This Allegro is the opening movement of the fourth of 5 Divertimentos for three basset horns composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from 1783 to 1785. These pieces were later rearranged for solo piano and published as the Six Viennese Sonatinas, which is why this piece is also known as the “Allegro brillante” from Sonatina No. 1.
This song was written in the first half of the 19th century by English poet, dramatist and songwriter Thomas Haynes Bayly. The present arrangement for two flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
This Presto in F minor is the tenth 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.
The earliest appearance of this tune in print is in Ryan's Mammooth Collection, published in 1883. A variant of the same jig appears in O'Neill's Waifs and Strays of Gaelic melody (1922) under the title “Kennedy's Bridal Jig”, after Chicago Police Officer James Kennedy.
This is the opening movement of Georg Philipp Telemann's Partita No. 1 in B-flat major, TWV 41:B1, 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.
This Allegro in F major is the opening movement of the sixth flute duet from Six duos faciles et brillants by Danish flutist and composer Niels Peter Jensen.
The Adagio we propose today is the fifty-seventh piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855.
This G-major jig appears in O'Farrell's Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union Pipes, published in 1806. It is credited to Walker (“Piper”) Jackson, a noted 18th-century Irish piper from the town of Lisduan, County Limerick.
Brahms spent at least fourteen years completing his Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68, whose sketches date from 1854. Brahms himself declared that the symphony, from sketches to finishing touches, took 21 years, from 1855 to 1876.
What we propose today is a transcription of the symphony's most famous part, namely the main theme from the fourth movement, marked “Allegro non troppo, ma con brio”.
It is often remarked that there is a strong resemblance between this theme and the main theme of the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. This rather annoyed Brahms, who felt that this amounted to accusations of plagiarism, whereas he saw his use of Beethoven's idiom in this symphony as an act of conscious homage. Brahms himself said, when comment was made on the similarity with Beethoven, “Any fool can see that!”
Thanks to Marian for suggesting this tune!
This English song was quite popular in the 19th century and at the time of World War I. Its music was composed by Charles Edward Horn (1786–1849), a composer and singer from London, while its lyrics date back to 17th-century poet Robert Herrick. It is thought that the refrain originated as a trader's street cry:
Cherry ripe, cherry ripe,
Ripe I cry,
Full and fair ones
Come and buy.
The present arrangement for two flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
This study in D-flat major is the eleventh 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.
This Scottish jig originally appears in the third volume of Glasgow publisher James Aird's Selection of Scotch, English, Irish, and Foreign Airs, published in 1788.
This minuet is the third movement of the fourth of 5 Divertimentos for three basset horns composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from 1783 to 1785. These pieces were later rearranged for solo piano and published as the Six Viennese Sonatinas, which is why this piece is also known as the minuet from Sonatina No. 4 in B-flat major.
This Andante in B-flat major is the second movement of the sixth flute duet from Six duos faciles et brillants by Danish flutist and composer Niels Peter Jensen.
This “Allegro moderato” in D minor is the fifty-eighth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855. The runs of 32th notes are meant to be played staccato, as an exercise in double tonguing.
This G-major jig is taken from the so-called Rice-Walsh manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of Jeremiah Breen, a blind fiddler from North Kerry, Ireland.
This Sarabanda is the third movement from Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Violin Sonata No. 7 in D minor, which was originally published in 1700 as part of his 12 Violin Sonatas, Op. 5. As conductor Andrew Manze put it, this is “arguably the finest and most influential set of violin sonatas ever assembled. All other baroque sonatas can be defined as being pre- or post-Corelli'”.
Thanks to Tom for suggesting this piece!
This traditional marching tune, probably of English origin, is an older version of the more famous “The Captain and His Whiskers”. It dates back to at least the early 19th century.
O! They march'd thro' the town with their banners so gay,
To the casement I ran, just to hear the band play,
And I peep'd thro' the blind very cautiously then,
Lest the neighbours should say that I looked at them.
The present arrangement for two flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
This study in B-flat is the twelfth piece of a collection of 24 “Caprice-Études” for flute by Theobald Boehm, the German inventor who perfected the modern Western concert flute. The first half of the piece is in the key of B-flat minor, while the second half is in B-flat major.
This strathspey was composed by a Scottish dancing master and musician of the late 18th century named Duncan MacIntyre, about whom very little is known. The tune was used by poet Robert Tannahill for his song “Loudon's Bonnie Woods”.
This “Graceful Waltz” for flute and piano was published in 1876 as part of a collection titled 6 Morceaux mélodiques très faciles (“Six Very Easy Melodic Pieces”). It was written by German Romantic flutist and composer Wilhelm Popp.
Thanks to Maddie for suggesting this piece!
This Vivace in F major is the third and final movement of the sixth flute duet from Six duos faciles et brillants by Danish flutist and composer Niels Peter Jensen.
This “Arietta pastorale” (“little pastoral aria”) in B major is the fifty-ninth piece from French flutist and composer Louis Drouet's 72 Studies on Taste and Style for the Boehm Flute, published in 1855. It is to be played “dolcissimo sempre”, that is, always very sweetly and softly.
Today's tune is a G-major jig from the Rice-Walsh manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of Jeremiah Breen, a blind fiddler from North Kerry, Ireland.
The Gnossiennes are piano compositions written by the French composer Erik Satie in the late 19th century. They are mostly in free time (lacking time signatures or bar divisions) and highly experimental with form, rhythm and chordal structure.
This second Gnossienne, composed around 1889, contains a number of unusual and somewhat enigmatic indications: “Avec étonnement” (“with astonishment”), “Ne sortez pas” (“don't go out”), “Dans une grande bonté” (“in a great kindness”), “Plus intimement” (“More intimately”), “Sans orgueil” (“without pride”).
Thanks to István for suggesting this piece!
This arrangement for two flutes of “Zara's Earrings” is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833. The tune is attributed to a “Mrs. Hemans”, probably referring to the early-19th-century English poet Felicia Hemans, author of the lyrics of several songs.
This study in F-sharp major is the thirteenth 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.
This Mixolydian-mode jig first appears in print in the third volume of O'Farrell's Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union Pipes, published around 1806.
This famous sarabande is the third movement of Georg Friedrich Handel's Keyboard Suite in D minor, HWV 437, composed between 1703 and 1706 and first published in 1733. The piece has been featured in many movies, most notably Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975).
Thanks to Marina for suggesting this piece!
These two rondeaus constitute the opening movement of the first of Jacques-Christophe Naudot's 6 Babioles pour 2 Vieles, Musettes, Flutes-a-bec, Flutes traversieres, Haubois, ou Violons, sans Basse. The French term babiole humbly indicates something of little value or importance, a trifle.