Sunday, August 3, 2014

Performance Guide to Arthur Honegger’s Romance


by Leonard Garrison, Associate Professor of Flute, The University of Idaho
Copyright©2014 by Leonard Garrison
 To view my teaching video of this piece, please visit my YouTube Channel.
Arthur Honegger (1903-1990) was a Swiss composer who spent most of his life in Paris. He studied composition with Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937) and Vincent d’Indy (1851-1931) at the Paris Conservatory. He was one of Les Six, a loosely affiliated group of French composers (the others were Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, and Germaine Tailleferre), although his works are generally more serious and complex than those of his confreres. He is most famous for Pacific 231, an orchestral work that imitates the sound of a train. His flute works include the Concerto da camera for flute, English horn, and strings (1948), a masterpiece of the first rank, and Danse de la chèvre for solo flute (1921), in the repertoire of every flutist.
Honegger’s Romance is not as well known. Written in 1952-1953, it is available in Contemporary French Recital Pieces, Vol. 1 published by the International Music Company:
Rated Level D by the National Flute Association, it requires flexible timing, close coordination between the contrapuntal lines and flute and piano, and sensitivity to harmonic changes.
The tempo marking Andantino is slightly faster than Andante or walking; an appropriate metronome mark is quarter=63. Each phrase can start with hesitancy and then pick up momentum. An expressive figure is the two sixteenths and eighth in meas. 4, 8, 12, etc. Lean on the first sixteenth.
The piece is in ternary or ABA form with the reprise of A at meas. 38 abbreviated. To bring out the structure of the piece, play a little faster, about quarter=80, in the middle section, meas. 22-37. The ending is inconclusive; a slower tempo from meas. 43 to the end enhances the sense of mystery.
Good luck, or bonne chance!

Performance Guide to Henri Gagnebin’s March of the Jolly Fellows


by Leonard Garrison, Associate Professor of Flute, The University of Idaho
Copyright©2014 by Leonard Garrison
To view my teaching video of this piece, please visit my YouTube Channel.

Organist and composer Henri Gagnebin (1886-1977) spent most of his life in the French-speaking areas of Switzerland. He was director of the Conservatory of Geneva from 1925-1957 and wrote chamber music, symphonies, and many works for organ.
Gagnebin’s March of the Jolly Fellows is available in the collection Contemporary French Recital Pieces, Vol. 1 published by the International Music Company:
This March is one of the most popular works for intermediate flutists and is rated Level F by the National Flute Association. These Fellows are rather heavy, and the composer’s suggestion of quarter=76 is surprisingly slow. Allegretto is not as fast as Allegro, and commodo (sometimes spelled comodo) means “comfortable” or “at an easy pace.”
The excitement is in varied articulation, dynamics, and unpredictable phrasing. Follow the slurs as marked, and use a clear single tongue (doo)—double tonguing would encourage rushing. Highlight the dynamic contrasts while adjusting for good intonation. Use a large lip opening for forte and smaller opening for piano. When playing loudly in the high register, remove the right-hand pinky (R4) for E and substitute the middle finger (R2) for the ring finger (R3) for F-sharp.
In meas. 9-10, emphasize the B-flats, which make a tritone with E-natural. This dissonant interval is known as diabolus in musica or “the Devil in music.”
Cédez légèrement means hold back a little.
Save your energy for the last two lines, which provide a grandiose conclusion.
Good luck, or bonne chance!

