Skip to main content

Major Flute Repertoire and Composers

Discover a sampling of flute music from Baroque to Modern Periods. Learning about the music from each time period will help you improve your understanding of flute literature. Listening to representative works will improve your understanding and appreciation for the music of the past and discover how composers changed their styles and techniques over the centuries.

Baroque Period

Baroque composers were experimenting with new ways of creating sound by creating highly ornamented compositions. Occupying the years from 1600 to 1750 the Baroque period is home to the music of Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann, and Tartini.

Sample Flute Works:

Bach, J.S.: Sonata in G Minor
Corelli, Arcangelo: Sonatas No. 9
Handel, George Frideric: Sonatas in D and G major, E, A, and B minor.
Telemann, Georg Philipp: 12 Fantasias
Vivaldi, Antonio: Concerto in G Minor Op. 10 No. 2 "La Notte"

Classical Period

The Classical Period deals with music from 1750 to 1820. Classical music focused on balance, proportion, and order. Compared to Baroque music the Classical period was very tame and structured. Often people confuse the term Classical with an uppercase "C" to classical with a lowercase "c". The distinction is that Classical refers to a time period, while classical refers to all Western art music.

Sample Flute Works:

Beethoven: 6 Themes and Variations for Flute and Piano, Op. 105
Gluck, Christoph Willibald: Dance of the Blessed Spirits
Haydn, Franz Joseph: Concerto in D
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: The Magic Flute
Quants, Johann Joachim: Concerto in G

Romantic Period

Romantic period composers were experimenting with human expression, sentimentality, and the power of the individual. Harmonic tonalities and musical forms expanded, and virtuosos began to take the limelight. The Romantic composers wrote music from 1820 to 1910.

Sample Flute Works:

Chopin, Frédéric François: Variations on a Theme of Rossini
Debussy, Claude-Achille: Syrinx
Saint-Saëns, Charles-Camille: Airs de ballet d'Ascanio
Satie, Erik: Three Gymnopedies
Schubert, Franz: Variations on a Theme of Trockne Blume

20th Century Music

Music written after 1910 can be considered part of the Modern Period of music. Smaller ensembles, and less emotionally charged music became the norm for these composers. The music poses intellectual and challenging harmonies and melodies. Composers experimented with extended instrument techniques such as key clicks and multiphonics.

Sample Flute Works:

Berio, Luciano: Sequenza I
Copland, Aaron: Duo for Flute and Piano
Varèse, Edgard: Density 21.5
Messiaen, Olivier: Le Merle Noir
Poulenc, Francis: Sonata
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

List of Musical Techniques and Their Meanings

Musical techniques are the building blocks of any basic music training. These techniques allow performers to improve their coordination and develop accuracy through repetitive daily exercises. Musical techniques progressively build upon previously learned techniques. Scales Scales form the basis for other musical techniques. Student may study major and minor scales as well as modern scales, such as the whole-tone and octatonic scales. A scale consists of patterns of half steps and whole steps. These whole steps and half-step arrangements will be different for each scale. Scales are musical techniques that can help a performer to play faster and more accurately, and make learning new pieces easier. Chords Chords require knowledge of major and minor scales. Chords come in several different forms that affect the sound. Triads consist of three notes spaced a third apart and classified as major, minor, augmented and diminished chords. Seventh chords build on triads and have an additional no
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Claude Debussy Never Cared About Music Theory

  Claude Debussy was born on August 22, 1862. So, I felt writing a blog post to celebrate would be appropriate. Debussy was a revolutionary composer who challenged the conventions of Western music. He was influenced by the impressionist painters, the exotic sounds of gamelan music, and the symbolist poets. He created a musical language that was expressive, colorful, and atmospheric. One of the most remarkable aspects of Debussy's music is his use of harmony. He did not follow the rules of tonality and functional harmony that dominated the music of his time. Instead, he used modes, scales, chords, and parallel movements that created a sense of ambiguity and fluidity. He also experimented with timbre, texture, rhythm, and form to create musical images that evoked moods and emotions. Debussy's music can inspire us to think outside the box and explore new possibilities in our own compositions. We can learn from his innovative techniques and his artistic vision. We can also apprecia
Post a Comment
Read more

Similarities of Classical and Baroque Music

Music has evolved through the centuries and undergone drastic changes. One of the most significant transitions was from the Baroque to the Classical period of music. In this paragraph, I will compare and contrast some of the main features of these two styles, such as ensembles, instrumentation, and counterpoint study. The Baroque and Classical periods of music have many similarities. While the style of music changed drastically, certain key elements remained the same between the two styles. Composers in the Classical period sought to simplify music and create clearly audible musical lines. In contrast, composers from the Baroque period were interested in creating complex and highly ornamented musical lines. The Baroque period occurs from approximately 1600 to 1750, and the Classical period extends from 1750 to 1820. Ensembles Ensembles are groups of musicians that perform together. Both the Baroque and the Classical period had similar types of ensembles, such as operas, orchestras, str
Post a Comment
Read more