This pair of minuets constitutes the closing movement of the fifth of Jacques-Christophe Naudot's 6 Babioles pour 2 Vieles, Musettes, Flutes-a-bec, Flutes traversieres, Haubois, ou Violons, sans Basse. The second part of both minuets features a so-called petite reprise (“small repetition”), a typically Baroque device where the last few measures of a repeated section are repeated again at the end.
Today's piece is the last study from Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen's Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 30.
This lilting 6/8-time march was composed in 1926 by Pipe Major Willie Ross, and is considered one of his best. Like many pipe tunes, it is to be played in the key of A Mixolydian, which is like A major but with G-naturals instead of G-sharps.
Port Askaig is a port village on the east coast of Islay, the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.
This melody was composed circa 1830 by G.H. Rodwell as an employee of the The Adelphi Theatre in London, for which he authored many show tunes. In some collections of traditional music the tune appears, unattributed, under the title of “Sandy's Favorite”.
This flute trio is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833.
We suspect the piece to have American origins, but unfortunately we were unable to trace its composer. We could identify two 19th-century pieces titled “Congress Waltz”, one by Charles Zeuner and one by William Winterstein, but neither appears to be related to the present arrangement.
Today's piece is the twenty-second study from the fourth part of the Méthode pour la flûte by French Romantic flutist and composer Louis Drouet, published in Paris in 1828.
The famous collector of folk music Francis O'Neill remarks:
It may be permissible to abbreviate such an involved title as: “Sae Braely as I was kiss'd yestreen” into “Yesterday's Kisses” both for convenience and euphony, especially as the sentiment has not been clouded by the change.
The earliest appearance of this tune in print is in James Aird’s A Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs (1782).
This Allegro is the third movement and second “aria” of Georg Philipp Telemann's Partita No. 4 in G minor, 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.
This is the opening movement of the sixth of Jacques-Christophe Naudot's 6 Babioles pour 2 Vieles, Musettes, Flutes-a-bec, Flutes traversieres, Haubois, ou Violons, sans Basse. The slow (Lentement) 3/4-time prelude is followed without pauses by a more lively but still “light” (Légèrement) 3/8-time main section, which also briefly explores the parallel minor key of G minor.
This elaborate study in trills and grace notes is the ninth piece from Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen's Twenty-Four Etudes for Flute, Op. 30.
This piece is an example of a schottische tune. The schottische is a partnered country dance which used to be very popular in Victorian-era ballrooms. Despite its name, the dance appears to have originated in Bohemia, a historical region in the present-day Czech Republic, over a thousand miles away from Scotland.
The word “thegither” in the title is Scotch for “together”.
This minuet is the fourth movement of the second of 5 Divertimentos for three basset horns composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from 1783 to 1785.
This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833. According to another 19th-century publication (William Ball's arrangement for harp or piano), the melody is “a favorite French romance”.
Far o'er the wave, as morn's soft beam, returning, Slowly unveiled the well-remembered shore, How swelled my heart, with eager fancies burning, Dreams of past joys, and hopes of priceless store!
Sweet home receive me
Faithful I come
Never to leave thee
Dear native home
Today's piece is the twenty-third study from the fourth part of the Méthode pour la flûte by French Romantic flutist and composer Louis Drouet, published in Paris in 1828.
This Irish jig is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. O'Neill cites the “Pat. Dunne manuscript” as his source.
Kilnaspig (also spelled Kilnaspic, Killnaspic, Killinaspic, or Killinaspick, from the Irish Coill an Easpaig, meaning “bishop's wood”) is a small village in the south of County Kilkenny, Ireland.
Published in 1863, this song was very popular during the American Civil War. So popular, in fact, that it sold more than one million copies during the war alone, and went on to become one of the most beloved tunes of its era. Sung by both Union and Confederate troops, the song was published in several editions both in the North and the South, and was better known as “When This Cruel War Is Over” in the South and as “Weeping, Sad and Lonely”, its opening line, in the North.
Thanks to Joe for suggesting this tune!
This Musette is the second movement of the sixth of Jacques-Christophe Naudot's 6 Babioles pour 2 Vieles, Musettes, Flutes-a-bec, Flutes traversieres, Haubois, ou Violons, sans Basse. The French word babiole humbly indicates something of little value or importance, a trifle.
This etude is the first piece from a collection of 26 Little Caprices for flute (XXVI kleine Capricen für die Flöte) by Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen, published in 1890.
This jig is taken from Harding's All Round Collection, published in 1905. The title “Slantha” is probably a corruption of the Irish word sláinte, meaning ‛health’, which is commonly used as a drinking toast.
Mozart composed his Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467 in 1785. Today we propose a melodic transcription of the concerto's slow movement, the famous Andante in F major.
This movement was used extensively on the sound track for the 1967 Swedish movie Elvira Madigan, which detailed the romance between a tightrope walker and an army lieutenant. In the ensuing decades the film has receded into obscurity, but it did manage to propel Mozart's Andante to popular stardom. Before long the movement became a mainstay of “Greatest Hits of Classical Music” anthologies, where it continues to surface as a stand-alone item to this day.
