditional English reel

The first appearance of this tune is in Alexander McGlashan's A Collection of Scots Measures, published circa 1780. Chester Castle, located in Cheshire, England, was built in 1070 by the first Earl of Chester.

Categories: Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy