Hope this message finds you well. I am visiting your beautiful country in June for a week and would like to bring back flute music to play, as well as for my flute teacher and the flute choir she manages.
Please, if you would be so kind, share any and all of your favourite pieces for flute, ranging from solo (unaccompanied) all the way to full flute choir arrangements or compositions – flute(s) with accompaniment, duets, trios, quartets, and quintets are also especially appreciated! Our members range from emerging flutists to students who have pursued a masters degree in flute performance, so please don’t hold back the pieces you love.
Many thanks and kind regards,
Nick, from Canada
PS Here is one of my favourite flute choir pieces:
I have lots of favourite Irish tunes rather than any favourite “pieces” for the flute (which sounds like a classical thing). Irish flute playing is usual done with other instruments in a pub or private session not usually with large groups of other flute players. There are lots of recordings of flute players on youtube both solo and with other instruments, my favourite combination is flute and fiddle. Have a look for Shannon Heaton - https://www.youtube.com/@ShannonHeatonMusic and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNBgNicF6tU2yX0QV-whW8NuRRuVeAjuC
I only usually hear flute played at sessions, mostly in pubs. I found you some footage of one with an unusual number of flutes – I haven’t been there, but the setting is fairly typical.
We usually only have one flute at our local sessions, occasionally two. Both play simple system (so with no keys) D flutes.
Is it Ireland you’re visiting? The membership here’s spread around the world, so I’m not sure. Anyway, if you do visit sessions and hear a tune you like, ask what the name is. People will be happy to tell you if they know – you then can look up the notation on thesession.org It might be played in a set with several other tunes, so the question’s often “What was that second one?”
As Gromit says, there aren’t really separate flute tunes. Most are also played on fiddle, pipes, mandolin, accordion, whistle, banjo…even lever harp occasionally, though it’s not the ideal instrument for busy pubs.
Hi Gromit1, thank you for sharing Shannon’s content with me! I have been slowing going through her monthly tunes and really liked her and Matt’s playing of Westering Home. "Westering” is not a word often used at least in Canadian English, but the tune and imagery reminded me of this choir piece: Homeward Bound, performed by the Tabernacle Choir
Are there any specific Irish tunes (flute + fiddle, or otherwise) that you really enjoy? In addition, do you know of any pubs in Ireland that regularly have musicians playing?
There are also rakes of pubs that have music. Probably best to ask around locally when you land in a place.
There will be festivals on the go as well although there is often a bit of a lull in June, before the major summer events kick off in July. There’s Tunefest in Dungarvan 20-22 June but there will probably be others I can’t immediately think of. It all depends on your where and when.
Hi Moof, thank you for sharing this with me! Are there any tunes you have heard in pubs that you especially like? Doesn’t have to be exclusive to flute.
Wow! That’s a lot of flutes! There was a flute convention in Washington DC, USA in 2015, where on the last day, they had a bunch of guests piccolo players perform The Patriot by John Williams. All 13 of them played the solo! You can imagine what that must have sounded like; they asked everyone with one to turn down their hearing aids.
And yes, visiting from Limerick to Dublin in mid-June!
It’s probably hard to understand why people give answers like that if you’re not familiar with the sheer number of tunes out there. It’s easier when you’ve been to a few performances or sessions with good players, because you sit there listening to great tune after great tune. It’s a struggle to remember, let alone choose.
if you want to learn some yourself, it’s a good idea to listen to what’s played fairly often at sessions local to you (assuming there are some). Choose from among those, then spend time listening to recordings to learn how different musicians approach them.
Hard to pick things out for other people, but here are a couple of common session tunes that seem to sit well on flute – Lark in the Morning, and Dave Richardson’s Calliope House.
Seems like you’re into Airs and slower tunes - here’s a few, all on youtube, not all Irish but good tues IMHO
Last of stars - Brian Finnegan
History man - Flook
Hector the Hero - Breabach
Hills of New Zealand - Brid O’Gorman
Ann Maguire’s Silver Wedding
planxty_hewlet
Taim in Arrears / Hardiman the fiddler
Island of woods - Steph Gerimiah
Breton Woods Set - Alan Kelly Gang - Island of Woods / Dans Fisel
The Rolling Waves / Finbar Dwyer’s Favourite Kevin Crawford
cow that ate the blanket / Lark on the strand
morning lark / frost is all over
Na Maithe Mora
Sunday’s Well, waltz
The Cradling Arms of Croaghan’
Sliabh Geal GCua Kevin Crawford
Madam Maxwell
when the cock crows
If ever you were mine
Scottishe Kerlou - Calum Stewart
