Monday 1 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Study in D major by Prill

 from “24 Technical Studies”

This study is the fifth 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.

Categories: Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 2 April 2019

Tune of the Day: The Curragh Races

 Traditional Irish reel

The Curragh is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training, and is the home of Irish horse racing. The name itself stems from the Irish Gaelic word cuireach, which means “place of the running horses”. Horse races are said to have been held at Curragh since the 3rd century AD, originally in the form of chariot races.

The present setting of this popular tune, which is in the florid style of the famous traditional fiddler John McFadden, is taken from Francis O'Neill's Music of Ireland, published in 1903.

Categories: Celtic Music Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 3 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Fantasia in C major by Quantz

 for solo flute

This Fantasia in C 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.

Categories: Baroque Written for Flute Difficulty: advanced
Thursday 4 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Gavotte en Rondeau by Montéclair

 for two flutes

This gavotte in rondeau form is the third 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.

Categories: Baroque Gavottes Rondos Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 5 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Study in A major by Terschak

 from “Exercices journaliers”

Today we propose the seventh 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.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 6 April 2019

Tune of the Day: The Templehouse Reel

 Traditional Irish reel

This reel appears under the title “Temple House” in the large mid-19th century music manuscript collection of County Cork cleric and uilleann piper Canon James Goodman. The melody appears to be derived from a Scottish strathspey, “Struan Robertson's Rant”, which was published by Robert Bremner in 1757.

Categories: Celtic Music Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 7 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Allemanda by Boismortier

 from Flute Sonata No. 3 in D major

This allemanda is the second 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.

Categories: Allemandes Baroque Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Monday 8 April 2019

Tune of the Day: My Love is but a Lassie Yet

 Traditional Scottish air, arranged for two flutes

This arrangement for two flutes of the classic Scottish melody “My Love She's But a Lassie Yet” is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833.

Categories: Celtic Music Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Tuesday 9 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Study in B minor by Prill

 from “24 Technical Studies”

This study in B minor is the sixth 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.

Categories: Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 10 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Miss Wardlaw's Reel

 Traditions English tune

John Watlen attributes this tune to a “Mr. Clarkson” in his Celebrated Circus Tunes (Edinburgh, 1791), in which volume the melody first appears. The collection's title refers to Edinburgh's Royal Circus, an extension of Phillip Astley's London-based Royal Circus. The venue featured equestrian acts, acrobatics, songs, dance and pantomime. The composer attribution may refer to John Clarkson or John Clarkson Jr., both Edinburgh dancing masters and musicians.

Categories: Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Thursday 11 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Double by J.S. Bach

 from Violin partita in B minor

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 final movement of this Partita, a double that elaborates on the preceding bourrée. In order to fit the range of the flute, the piece has been transposed from B minor to E minor.

Categories: Baroque Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 12 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Allegro maestoso by Mercadante

 from “Tre duetti concertanti”, No. 1

This is the first movement from the first of Tre duetti concertanti per due flauti (“Three concertante duets for two flutes”) by Italian composer Saverio Mercadante. It was first published around 1818. The word concertante denotes a piece of music containing one or more solo parts, typically of less prominence than in a classical concerto.

Many thanks to Lutz Kutscher for contributing this piece!

Categories: Classical Written for Flute Difficulty: advanced
Saturday 13 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Study in F-sharp minor by Terschak

 from “Exercices journaliers”

This is the eighth 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.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 14 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Greig's Pipes

 Traditional Irish reel and strathspey

According to John Glen's volume Early Scottish Melodies (1900), this tune is a composition of James Greig, a teacher of dancing in Ayrshire, in south-west Scotland. The melody must date back at least to the mid-18th century, as it appears in the Gillespie Manuscript of Perth (1768).

Categories: Celtic Music Reels Strathspeys Traditional/Folk Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 14 April 2019

Site update: Last Chance to Submit Your Story!