Thanks to Phil for suggesting this piece!
British violinist and composer George Kiallmark originally wrote “Araby's Daughter” in 1822 as a song for voice and piano. Its melody was later and more famously used to set lyrics from the poem “The Old Oaken Bucket” by Samuel Woodworth.
The present arrangement for two flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
Today's piece is the twenty-fourth study from the fourth part of the Méthode pour la flûte by French Romantic flutist and composer Louis Drouet, published in Paris in 1828.
This Irish jig is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. O'Neill cites the “Pat. Dunne manuscript” as his source. Other manuscripts give the melody as “Jackson's Maid at the Fair”.
The “Brabançonne” is the national anthem of the Kingdom of Belgium. Its French title refers to the region of Brabant, and the name is maintained untranslated in Belgium's other two official languages, Dutch and German. The author of the verses, Alexandre Deceht, had originally called the poem “La Bruxelloise”; his publisher, however, thought it better to broaden the scope from the city's to the area's name.
The anthem had its genesis when Belgium gained its independence in 1830. Opera singer and conductor François Van Campenhout composed the score, based on the tune of a French song called “L'Air des lanciers polonais” (“the tune of the Polish Lancers”) by the French poet Eugène de Pradel, whose tune was itself an adaptation of the tune of a song, “L'Air du magistrat irréprochable”, found in a popular collection of drinking songs called La Clé du caveau (“The Key to the cellar”).
Thanks to Ralph for suggesting this piece!
These two contredanses constitute the third movement of the sixth of Jacques-Christophe Naudot's 6 Babioles pour 2 Vieles, Musettes, Flutes-a-bec, Flutes traversieres, Haubois, ou Violons, sans Basse. Each of the contredanses is in ternary form, and as is usual with coupled movements it is common to repeat the first piece at the end of the second, but omitting the repetitions; therefore, the resulting pattern is: AABA CCDC ABA.
This ternary-form (ABA) etude is the second piece from a collection of 26 Little Caprices for flute (XXVI kleine Capricen für die Flöte) by Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen, published in 1890.
This reel, probably of English origin, is taken from Harding's All-Round Collection of Jigs, Reels and Country Dances, published in New York in 1905. It appears there in the key of E minor, but we transposed it to G minor so that it would better fit the range of the flute.
Originally presented as a “musical drama after the manner of an oratorio”, George Frideric Handel's Semele is an opera in all but name. It was first presented in concert form at Covent Garden theatre, London, in 1744.
“Where'er you walk” is arguably the most popular number from Semele, and undoubtedly one of Handel's most famous arias. Originally sung in Act 2 of the opera by Jupiter, the king of the gods in ancient Roman mythology, over the last century the aria has been sung as a concert piece by many renowned artists, both male and female.
Thanks to Phil for suggesting this piece!
The song “Cease Your Funning” appears in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (1728). Its tune is, however, certainly older than the opera. English folksong collector Frank Kidson dates the tune to the late 17th century, where he finds it on half-sheet music attached to the song “Constant Billy”. In fact, the air appears as “Constant Billy” in the third volume of Playford's Dancing Master. There have been some claims that “Cease Your Funing” was derived from the Welsh tune “The Ash Grove”, despite the fact that the latter first appeared in print in 1802. According to Kidson, these claims have no merit, as the tune clearly derives from “Constant Billy”.
The present arrangement for two flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833.
This study “on augmented passing tones” (pour le notes de passages augmentées in the original French) is taken from the fourth part of the Méthode pour la flûte by French Romantic flutist and composer Louis Drouet, published in Paris in 1828.
The lyrics of the ballad “The Patriot Game” were written in 1960 by the Irish singer-songwriter Dominic Behan. Its melody, however, is a much older traditional tune, previously known as “The Merry Month of May” or “The Nightingale”, probably of English origin.
As “The Patriot Game”, the song has been recorded by numerous artists, including the Kingston Trio, The Bluebells, The Dubliners, The Wolfe Tones, and The Clancy Brothers.
The same melody was also borrowed by Bob Dylan for his 1964 song “With God on Our Side”.
Another year, another 365 tunes of the day! It is simply incredible to think that our collection of flute music now hosts over 3000 pieces.
During this past year we have also carried out a few significant technical upgrades. Most notably, last November we migrated the website to a new server. It took some work, but we were able to make the transition with practically no downtime. And, what's more important, the website now feels even faster and more responsive!
Our second update concerns the MP3 tracks. We noticed that some of them were a little too quiet, and forced visitors to fiddle with their volume controls. Therefore, we decided to spend some time equalizing the volume of all the audio samples in our collection, with the goal of making it more consistent. We think that this has considerably improved the overall user experience.
Once again, we would like to say a big thank you to all the flute aficionados following our work and supporting us!