Saturday 1 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Study in E major by Fürstenau

 from “24 Daily Studies”

This is the twenty-first piece from 24 Tägliche Studien (24 Daily Studies) by German flutist and composer Anton Bernhard Fürstenau, first published in Berlin in 1839.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 2 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Trip to Killarney

 Traditional Irish jig

Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. This jig is taken from O'Farrell's Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union Pipe, first published around 1805. Irish scholar Donal O'Sullivan suggested that the piece may be a composition of O'Farrell's, and had no doubts it was composed by an uilleann piper.

Categories: Jigs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Monday 3 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Lady Mary Montagu's Reel

 by Ignatius Sancho

This tune was composed by Ignatius Sancho (1729–1780), and was first printed in his Twelve Country Dances for the Year 1779. Sancho was a former slave who became emancipated and found advancement and patronage from the wealthy Montagu family.

Thanks to Anne for suggesting this piece!

Categories: Reels Difficulty: easy
Tuesday 4 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Mi pizzica, mi stimola

 by Daniel Auber, arranged for three flutes

This tune comes from French composer Daniel Auber's 1828 opera La muette de Portici, also known as Masaniello.

The present arrangement for three flutes is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833.

Categories: Opera excerpts Romantic Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 5 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Study in A major by Hugues

 from “40 New Studies”

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

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 6 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Chad Gadya

 Traditional Passover song

This playful cumulative song (where verses get longer and longer) is traditionally sung at the end of the Passover Seder, the Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The melody, which is believed to have its roots in Medieval German folk music, first appeared in a Haggadah (a text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder) printed in Prague in 1590.

Thanks to Elan for suggesting this tune!

Categories: Jewish music Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Friday 7 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Adagio by Bellinzani

 from Recorder Sonata in F minor

This is the opening movement of the eleventh 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
Saturday 8 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Duet No. 21 in G minor

 from “Méthode de flûte”

This duet is taken from the celebrated Méthode de flûte by French flutist Jean-Louis Tulou, published in Paris in 1835.

Categories: Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: easy
Sunday 9 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Study in G minor by Fürstenau

 from “24 Daily Studies”

This is the twenty-second piece from 24 Tägliche Studien (24 Daily Studies) by German flutist and composer Anton Bernhard Fürstenau, first published in Berlin in 1839.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: advanced
Monday 10 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Helvic Head

 Traditional Irish jig

This jig is taken from O'Farrell's Pocket Companion for the Irish or Union Pipe, first published around 1805. Helvick Head (Ceann Heilbhic in Irish) is a promontory stretching out from the coastline of County Waterford. The tune was printed in O'Neill's Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody (1922) under the corrupt title “Melvin Head”.

Categories: Jigs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Tuesday 11 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Adagio by Corelli

 from Violin Sonata in D major, transcribed for flute and keyboard

This Adagio is the fourth movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Violin Sonata No. 1 in D major, which was originally published in 1700 as part of his 12 Violin Sonatas, Op. 5.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 12 May 2021

Tune of the Day: The Mirror Duet

 transcribed for two flutes

This curious piece, popularly known as “Der Spiegel” (“The Mirror”) or “Table Music for Two” and traditionally attributed to Mozart, is what is known as a retrograde inversion canon. In its original form, it is a violin duet, but with a twist: the two performers are supposed to stand facing each other across a table with the sheet music between them, and read from the same score in opposite directions, with the first performer starting from the “beginning” and the second performer starting at the “end”. As if by magic, the result is a coherent piece!

It is highly unlikely that this piece was actually composed by Mozart, but it is listed in Appendix C of the Köchel Catalog as a “Doubtful or Falsely Attributed Work”.

In order to fit the range of the flute, we applied some minor modifications to measures 2, 17, 23, 55, and 61.

Thanks to Elan for suggesting this piece!

Categories: Canons Classical Difficulty: intermediate
Thursday 13 May 2021

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

 from “40 New Studies”

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

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Friday 14 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Paddy the Weaver

 Traditional Irish jig

This melody was first printed in the 3rd volume of James Aird's A Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs (1788) as “Basket of Oysters”, with the alternate title of “Pady [sic] the Weaver”. In this first appearance, the melody was actually set in E minor, but the major mode became rather prevalent in subsequent publications.

Categories: Jigs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Saturday 15 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Culford Heath Camp

 by Ignatius Sancho

This tune was composed by British writer and musician Ignatius Sancho (1729–1780), and was first printed in his Twelve Country Dances for the Year 1779.

Culford Heath is a hamlet in Suffolk, about 60 miles north-east of London.

Categories: Jigs Difficulty: easy
Sunday 16 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Duet in D major by Tulou

 from “Méthode de flûte”

This simple duet is taken from the celebrated Méthode de flûte by French flutist Jean-Louis Tulou, published in Paris in 1835. It is a good study to work on the sound quality of low D.

