Selected Duets For Flute Podcast

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 69 Number 2, Waltz, performed by David Summer. A waltz is a ballroom dance in triple meter (usually 3/4 time). Couples dance close together, with the man's right hand on the woman's back or around her waist. The tempo marking for this duet, "Allegro vivace", indicates a tempo that's faster than an Allegro. This fast tempo is commonly found in waltzes originating in Vienna. Austrian composer, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, was also a virtuoso pianist. His style of writing bridges the classical and romantic musical periods, with most of his pieces being, naturally enough, for piano. He wrote several pieces for multiple pianos, also operas, masses and more. Hummel's Trumpet Concerto in Eb, is part of the standard performance literature for trumpet. It's a very melodic piece, well worth searching out. The metronome setting for this performance is half note = 144.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 68 Number 1e, Rigodon II from Sonata VI, Op.5, performed by David Summer. This second Rigodon presents a good opportunity for the teacher to talk about arpeggios, since the second flute part is littered with them. For both of these rigadoon duets, the student should practice both flute parts. Teacher and student might even exchange parts on the repeats. The metronome setting for this performance is half note = 80.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 68 Number 1d, Rigodon I from Sonata VI, Op.5, performed by David Summer. The title of this duet, "Rigodon" is a variant on the spelling of rigadoon. A rigadoon is a dance for two couples in quick double time. The rigadoon originated in Provence, France, in the 15th-century and is named after a dancing master from Marseilles. It became popular at the court of Louis XIV from the 1670s and spread to most of the courts of Europe. Couples dance side by side without holding hands and at certain moments make a springing step called the pas de rigaudon. The metronome setting for this performance is half note = 88.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 67 Number 1c, Adagio from Sonata VI, Op.5, performed by David Summer. This third movement from Sonata VI, Op.5, by Johann Quantz changes to the key of G major (the relative major to e minor). It's slow enough so that performers are advised to count eight notes as getting one beat, as I do for this performance. Quantz was not only a prolific composer of music for the flute, as well as the author of the afore mentioned book "On Playing the Flute", he also made flutes of his own design. Probably the most famous recipient of these instruments was King Frederick the Great. Quantz built many flutes for Frederick while serving the King. To modern western musicians, Quantz's most interesting addition to his flute is a key for D# even though the enharmonic Eb key was already present on the flute, as it is today. This was to satisfy the desire to play using a system called "just intonation", which was prevalent until about the middle of the 19th century, before the widespread

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 66 Number 1b, Allegro from Sonata VI, Op.5, performed by David Summer. This second movement from Sonata VI, Op.5, by Johann Quantz retains the key of e minor from the first movement but this movement is a lively Allegro. In addition to numerous musical compositions for flute, Quantz is also the author of a seminal musical treatise for the instrument entitled "On Playing the Flute". "On Playing the Flute" belies its title by containing not only a wealth of information on flute playing, but also by covering a wide range of subjects including breath control and musical accompaniment as well as more general musical topics such as performance anxiety. The book was used by his students as the basis for a "school of flute playing" and remains relevant today. It is still in print and makes a worthy addition to any flutist's library. There are no repeats in this performance and the metronome setting is dotted quarter note = 66.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 66 Number 1a, Adagio from Sonata VI, Op.5, performed by David Summer. Johann Joachim Quantz is a name that is well known by professional flutists as well as advanced flute students. Quantz wrote over 300 concertos and many flute sonatas. This duet is from one of his early efforts, Sonata VI, Op.5. He also wrote many collections of flute duets, probably the most popular today being his "Six Duets For Two Flutes Op.2". Although he traveled widely, studying music in the first half of his life, Quantz spent his last 30 years, from 1741 to his death in 1773, in Dresden under the service of King Frederick the Great of Prussia. This recording is the first of 5 movements of the Sonata. The other 4 movements will be presented over the next 4 podcast episodes. The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 69.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 65 Number 20, Minuet from Duettino, Op.42,No.8, performed by David Summer. This Minuet, by James Hook, is from his collection of short flute duets entitled "12 Duettinos, Op. 42". (Duettino meaning a short or concise duet.) James Hook was a prolific English baroque composer, composing what may have been the first clarinet concerto written by an English composer. Like many baroque composers, he was a church organist and used the instrument as a compositional aid. James Hook was an extremely popular and successful composer. Hook became wealthy from his compositions, he encouraged young musicians and he was noted as a generous and jovial family man. The second repeat is omitted from this performance and the metronome setting is quarter note = 100.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 64 Number 19, Allegretto, performed by David Summer. This piece is an Allegretto, which again is a moderately fast tempo between Allegro and Moderato. Like many of the previous duets, this one also has some imitative characteristics. This duet is either by Henry Eccles or his brother John Eccles, both of whom were English baroque composers. The metronome setting for this performance is half note = 76.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 62 Number 18, Fugato, performed by David Summer. A fugue is an imitative piece, similar to a cannon. A main difference between a fugue and a cannon is that in a fugue, the second voice part comes in a fifth away from the first voice part. This duet is a fugato, which is not strictly a fugue, but retains much of the style of a fugue. The composer of this duet, Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz, was a Czech composer and violinist. Johann Stamitz, like Telemann, contributed to the transition of the baroque period to the classical era. Many members of the Stamitz familiy were composers, including Johann’s two sons Carl and Anton. Johann Stamitz was a founder of the Mannheim school. This style of music composition introduced many of the musical concepts that help to distinguish the baroque from the classical period, including dynamic innovations such as the crescendo. The metronome setting for this performance is half note = 100.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 60 Number 17, Menuett, performed by David Summer. The title of this duet, "Menuett", is yet another spelling variation on the word "Minuet". The two flute parts are largely independent rhythmically. By the time a student gets to this part of the book, they should be getting fairly comfortable with rhythmically independent parts though. The tempo marking, Allegro molto, means very fast. But the duet should still be played in the context of a "Minuet" dance. There are no repeats taken and the metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 132.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 59 Number 16, Menuet Italian, performed by David Summer. This is the third, and last, duet by composer and musette virtuoso, Nicolas Chédeville. It's from the same sonata, Sonata Number 6, Opus 8, as the previous duet. The meter is 3/8 and it's played with a feeling of being "in 1". This is much the same as 6/8 played "in 2" as many of the previous duets have been. The metronome setting for this performance is eigth note = 126.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 58 Number 15, From Sonata No.6, Op.8 (The Italian), performed by David Summer. This second of the 3 duets by Chedeville is from a series of sonatas entitled "Il pastor fido". These sonatas have a curious history, in that Chedeville made a secret agreement with Jean-Noël Marchand to publish the collection as if they were written by Antonio Vivaldi. This was probably to make use of the more famous composer’s name recognition in order to increase sales. The duet has a somewhat jagged melodic line and the slightly unusual tempo marking of Vivement, meaning quick or lively. For this performance, only the first repeat is taken and the metronome setting is quarter note = 96.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 57 Number 14, German Gavotte, performed by David Summer. The composer of this duet, Nicolas Chédeville, was a French Baroque composer who was well known for his proficiently on an instrument called the musette. The musette (also known as a musette de cour or baroque musette) is an instrument that is similar to a bagpipe. It was popular in the 1700’s and used in a wide variety of music including chamber music and operas. This German Gavotte contains several notations resembling a + (plus) sign. This is a notation that was used during the Baroque period to indicate a short trill. The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 76.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 56 Number 13, Gavotte, performed by David Summer. This Gavotte is by the Italian Baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli. Corelli was also an accomplished violinist and this may very well have been originally written for 2 violins. Corelli also composed many works for brass ensemble. This duet can prove challenging for a student because the rhythm in the second flute part is so different from that in the first flute part and because of the closely repeated echo sections in the second half of the duet. The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 92.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 55 Number 11, Giga, performed by David Summer. This Giga is a fairly simple duet by George Frideric Handel. Handel composed a series of flute sonatas that are used often in performance. I use them often when performing in churches. My favorites are the g minor, the G major and the F major. One of the things that makes these flute sonatas particularly good for performance is that the keyboard parts are not unusually difficult, but they are interesting. They were written to really be an equal partner with the solo instrument, the flute. The metronome setting for this performance is dotted quarter note = 84.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 54 Number 10, Allegretto con brio, performed by David Summer. Italian composer Francesco Geminiani, the composer of this duet, was also an accomplished violinist. In 1715 he played his violin concerti with Handel at the keyboard, for the court of George I. Later, he authored a book called Art of Playing the Violin that was published in London in 1751. This duet may well have originally been written for 2 violins. The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 92.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 53 Number 9, Gavotte, performed by David Summer. André Ernest Modeste Grétry was a Belgium baroque composer, who was most famous for his comic operas. Altogether he composed fifty operas, most notably "Zémire et Azor" and "Richard Coeur-de-lion". This Gavotte is an example of the latter style gavotte, starting from the late eighteenth century and especially prevalent in the nineteenth century. This style is characterized by the gavotte beginning on the downbeat rather than on the second half-measure upbeat. The metronome setting for this performance is quarter note = 104.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 52 Number 8, Bourrée, performed by David Summer. A bourrée is a 17th century dance of French origin. It's a double time (cut time) dance that starts with a pickup note on the upbeat of the second beat. A bourrée may be part of a suite. Handle uses the form as a movement of his Flute Sonata in G. The bourrée continues to be used in music today. One of the most famous examples being the track entitled "Bourrée" from the album "Stand Up" by Jethro Tull. The original version of that piece is by Bach from his Suite in E minor (BWV 996). The metronome setting for this performance is half note = 84.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 52 Number 7, Slow Air, performed by David Summer. Gottfried Finger, the composer of this duet, became a musician at the court of King James II of England where made a name for himself as a composer of chamber music. He later returned to his native Germany where he worked for Queen Sophie Charlotte in Berlin and wrote several German operas. His works for flute include several Sonatas for Flute (or Violin) and Continuo, mostly written in the late 1600s. This duet presents a good opportunity for the teacher to discuss the dotted whole note and perhaps to go over exactly what it is a dot after a note means. The 3/2 time signature may be unfamiliar to a student. A student may also be unfamiliar with seeing measures containing whole notes along with other notes in the same measure. The second repeat is omitted from this performance and the metronome setting is half note = 80.

Selected Duets for Flute, Page 51 Number 6, Gigue, performed by David Summer. This Gigue is similar in style to the previous duets that were entitled "Giga". The teacher should point out how several measures in the first section of the duet outline an F arpeggio. The second section features more of the same type of "question and answer" motives that are present in many of the previous duets. This device was popular in the baroque and is often used in modern pop and blues. The metronome setting for this performance is dotted quarter note = 84.