This simple reel is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. O'Neill's source is the Rice-Walsh manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of Jeremiah Breen, a blind fiddler from North Kerry, Ireland.
This short piece for flute and guitar is particularly suited for early-stage players. Many thanks to its composer, guitarist Peter Pope, for contributing it to our collection!
This fugue is the eight and final movement of the first of six Concerts à deux Flutes Traversières sans Basse by the French Baroque composer Michel Pignolet de Montéclair. Here the French word concert is a synonym of “suite”, and has nothing to do with the Italian concerto.
Today we propose the third piece from Exercices journaliers pour la flûte (or Tägliche Studien in German, i.e. “Daily Exercises”) by Austro-Hungarian composer Adolf Terschak. It was first published in 1867.
This Dorian-mode reel is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. His source was the Rice-Walsh manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of Jeremiah Breen, a blind fiddler from North Kerry, Ireland. O'Neill identifies the tune as a variant of the similar “Jim Moore's Fancy”.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the Partita No. 1 in B minor for solo violin, BWV 1002, in 1720. What we present today is a transcription for solo flute of the fourth movement of this Partita, a double that elaborates on the preceding courante. In order to fit the range of the flute, the piece has been transposed from B minor to E minor.
This fine duet in B-flat major is taken from the Nouvelle Méthode théorique et pratique pour la flûte by French flutist and composer François Devienne, published in 1794.
This study in staccato is the second piece from 24 Technische Studien für Flöte (24 Technical Studies), Op. 11, by German flutist Emil Prill. It was first published in Leipzig in 1911.
This reel first appeared in print in Robert Bremner's 2nd Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances, published in London in 1768. The version we propose today is taken from a music manuscript by Aberdeenshire pastoral piper John Sutherland, dating back to c. 1785.
This Fantasia in E minor is one of 24 pieces attributed to the famous German flutist and composer Johann Joachim Quantz to have survived in a manuscript titled Fantasier og Preludier. 8. Capricier og andre Stykker til Øvelse for Flöÿten af Quanz (“Fantasies and Preludes. 8 Caprices and other Pieces for Exercise for the Flute by Quantz”). This manuscript has been kept in the Giedde Collection (named after its founder, Danish composer W.H.R.R. Giedde) in the Royal Library of Copenhagen, which hosts a fairly comprehensive collection of flute music from the second half of the 18th century.
Today we propose a canzonet by William Jackson of Exeter, an English organist and composer of the Classical period. Jackson composed two operas and a large number of songs, but was also a painter, a writer, and an amateur astronomer. Tenor Michael Kelly remembered him as “a man of great taste and musical research, but very eccentric”.
The present arrangement for two flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833.
Today we propose the fourth piece from Exercices journaliers pour la flûte (or Tägliche Studien in German, i.e. “Daily Exercises”) by Austro-Hungarian composer Adolf Terschak. It was first published in 1867.
The earliest appearance of this reel is, under the title “Free and Easy”, in the Rice-Walsh manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of Jeremiah Breen, a blind Irish fiddler, notated by his pupil Thomas Rice and later copied by Sgt. James P. Walsh of the Chicago police in the early 20th century.
This gigue is the fifth and final movement of the second sonata from Sonates pour la flûte traversière avec la basse, Op. 19 by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. These sonatas were originally published in Paris in 1727.
This is the opening movement of the second of six Concerts à deux Flutes Traversières sans Basse by the French Baroque composer Michel Pignolet de Montéclair. Here the French word concert is a synonym of “suite”, and has nothing to do with the Italian concerto.
This study is the third piece from 24 Technische Studien für Flöte (24 Technical Studies), Op. 11, by German flutist Emil Prill. It was first published in Leipzig in 1911.
Watch out for accidentals! In the central section, the piece modulates all the way to the distant key of C-sharp major!