You still have 24 hours to get your story published on flutetunes.com

As announced two weeks ago, on the occasion of the website's tenth anniversary we are collecting your stories of how flutetunes.com made an impact on your life. This is your chance to see your story published on our website, and to win some of our exclusive merchandise!

Monday 15 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Impromptu in A-flat major by Schubert

 transcribed for flute and piano

This is an arrangement for flute and piano of the second piece from Franz Schubert's 4 Impromptus for piano, D.935, which he composed in 1827.

Thanks to Phil for suggesting this piece!

Categories: Romantic Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 16 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Two Menuets by Montéclair

 from Flute Sonata No. 2 in E minor

These two minuets constitute the fourth 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. The first minuet features a petite reprise, a small section that is to be repeated (usually with added ornamentation) at the very end of the piece. The overall structure of the movement is therefore AABCBCDDEEABCC'.

Categories: Baroque Minuets Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 17 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Study in A major by Prill

 from “24 Technical Studies”

This study is the seventh 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.

Categories: Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 18 April 2019

Tune of the Day: The League Reel

 Traditional Irish reel

This 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.

Categories: Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Friday 19 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Fantasia in B minor by Quantz

 for solo flute

This Fantasia in B 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.

Categories: Baroque Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 20 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Air from the Overture to La Dame Blanche

 arranged for two flutes

This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, which was published in Philadelphia in 1833.

La dame blanche (The White Lady) is an opéra comique in three acts by French composer François-Adrien Boieldieu. It was first performed in 1825.

Categories: Classical Opera excerpts Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 21 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Trim the Bonnet

 Traditional Irish reel

This reel comes from the Rice-Walsh manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of the 19th-century Irish fiddler Jeremiah Breen. In his volume Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody (1922), tune collector Francis O’Neill remarks that this tune is a variant of “Tie the Bonnet”.

Categories: Celtic Music Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Monday 22 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Study in E major by Terschak

 from “Exercices journaliers”

This study in double tonguing is the ninth 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.

Categories: Double tonguing Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 23 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Giga by Boismortier

 from Flute Sonata No. 3 in D major

This is the third 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.

Categories: Baroque Jigs Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 24 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Andante alla Siciliana by Mercadante

 from “Tre duetti concertanti”, No. 1

This is the central movement from the first of Tre duetti concertanti per due flauti (“Three concertante duets for two flutes”) by Italian composer Saverio Mercadante. It was first published around 1818. The word concertante denotes a piece of music containing one or more solo parts, typically of less prominence than in a classical concerto.

Many thanks to Lutz Kutscher for contributing this piece!

Categories: Classical Written for Flute Difficulty: advanced
Thursday 25 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Study in F-sharp minor by Prill

 from “24 Technical Studies”

This study is the eighth 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.

Categories: Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 26 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Darling Dan

 Traditional Irish reel

This reel is taken from Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in 1922. O'Neill's source for this tune is the Rice-Walsh manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of Jeremiah Breen, a blind fiddler from North Kerry, Ireland.

Categories: Celtic Music Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Saturday 27 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Capriccio in D major by Quantz

 for solo flute

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”).

You may notice that measures 11 and 19 seem to miss some notes. The manuscript shows two measures with only 7 groups of four 32th notes rather than the expected 8. It is not clear to us whether this was intentional or a mistake, and if it was a mistake it is not clear what the missing notes should be. For these reasons, we decided to simply copy the music as-is, Urtext-style.

Categories: Baroque Written for Flute Difficulty: advanced
Sunday 28 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Courante à la Française by Montéclair

 for two flutes

This courante “in the French style” is the fifth 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.

Categories: Baroque Courantes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Monday 29 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Study C-sharp minor by Terschak

 from “Exercices journaliers”

This is the tenth 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 author notes that slurs must be observed very carefully in this study.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 30 April 2019

Tune of the Day: Crossing the Field

 Traditional Irish reel

This reel 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. As noted by Irish music collector Breandán Breathnach, the tune appears to be related to “Heather Breeze”.

Categories: Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy