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Romance of the Flute
Well-known tunes for flute and piano
Well-known tunes for flute and piano
The Romance of the Flute
James Gregory
Martin Souter
The silver flute is the subtlest of instruments. Its velvet tones are infinitely soothing and seductive, inspiring composers to write some of their most intimate and personal music. This collection of Romantic masterpieces is performed on the Rolls Royce of flutes, a Louis Lot, which is to flautists what a Stradivarius is to violinists.
1 Sicilienne Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
2 Madrigal Philippe Gaubert (1879-1941)
3 En Bateau Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
4 Le Plaintif Jacques Hotteterre (1674-1763)
5 Serenade Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
6 Badinerie Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
7 Spring Song Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
8 Ständchen Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
9 Softly awakes my heart Camille Saint Saëns (1835-1921)
10 Morceau de Concours Gabriel Fauré
11 I have lost my beloved Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787)
12 Turkish March Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
13 The Little Shepherd Claude Debussy
14 Syrinx Claude Debussy
15 Méditation Jules Massenet (1842-1912)
16 On wings of song Felix Mendelssohn
17 Tango Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)
18 Andaluza Enrique Granados (1867-1916)
19 Siciliana Johann Sebastian Bach
20 Sicilienne Maria Theresia von Paradis (1759-1824)
21 Giga Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Cover picture: John Wainwright (A pretty still life of roses, rhododendron and passion flower) Fine Art Photographs
Recorded in the church of St Michael and All Angels, Summertown, Oxford by kind permission of the Rev Anthony Gann and St Michael's District Council
Produced by Simon Heighes
Edited and mastered at Classical Communications
Executive Producer Martin Souter
Over 1 hour of music
CCL CDG1008
P & C 1999 Classical Communications
Made in the Great Britain
The silver flute is the subtlest of instruments. Its velvet tones are infinitely soothing and seductive, inspiring composers to write some of their most intimate and personal music. This collection of Romantic masterpieces is performed on the Rolls Royce of flutes, a Louis Lot, which is to flautists what a Stradivarius is to violinists. Built in Paris during the 1870s, this instrument (still in its original condition) has an exceptionally mellow timbre and is ideally partnered by a Broadwood grand piano of the same vintage. Their unique tonal quality recreates the sound world of a bygone era. From old French music - a slow, stately dance - through to some of the most famous melodies from the world of classical music, The Romance of the Flute has been created with a special atmosphere in mind. As James Gregory has said, when the Lot flute plays, it flies free with the wind, it sings its heart out and takes you on a journey of exhilarating beauty.
The programme can be divided into several musical types. The siciliana (or its equivalent in other languages) is always a melancholic piece with a slow, lilting rhythm, reminiscent of a courtly dance. Others dances can be heard too, from Bach's famous Badinerie to Vivaldi's Giga. Arrangements of operatic themes give full reign to the free sound of the flute, from eighteenth-century Gluck to the arch-Romanticism of Massenet and Saint Saëns. There is a touch of the exotic too, with Spanish music from Albéniz and Granados. Debussy's subtle boating song (track 3) and his lovely musical depiction of The Little Shepherd connect with the singing musical lines of Schubert and Mendelssohn. Debussy's Syrinx (track 14) for solo flute is possibly the ultimate 'song without words'. The free melodies soar in the air, grow and swell before dying away into the silence from whence they came.
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