I like to play classical and baroque tunes.
I learn them by ear and I treat them
as folk music, that is, I play the tune
as best I can for its own sake.
Well, what are your favorite classical
tunes for the flute?
Right now I’m learning the oboe part
of an Albinoni oboe concerto.
Suggestions for more tunes?
Bach, bach and more bach…Scott Joplin (not classical, but not ITM) also sounds great on wooden flute. I play classical with the dots. Here are two of my favorites:
Bach, Gigue from Overture in D
Pachbel’s Cannon
Eric
There are a lot! Here’s a short list of my favourites:
Thanks.
I would add Stravinksi’ Sarabande,
not that I can quite play it.
Beethoven’s Romance in D minor.
Ode to Joy.
Schubert’s Rose red.
The only Classical piece I’ve learned is Largo from Handel’s Xerxes. Some good back-to-back C#:Cnat.
Cheers,
Aaron
I love the flute oboe and recorder parts in Bach cantatas though I struggle with them on the flute. Also Handel wind sonatas have lots of gorgeous and not too difficult movements. Telemann is also a treasure trove of great pieces. I’ve found myself unwittingly playing them like trad especially the dance movements… crans in yer Bach… whoops.
Rob
Do it!
The last part of Bach’s Peasant Cantata,
which is about the toodlesac, the bag pipe,
is fine on the flute.
Finding breathing on some Bach things can be a killer especially the oboe parts it’s a well known fact that oboe players can breath through their bums!
I think the one I’d like to get working on the flute most is ‘Cast out this needless fear of Death’ from Bach Cantata no 8. Not very cheery title but fabulous fluty tune! There are several from 198 as well. the Oboe solo from “Sich uben im Lieben” one of the wedding cantatas, is good as well and not too hard and is accidental free so can be played on the whistle!
A good tune book for these Is ‘A Bach Book’ by Imogen Holst published by Cramer
Rob
If you read music, a nice book to play with Bach stuff is:
It’s cheap and has enough tunes for several lifetimes. If you have someone to play duets, one flute can play melody an octave higher and the other flute can read the bass part.
Wow Glauber - that’s like the uberlink you posted there! The price is certainly right.
To quote Radar O’Reilly…“ah, Bach”.
Eric
It’s kind of funny. Just before I sat down here, I was playing some classical music on my flute. A couple of years ago, I went through some of my wife’s piano books and pulled out a few that sounded good on my flute. My favorite is listed as “Sonatina in G” by Beethoven. I don’t know if that is a simplified name, or if the tune is simplified (my wife was a pre-teen when she learned it on the piano), but I enjoy it and it’s pretty easy.
I like tunes with a singing lyric line, like “Finlandia” by Sibelius and the largo movement from the New World Symphony of Dvorak. I also like to compose little medleys of tunes found in a certain piece of music. I think that it is refreshing to play by ear without referring to the dots.
Obviously, you can create medleys from any piece of music that has multiple tunes. I like “The Grand Canyon Suite” by Grofe and “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Mussorgsky. Outside of the classical tradition, there is an endless possibility of interesting medleys, with Broadway musicals being my favorite. For example, I play medleys from “Camelot” and “My Fair Lady”, which begins to date me, I am afraid.
nice! yes, thanks for the fuel.. I just played the Bourree Anglaise from the partita for a music school audition today, albeit on silver flute. Kept thinking how I would’ve loved to have played it on a keyed wooden had I owned one. Would’ve kept them from picking at me about my playing of F# with the middle finger. 
During the Korean War, one very cold clear winter night, about a platoon’s worth of mixed UN solders were huddled close to each other and close to a fire. It was quite except for the shells in the distance. A UK bloke pulled out pieces of a keyless flute and fixed them together. And then he played New World Symphony. The theme is a Nigero spiritual, Going Home. The huddled soldiers soon found that out when one of them, a barrel chested black American started singing: “Going home, going home, I’m jest going home. Mother’s there, waiting there, for me to come home….” Tears glistened from the fire all way around.
Nelson