Today's tune comes from the Rice-Walsh manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of Jeremiah Breen, a blind fiddler from North Kerry, Ireland, notated by his student.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the Partita No. 1 in B minor for solo violin, BWV 1002, in 1720. What we present today is a transcription for solo flute of the fifth movement (or third movement, depending on whether you count the doubles as separate movements) of this Partita, the sarabande. In order to fit the range of the flute, the piece has been transposed from B minor to E minor.
These paired minuets for two flutes are taken from the Nouvelle Méthode théorique et pratique pour la flûte by French flutist and composer François Devienne, published in 1794.
Today we propose the fifth piece from Exercices journaliers pour la flûte (or Tägliche Studien in German, i.e. “Daily Exercises”) by Austro-Hungarian composer Adolf Terschak. It was first published in 1867.
In the original edition, the author instructs to use double tonguing any time two consecutive sixteenth notes present themselves. Once you master the technique, you will be able to play this étude Presto.
This tune was composed by Sir Alexander Don, 5th Baronet of Newton Don, who in 1777, along with other local gentry, formed a Society called the Caledonian Hunt, which met twice a year. The annual event of the Caledonian Hunt was the famous Caledonian Hunt Ball, an event so fashionable as to be attended by the majority of gentry of Scotland, and not a few from England.
According to tune collector Francis O'Neill, this strathspey first appeared in Robert Ross's A Choice Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances & Strathspeys, which was published in Edinburgh in 1780.
This Capriccio in D major is one of 24 pieces attributed to the famous German flutist and composer Johann Joachim Quantz to have survived in a manuscript titled Fantasier og Preludier. 8. Capricier og andre Stykker til Øvelse for Flöÿten af Quanz (“Fantasies and Preludes. 8 Caprices and other Pieces for Exercise for the Flute by Quantz”). This manuscript has been kept in the Giedde Collection (named after its founder, Danish composer W.H.R.R. Giedde) in the Royal Library of Copenhagen, which hosts a fairly comprehensive collection of flute music from the second half of the 18th century.
This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, a collection published in Philadelphia in 1833. It is an arrangement of a dialog from the 1787 comic opera Inkle and Yarico, which was in turn based on a traditional English melody and song known as “O say, Bonny Lass”. As testified by manuscript collections of the time, this song was sung during the American Revolutionary War.
This study is the fourth piece from 24 Technische Studien für Flöte (24 Technical Studies), Op. 11, by German flutist Emil Prill. It was first published in Leipzig in 1911.
This tune comes from the Rice-Walsh manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of Jeremiah Breen, a blind fiddler from North Kerry, Ireland, notated by his student.
This is the opening movement of the third sonata from Sonates pour la flûte traversière avec la basse, Op. 19 by the prolific French Baroque composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. These sonatas were originally published in Paris in 1727.
This air is the second movement of the second of six Concerts à deux Flutes Traversières sans Basse by the French Baroque composer Michel Pignolet de Montéclair. Here the French word concert is a synonym of “suite”, and has nothing to do with the Italian concerto.
Today we propose the sixth piece from Exercices journaliers pour la flûte (or Tägliche Studien in German, i.e. “Daily Exercises”) by Austro-Hungarian composer Adolf Terschak. It was first published in 1867.
This reel is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. It is a variant of “Weel may the Keel Row”, a North of England song tune. O'Neill's source is the Rice-Walsh manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of Jeremiah Breen, a blind fiddler from North Kerry, Ireland, notated by his student.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the Partita No. 1 in B minor for solo violin, BWV 1002, in 1720. What we present today is a transcription for solo flute of the sixth movement of this Partita, a double that elaborates on the preceding sarabande. In order to fit the range of the flute, the piece has been transposed from B minor to E minor.
This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833. It is based on a French tune, also known in English-speaking countries under the titles “Cats in the Village”, “Harvest Time” and “Nine Pins”.
“Le garçon volage” can be translated as “the fickle boy”. Astute readers may have noticed that Blake uses the feminine article “la”, even though garçon is a masculine noun. While this could simply be a misprint, it is possible that the article refers to an implied word denoting the kind of tune, such as quadrille, which can be found in other sources.
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