Wednesday 1 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Study in A major by Prill

 from “24 Studies for the Development of Technique”

This is the seventh piece from 24 Etüden zur Förderung der Technik (24 Studies for the Development of Technique), Op. 12, by German flutist Emil Prill. It was first published in Bremen in 1913.

Categories: Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 2 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Molly of Lough Erne Shore

 Traditional Irish air

This air appears in Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in Chicago in 1922. The cited source is a manuscript by James Whiteside, the “Bard of Bray”, County Wicklow. He was a scholar, poet, composer, and skillful fiddler.

Lough Erne is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

Categories: Celtic Music Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Friday 3 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Andante by Locatelli

 from Flute Sonata in C major

This heavily syncopated Andante is the opening movement of the first of 12 sonatas for flute and continuo by Italian composer Pietro Antonio Locatelli, originally published in Amsterdam in 1732.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: advanced
Saturday 4 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Fanfare by Berbiguier

 from “36 Petits Duos Mélodiques Faciles et Chantants”

This fanfare is the fifteenth duet from Trente-six Petits Duos Mélodiques Faciles et Chantants pour deux Flûtes (36 Easy Flute Duets) by French Romantic composer Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier.

Categories: Fanfares Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 5 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Study in A major by Hugues

 from “40 New Studies”

Today's piece is the eighth study from 40 Nuovi Studi, Op. 75, by Italian flutist, composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.

This study has also been published as the fifteenth piece in a selection of 24 Studies for Flute from Hugues's Opp. 32 and 75.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Monday 6 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Lucky in Love

 Traditional Irish reel

This reel owes its popularity to Irish flute player John McKenna (1880–1947), who emigrated to New York in 1911. “Lucky in Love” was apparently a local Leitrim tune that McKenna brought into the standard repertoire through his influential 1934 recording. The origins of the tune are probably Scottish, however, as it appears to be derived from “I'll Gang Nae Mair to Yon Town”.

Thanks to Heather for suggesting this tune!

Categories: Celtic Music Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 7 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Bellinzani

 from Recorder Sonata in D minor

This is the second and final movement of the second sonata from Sonate a flauto solo con cembalo, o violoncello (“Sonatas for solo flute with harpsichord or cello”) by Italian Baroque composer Paolo Benedetto Bellinzani, originally published in Venice in 1720.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 8 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Portrait charmant

 arranged for two flutes

This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833. The only other appearance of the melody that we could find is in a 1817 Philadelphia edition for voice and piano, which sadly does not mention a composer. It is a setting of a poem written by Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.

Lovely portrait, portrait of my friend,
Token of love, through love obtained,
Ah! Come and offer me the good that I lost:
Seeing you again brings me back to life.

Some publications mention an 1814 musical setting by Belgian composer Charles Lis (1784–1845), but we were unable to ascertain whether it is the same as the present one.

Categories: Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Thursday 9 July 2020

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

 from “24 Studies for the Development of Technique”

This is the eighth piece from 24 Etüden zur Förderung der Technik (24 Studies for the Development of Technique), Op. 12, by German flutist Emil Prill. It was first published in Bremen in 1913.

Categories: Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 10 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Un soir

 Traditional French tune

This traditional dance tune comes from central France. Its title can be translated as “One evening”.

Thanks to Phil for contributing this tune!

Categories: Dance tunes Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Saturday 11 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Adagio by Locatelli

 from Flute Sonata in C major

This Adagio is the second movement of the first of 12 sonatas for flute and continuo by Italian composer Pietro Antonio Locatelli, originally published in Amsterdam in 1732.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 12 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Duet in C minor by Berbiguier

 from “36 Petits Duos Mélodiques Faciles et Chantants”

This romanza is the sixteenth duet from Trente-six Petits Duos Mélodiques Faciles et Chantants pour deux Flûtes (36 Easy Flute Duets) by French Romantic composer Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier.

Categories: Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: easy
Monday 13 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Study in B minor by Hugues

 from “40 New Studies”

Today's piece is the fifth study from 40 Nuovi Studi, Op. 75, by Italian flutist, composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.

This study has also been published as the sixteenth piece in a selection of 24 Studies for Flute from Hugues's Opp. 32 and 75.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 14 July 2020

Tune of the Day: The Gay Young Fireman

 Traditional Irish air

This air appears in Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in Chicago in 1922. O'Neill writes:

Some fifty years ago I heard a ballad sung to this air by a young lady from Brooklyn, NY. It recited the fascinations of A Gay Young Fireman of that city. The strain, unmistakably of Irish origin, displays marked individuality.

Categories: Celtic Music Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Wednesday 15 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Adagio by Bellinzani

 from Recorder Sonata in C major

This is the first movement of the third sonata from Sonate a flauto solo con cembalo, o violoncello (“Sonatas for solo flute with harpsichord or cello”) by Italian Baroque composer Paolo Benedetto Bellinzani, originally published in Venice in 1720.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 16 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Kinlock of Kinlock

 Traditional Scottish/Irish air, arranged for two flutes

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

“Kinloch of Kinloch” has been a popular melody in England, Scotland, Ireland, and North America, variously employed as a march, jig, and song air. It is sometimes attributed to Scottish politician George Kinloch of Kinloch (1775–1833). The Gaelic name kinloch means “end of the lake”.

Categories: Celtic Music Jigs Marches Traditional/Folk Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 17 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Study in E major by Prill

 from “24 Studies for the Development of Technique”

This is the ninth piece from 24 Etüden zur Förderung der Technik (24 Studies for the Development of Technique), Op. 12, by German flutist Emil Prill. It was first published in Bremen in 1913.