Categories: Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: easy
Monday 17 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Study in D major by Fürstenau

 from “24 Daily Studies”

This is the twenty-third piece from 24 Tägliche Studien (24 Daily Studies) by German flutist and composer Anton Bernhard Fürstenau, first published in Berlin in 1839.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: advanced
Tuesday 18 May 2021

Tune of the Day: The Original One-Horned Sheep

 Traditional Irish jig

This variant of “The Old Horned Sheep” appears to be unique to Francis O'Neill's collection Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody, published in Chicago in 1922. O'Neill remarks: “An Irish song extolling the many good qualities of An sean caora adarcach in supplying drink, food, and clothing, to her owner, was sung to this air.”

Categories: Jigs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Wednesday 19 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Bellinzani

 from Recorder Sonata in F minor

This is the second movement of the eleventh 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
Thursday 20 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Isle of Beauty, Fare Thee Well

 arranged for two flutes

This romantic ballad was composed by English poet, dramatist and songwriter Thomas Haynes Bayly. It has been published in hymnals and also appears to have been used as a military march.

Shades of ev'ning close not o'er us,
Leave our lonely bark awhile,
Morn, alas! will not restore us,
Yonder dim and distant isle;
Still my fancy can discover,
Sunny spots where friends may dwell,
Darker shadows round us hover,
Isle of beauty, fare thee well.

The present arrangement for two flutes appeared in Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833.

Categories: Ballads Hymn tunes Marches Romantic Difficulty: easy
Friday 21 May 2021

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

 from “40 New Studies”

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

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Saturday 22 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Give Me a Lass with a Lump of Land

 Traditional air and jig

This air appears in Joseph Mitchell's stage production The Highland Fair, or the Union of the Clans (1731), as well as in the opera Calista (1731), a scandalous exposé of the illicit affair of Scottish noblewoman Lady Catherine Gordon penned by an anonymous author.

Categories: Jigs Slow airs Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Sunday 23 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Ruffs and Rhees

 by Ignatius Sancho

This tune was composed by British writer and musician Ignatius Sancho (1729–1780), and was first printed in his Twelve Country Dances for the Year 1779.

Categories: Jigs Difficulty: easy
Monday 24 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Duet in D major by Tulou

 from “Méthode de flûte”

This simple duet is taken from the celebrated Méthode de flûte by French flutist Jean-Louis Tulou, published in Paris in 1835. Like the one before it, it is a good study to work on the production of low D.

Categories: Etudes Written for Flute Difficulty: easy
Tuesday 25 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Study in B minor by Fürstenau

 from “24 Daily Studies”

This is the final piece from 24 Tägliche Studien (24 Daily Studies) by German flutist and composer Anton Bernhard Fürstenau, first published in Berlin in 1839.

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Wednesday 26 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Dayenu

 Traditional Passover song

This traditional upbeat song, part of the Jewish holiday of Passover, is over one thousand years old. As its title (which means approximately “it would have been enough”) suggests, it is about being grateful to God for all of the gifts that the Jewish people has received.

Thanks to Elan for suggesting this tune!

Categories: Jewish music Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Thursday 27 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Allegro by Corelli

 from Violin Sonata in D major, transcribed for flute and keyboard

This Allegro is the fifth and final movement of Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli's Violin Sonata No. 1 in D major, which was originally published in 1700 as part of his 12 Violin Sonatas, Op. 5.

Categories: Baroque Sonatas Difficulty: advanced
Friday 28 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Yes I Will Leave My Father's Halls

 arranged for two flutes

This flute duet is taken from Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in 1833. The melody was composed by Sidney Waller, who also authored the tunes to “The Sailor's Tear” and “My Heart's True Blue”.

Yes I will leave my father's halls,
To roam along with thee;
Adieu, adieu my native walls!
To other scenes I flee.

Categories: Ballads Love songs Difficulty: easy
Saturday 29 May 2021

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

 from “40 New Studies”

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

Categories: Etudes Romantic Written for Flute Difficulty: intermediate
Sunday 30 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Mads Doss

 Traditional Danish song

The modern lyrics to this old Danish song were written by poet Steen Steensen Blicher in 1842, but the tune is probably much older. It has notably been recorded by recorder virtuoso Michala Petri, along with a set of variations.

Mads Doss he was but a half-grown boy
who herded sheep in the heather.
Sometimes he cut up the brush for fuel
or bound willow branches together
and fashioned a broom while he sang for a spell,
and when he would call out his voice carried well:
La la la loo, la la la lay — come and I will wait!

Thanks to Phil for suggesting this tune!

Categories: Marches Piccolo tunes Traditional/Folk Difficulty: easy
Monday 31 May 2021

Tune of the Day: Adagio by Bellinzani

 from Recorder Sonata in F minor

This short Agadio is the third movement of the eleventh 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: easy