Performance Guide to Henri Büsser’s Petite suite, Op. 12


by Leonard Garrison, Associate Professor of Flute, The University of Idaho
Copyright©2014 by Leonard Garrison
Introduction
To view my teaching video of this piece, please visit my YouTube Channel.
Henri Büsser (1872-1973) was a long-lived French composer, organist, and conductor with important connections to the nineteenth century. He studied organ with César Franck, was friends with Jules Massenet, and was chosen by Claude Debussy to conduct numerous performances of the latter’s opera Pelléas et Mélisdande. His orchestration of Debussy’s Petite Suite is widely performed. For most of his career, he taught composition at the Paris Conservatory.
He wrote many operas and much chamber music, fortunately including several delightful works for flute. Best known is his Prélude et Scherzo, a 1908 Paris Conservatory contest piece included in Louis Moyse’s popular collection of Flute Music by French Composers. His flute works include another contest piece for the Conservatory, Andalucia sur des thèmes Andalous, Op.86 in 1933, and beautiful intermediate-level pieces, Deux morceaux: Les Cygnes et Les Écureuils (“The Swans and the Squirrels”) and the Petite suite, Op. 12 for flute and piano (not the same as Debussy’s Petite suite).
The Petite suite, originally published by Durand in 1924, functions as a useful stepping stone on a student’s path to the famous French contest solos, as this little piece introduces the challenges encountered in more advanced works: beauty and flexibility of tone in all registers, clarity of articulation, and coordination between tongue and fingers. The National Flute Association difficulty rating is G.
The work is also available in a version for piano four hands. Its subtitle is Divertissement Watteau, a “divertissement” being a lighter and less serious piece. The French painter Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) set scenes of Fêtes galantes or courtship parties; his paintings depict idyllic scenes of the nobility at play in the countryside. Büsser’s Suite captures this charming atmosphere.
A. En Sourdine (“Muted”)
The first movement moves at a relaxed pace: Andante poco adagio (“Walking, a little slow”); a pulse of 63 to the beat is appropriate. While the flute alternates between common time and 12/8, the piano is consistently in 12/8, so the beat is the same, and the flute plays in contrast to the piano’s triplets. For instance, in meas. 3, the flute’s second note (sixteenth-note B) should strike a little later than the piano’s third triplet. In the second half of meas. 3, the flute plays two notes against the piano’s three. To prepare for rehearsals with the pianist, practice with a metronome set on triplet subdivisions.
Büsser intended the piece also for violin and piano, and the violin puts a mute on for the entire first movement. Thus, the flute should play with a delicate sound imitating a muted violin, with less vibrato than normal.
Play a bit slower at the tranquillo, and emphasize the first note of each two-note group. Then, hasten at serrez un peu (“quicken a little”). Stretch the beat at the next tranquillo and sing out with a full sound, bien chanté. To prevent sharpness, add the right-hand ring finger (R3) to the high E-sharps in the first measure. Finger the G-sharp-to-A-sharp trill by depressing the lever and moving the left-hand middle and ring fingers (L2 and L3). The second bar of the tranquillo is an echo, so do not add R3 on the high E-sharps here. Please very expressively on the E-naturals in the third bar, as these require a different color than the previous E-sharps. The courtesy accidental in this third bar leads to confusion. The trill is actually E-natural to F-sharp; finger E and move the right-hand middle finger.
Sans presser means “without hurrying,” so play a little slower, about 56 to the beat. Subdivide for accurate rhythm. Plan breathing carefully; I breathe after the E on beat four of the first measure and after the A on beat four of the second measure.
The most difficult part of this first movement is the high B with a taper. Start this note mezzoforte to set up the diminuendo. Maintain airspeed throughout the B, feel the lower lip supporting the air like a shelf, keep the lips relaxed.
Enchaînez is the French equivalent to the more common Italian word attacca. Avoid a large break between movements the first and second movements and the third and fourth movements.
B. Valse lente (“Slow Waltz”)
A good tempo for this movement is 54 to the measure. Follow all of the subtle dynamic shadings. Büsser uses his favorite directive, bien chanté or “well sung,” three times here. Note that after the poco accelerando, a tempo slows down to the main tempo.  Take a little time at ritenuto poco and even more at cédez un peu.
C. Vielle Chanson (Old Song)
Büsser has masterfully manipulated simple material to provide a world of color and contrast, so the perform needs reflect harmonic changes with tone color, vibrato, and dynamics. As très expressif is “very expressive,” use a more intense vibrato here. Pace yourself so that your loudest point is the più forte four before the Andante poco adagio.
A perfect setting for Andante is quarter=72. Listen to the piano’s thirty-second notes at Andante poco adagio; the tempo is a little slower here than in the opening.
D. Scherzetto
A scherzo is a light and playful piece, and scherzetto means “little scherzo.” The tempo should be as brisk as possible without inaccurate or sloppy playing; I play at 84 to the bar. Même movement means “the same tempo,” so although the style become more legato, avoid slowing down. Cédez un peu is a little slower, and retenez un peu requires a little ritardando. At the end, push the tempo a little more to provide a brilliant finish.
Practice slowly to master the various keys the Büsser explores, especially on the last page, where the addition of G-sharp, D-sharp, and A-sharp signals B major, and the further addition of E-sharp signals F-sharp major.
Good luck, or bonne chance!


Performance Guide to Henri Büsser’s Deux morceaux: Les Cygnes et Les Écureuils


by Leonard Garrison, Associate Professor of Flute, The University of Idaho
Copyright©2014 by Leonard Garrison
Introduction

To view my teaching video of this piece, please visit my YouTube Channel.

Henri Büsser (1872-1973) was a long-lived French composer, organist, and conductor with important connections to the nineteenth century. He studied organ with César Franck, was friends with Jules Massenet, and was chosen by Claude Debussy to conduct numerous performances of the latter’s opera Pelléas et Mélisdande. His orchestration of Debussy’s Petite Suite is widely performed. For most of his career, he taught composition at the Paris Conservatory.
He wrote many operas and much chamber music, fortunately including several delightful works for flute. Best known is his Prélude et Scherzo, a 1908 Paris Conservatory contest piece included in Louis Moyse’s popular collection of Flute Music by French Composers. His flute works include another contest piece for the Conservatory, Andalucia sur des thèmes Andalous, Op.86 in 1933, and beautiful intermediate-level pieces, the Petite Suite, Op. 12 for flute and piano (not the same as Debussy’s Petite Suite) and Deux morceaux: Les Cygnes et Les Écureuils (“The Swans and the Squirrels”), published by Leduc in 1927 that one must purchase individually.
Les Cygnes et Les Écureuils function as useful stepping stones on a student’s path to the famous French contest solos, as this little pair of pieces introduces the challenges encountered in more advanced works: beauty and flexibility of tone in all registers in Les Cygnes, and clarity of articulation and coordination between tongue and fingers in Les Écureuils. The National Flute Association difficulty rating is G.
Les Cygnes (The Swans)
Most of Les Cygnes is in A major, a key unfamiliar to many young flutists, so start by practicing this scale in two octaves. Use the right-hand ring finger (R3) for F-sharp, not the middle finger (R2). Practice not only for technical command but also for intonation. The C-sharp in the staff tends to be sharp, the E at the top of the staff flat, and the high E, F-sharp, G-sharp, and A, sharp. Avoid raising the air or pulling the corners of the lips back as you ascend. Practice also the A major arpeggio (A, C-sharp and E) in all octaves, concentrating on tuning.
Andantino is slightly faster than Andante or walking, and of course moderato is moderate speed; the composer’s suggestion of quarter=100 is a perfect tempo. There is no printed flute dynamic at the beginning, but dolce espressivo (“sweet and expressive”) suggests not too loud but with some intensity of vibrato, shaping each four-measure phrase according to the line.
Swans glide elegantly across the water, so play with a beautiful legato or connected style. The fingers must synchronize perfectly, and each finger movement should be quick and light. Another aspect of legato is direction in the airstream. Blow between the notes, making sure the air never stops or slackens. Think and move horizontally, not vertically. In music like this, one never needs to beat time. Yet another component of legato is how one uses vibrato, which needs to be continuous, independent of the individual notes. Take care not to restart the vibrato at each note change.
Follow all of the many detailed dynamic shadings. The phrase after letter A is particularly difficult because of the diminuendo to the end. Start by practicing a long-tone high A-flat at a medium dynamic. Then try this note starting forte and tapering al niente (to nothing). As you taper, keep the air fast, bring the lips together without tensing, and move the lips out and up. Once you develop control of A-flat, you can put this phrase together.  Do not diminuendo too early; in fact start your diminuendo one measure after it is written.
In the next phrase, there is an A-double-flat three and five measures before letter B. A-double-flat is enharmonically equivalent to G natural. While this note might sound odd to you, it is not a misprint. It is a deliberately exotic note, so lean into or color it.
At letter B, the tempo is a little faster, about quarter=108. At the sixth bar of this section, à l’aise means “at ease” or “relax,” and en retenant peu à peu means “gradually slow down.” In the measure before letter C, start with a full tone in the low register to make room for a lovely diminuendo as you ascend while slowing.
The main theme returns at letter C, this time in the high register. Try to match your dynamic and color from the beginning, in other words, not too loud or strident. A good vowel to use is U as in “truth.”
The ending features another difficult taper on a high note. Although the flute’s last four bars are marked an octave higher at one’s choice (ad libitum), it really is more effective in the higher octave. Take a good breath before the pianissimo trilled E. Take your time on the two pickups to the last note. When playing a soft high A, put your right-hand pinky on the C-sharp key rather than the D-sharp key; the tone is clearer and easier to control.
Les Écureuils (The Squirrels)
The mood changes completely in this companion piece. To achieve the desired playfulness, perform close to the indicated tempo of 128 to the beat. This piece is in ternary or ABA form, with the staccato outer sections in D major and the legato and slower middle section in B-flat and then A-flat major.
Follow all of the details of articulation and dynamics; thus, practice slowly at first. Employ a clear but light staccato (leggero means “light”). Tongue with a D, not a T. Take particular care with the third line, which starts loudly in the low register and proceeds with softer playing in the high register.
In this style, grace notes should be played quickly and just before the beat. In meas. 7, use the trill fingering for F-sharp, the middle finger (R2). The best fingering for the high G-A-G in meas. 16 is a trill from G; to play A, add the G-sharp key (L4) and both trill keys simultaneously. Play meas. 17 in the written octave, as the ottava marking ends in meas. 16.
At letter A, Moins vif  means “less brilliant” or slower. The printed tempo of 120 to the beat is not sufficiently relaxed; a more effective tempo is 104 to the beat. Play as legato as possible to contrast with the style of the first section. Since the first measure of letter A is in the low register, start a little louder than mezzoforte to set up the piano contrast in the second bar. In the fifth bar of this section, add the right hand ring finger (R3) on the final high F to correct pitch, and in the tenth bar, add the right hand middle and ring fingers (R2 and R3) to high A-flat. Cédez literally means “yield” or slow down, so ritardando gradually in the four bars before letter B.
At letter B, the original theme returns. The most difficult part of this reprise is the penultimate measure, a rapid D major scale. In beats one and two, practice in four-note groups, and subdivide beat 3 into three groups of three. For the final high F-sharp, substitute the right hand middle finger (R2) for the ring finger (R3). Practice the last two measures with the metronome, starting very slowly and only progressing to a faster tempo when consistently even and clear. My favorite method for practicing this type of passage is “beat to beat” as follows:

Good luck, or bonne chance!

Performance Guide to Louis Aubert’s Lied


by Leonard Garrison, Associate Professor of Flute, The University of Idaho
Copyright©2014 by Leonard Garrison

To view my teaching video of this piece, please visit my YouTube Channel.

French conductor, pianist, singer, critic, and composer Louis Aubert (1877-1968) studied composition at the Paris Conservatory with Gabriel Fauré. Maurice Ravel wrote Valse nobles et sentimentales for him, and he gave the first performance. He was best known for his ballets, operas, and film music.
Aubert’s Lied is available in the collection Contemporary French Recital Pieces, Vol. 1 published by the International Music Company:
The piece is rated Level E by the National Flute Association; its title is the German word for “song,” so the flutist must spin out long phrases, shape the melody according to contour and harmony, and use a beautiful, full tone with vibrato. The secret to playing long phrases is: (1) take plenty of time breathing before a long phrase rather than a quick breath at the last moment; (2) open your lips, mouth, throat, and body to inhale; and (3) use an efficient airstream and focus the tone without wasting air.
By the way, meno forte means “softer, so at meas. 28 play piano in contrast to the previous forte.
An appropriate tempo is quarter=88, moving forward at Poco animato to quarter=100, and then back to the original tempo at Tempo primo. No tempo change is marked at the ending, but take time to enjoy the E-flat and F-natural, which depart from the main key of G major. To prevent a drop in pitch during the final note, keep the air moving and keep the embouchure focused but not tense.
Good luck, or bonne chance!

Performance Guide to Gérard Meunier’s Au crépuscule


by Leonard Garrison, Associate Professor of Flute, The University of Idaho
Copyright©2014 by Leonard Garrison
To view my teaching video of this piece, please visit my YouTube Channel.
French teacher, pianist, and composer Gérard Meunier (b. 1928) was director of the Aubervilliers-La Corneuve Conservatory, just northeast of Paris, for thirty years. He has written much solo piano music and works for various wind instruments, and many of his works are for younger musicians.
Au crepuscule means “at dusk,” and this short work captures the peaceful atmosphere of that time of day. The main challenge to the flutist is creating long phrases by minimizing rests and keeping the tone moving and alive through longer notes. As the piano accompaniment is simple and unobtrusive, play somewhat freely, lingering on important or interesting notes, moving ahead to build excitement, and slowing down to highlight major points of arrival. For instance, crescendo through the first note and sustain throughout the first four measures. The next phrase (meas. 6-9) can move ahead a bit and then stretch going into meas. 10.
Project the lower notes so they match the brilliance of the high register. For instance, in meas. 28-29, crescendo in the descending lines and diminuendo going up.
In meas. 30, un peu ralenti means a little slowing down. Although the score does not indicate a tempo change, stretch the last four measures to achieve a sense of closure.
Good luck, or bonne chance!

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Performance Guide to Claude Arrieu's Sonatine for Flute and Piano


by Leonard Garrison, Associate Professor of Flute, The University of Idaho
Copyright©2014 by Leonard Garrison
To view my teaching video of this piece, please visit my YouTube Channel.

Claude Arrieu (1903-1990) studied composition and at the Paris Conservatory. She wrote prolifically, particularly vocal music but also film music, chamber music, and concertos. For many years, she developed original music for the French Radio Broadcasting Program Service.
Her Sonatine for flute and piano was first performed to acclaim on French radio by Jean-Pierre Rampal in 1944. The entire work is rarely performed and has not been recorded until now, but the charming first movement is widely played as an intermediate-level solo and is Grade 5 in the British Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, roughly equivalent to the National Flute Association’s Level E. The second and third movements are more difficult and demand true virtuosity from both flutist and pianist.
In the first movement, pay particular attention to balance between flute and piano. The two are true partners, and when the piano has a melody, it must be equal to the flute. Phrasing is also important; Arrieu mostly writes in four-measure phrases, so breaths coordinate with these groups. In the sixth and eight bars of letter A, breathe after the downbeats to make three-note pickups to the subsequent phrases.
The Andantino flows in one beat to the bar, marked in the score at dotted quarter=72. The flute sets the tempo, and the piano enters after the downbeat of the second bar. The piano has a little fermata eight bars after letter B and then resumes with two sixteenth-note pickups at the A tempo. At letter C, en dehors means means “come out,” in others words, project the tone over the piano. The pianist should dimuendo in the bar before letter C to clarify the flute entrance. Four bars before letter E there are double-stemmed notes showing how the flute line is a variation of the opening melody; emphasize these notes. To keep the pitch up on the last note, add the left-hand pinky (L4).
The Presto is a tour de force requiring dexterity from both performers. The printed tempo of quarter=132 is unrealistic for most performers; quarter=120 is sufficiently presto. The flutist must use double tonguing for the repeated sixteenth notes (these are extremely difficult for the pianist). Give direction to repeated notes by making a little crescendo. Be sure to respect all of the variations of articulation.
The phrase from one bar before letter A through the downbeat of the third bar of letter A challenges one’s breath capacity. Prepare for this by taking multiple small breaths after eighth in the first several bars. Use your air efficiently during the long phrase, and avoid pulsing or extraneous physical movement.
The more lyrical material starting one measure after letter B poses an interpretive puzzle. The tempo is slower here, but where does the initial tempo resume? Arrieu is ambiguous; the third bar of letter B is A tempo, meaning “in tempo” but not necessary Tempo primo, and the lyrical material continues. One bar before letter C, she also writes cedendo, a rare word in Italian but a cognate of the French cédez, yielding or slowing down. The piano continues with the lyrical theme at letter C. A good solution is to accelerando in the fourth bar of letter C to arrive at Tempo primo in the fifth bar, where a new jaunty theme appears. 
Good luck, or bonne chance!