Categories: Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 18 July 2020

Tune of the Day: My Dear Irish Girl

 Traditional Irish air

This air appears in Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in Chicago in 1922. O'Neill writes:

Not a few songs or ballads have been sung to a variant of this old air, one of them being named “The Hat My Father Wore”. Where the second part came from the Editor is unable to say, except that it has lodged in his memory for many years.

Categories: Celtic Music Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Sunday 19 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Presto by Locatelli

 from Flute Sonata in C major

This Presto is the third and final movement of the first of 12 sonatas for flute and continuo by Italian composer Pietro Antonio Locatelli, originally published in Amsterdam in 1732.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Monday 20 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Duet in A minor by Berbiguier

 from “36 Petits Duos Mélodiques Faciles et Chantants”

This march is the seventeenth duet from Trente-six Petits Duos Mélodiques Faciles et Chantants pour deux Flûtes (36 Easy Flute Duets) by French Romantic composer Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier.

Categories: Marches Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 21 July 2020

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

 from “40 New Studies”

Today's piece is the fourteenth study from 40 Nuovi Studi, Op. 75, by Italian flutist, composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.

This study has also been published as the seventeenth piece in a selection of 24 Studies for Flute from Hugues's Opp. 32 and 75.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 22 July 2020

Tune of the Day: The Dawning of the Day

 Traditional Irish air

This air, one of a supposed seven or eight hundred, is reputed to have been composed by Thomas Connellan, a 17th-century harper from County Sligo, Ireland who spent considerable time in Scotland. It is often confused with the other popular Irish air of the same name, which it predates.

Categories: Celtic Music Slow airs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Thursday 23 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Bellinzani

 from Recorder Sonata in C major

This is the second movement of the third sonata from Sonate a flauto solo con cembalo, o violoncello (“Sonatas for solo flute with harpsichord or cello”) by Italian Baroque composer Paolo Benedetto Bellinzani, originally published in Venice in 1720.

This movement has actually no tempo indication in the original manuscript, but it usually appears as an “Allegro” in modern editions.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 24 July 2020

Tune of the Day: The Lea Rigg

 Traditional scottish tune

This tune appears in several 18th-century manuscripts, the earliest being the McFarlane Manuscript (1740). The present arrangement for two flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833.

A “lea rig” has been variously defined as a “grassy ridge”, an “unploughed field”, and the “ridge in a field left unploughed between ridges bearing grain”.

Categories: Celtic Music Marches Reels Traditional/Folk Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 25 July 2020

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

 from “24 Studies for the Development of Technique”

This is the tenth piece from 24 Etüden zur Förderung der Technik (24 Studies for the Development of Technique), Op. 12, by German flutist Emil Prill. It was first published in Bremen in 1913.

Categories: Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 26 July 2020

Tune of the Day: The Lamentation of Owen Roe O'Neill

 Traditional Irish air

This air was composed by Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan (1670–1738), or at least it has been attributed to him by several authorities. W.H. Grattan Flood, however, in his History of Irish Music (1905), says that the “glorious” Owen Roe lament was composed soon after his death, in 1649, predating O'Carolan's birth by a few years.

Owen Roe O'Neill (1582–1649), or, in Irish, Eoghan Rua Ó Neill, was a member of the noble O'Neill family of County Tyrone who as a youth left Ireland for military service on the Continent. He fought in the Netherlands and distinguished himself as an officer in service with the Spanish, but in 1642 at the age of 60 he returned to Ireland and helped to mastermind the rebellion against the Stuart regime called the Confederation of Kilkenny. O'Neill won an important victory at Benburb in 1646, but died three years later of an illness at Cloughouter, County Cavan, just before he was to campaign against Cromwell's Roundheads. It has long been maintained in tradition that O'Neill was in fact poisoned at the hands of a woman who placed a toxin in his shoes before a banquet. O'Neill danced vigorously for several hours, causing the substance to be absorbed into his skin, leading to his death several days later.

Categories: Celtic Music Slow airs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Monday 27 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Largo by Locatelli

 from Flute Sonata in D major

This Largo is the opening movement of the second of 12 sonatas for flute and continuo by Italian composer Pietro Antonio Locatelli, originally published in Amsterdam in 1732.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Tuesday 28 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Duet in F major by Berbiguier

 from “36 Petits Duos Mélodiques Faciles et Chantants”

This piece is the eighteenth duet from Trente-six Petits Duos Mélodiques Faciles et Chantants pour deux Flûtes (36 Easy Flute Duets) by French Romantic composer Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier.

Categories: Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 29 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Study in D minor by Hugues

 from “40 New Studies”

Today's piece is the twenty-second study from 40 Nuovi Studi, Op. 75, by Italian flutist, composer and arranger Luigi Hugues.

This study has also been published as the eighteenth piece in a selection of 24 Studies for Flute from Hugues's Opp. 32 and 75.

Categories: Double tonguing Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 30 July 2020

Tune of the Day: O'Connell's Lamentation

 Traditional Irish air

This air appears in Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in Chicago in 1922. O'Neill writes:

Comparing very favorably with compositions of this class, “O'Connell's Lamentation” is presented as the production of two members of the once famous Irish Music Club of Chicago which flourished in the early years of the twentieth century. The first and second parts were outlined by John McFadden, an untutored fiddler of fertile fancy and dexterous execution. The third part as well as the whole arrangement is the work of Sergt. James O'Neill, the club's worthy scribe.

Categories: Celtic Music Slow airs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Friday 31 July 2020

Tune of the Day: Sarabande by Paul Merkus

 for flute and piano

Today's piece was kindly contributed to our collection by its composer, Paul Merkus from the Netherlands. Somewhat inspired by the famous Sarabande by Handel, it is the second movement of a small suite for flute and piano, comprising a Prelude, a Sarabande and a Gigue.

Categories: Contemporary Sarabandes Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate