On the piano, silently depress any key corresponding to an overtone, and then play a loud, staccato middle C. The overtone rings sympathetically with the fundamental. These overtones have a simple relation to the fundamental: the octave or second overtone has twice its frequency, the third overtone three times, etc. The overtones are then known as harmonics.
    Tone color helps the ear identify a particular instrument, as each instrument has a characteristic pattern of overtones. For instance, the oboe is weak in the fundamental but much richer in overtones than the flute, while the clarinet has a unique combination of overtones, with a nearly absent second harmonic in some of its range and generally strong in the odd-numbered harmonics.
    Typical timbre on the flute changes with register: in the low register the fundamental is relatively weak and the harmonics are strong; the middle register has a balance between fundamental and harmonics; and in the upper register, the fundamental is dominant and harmonics are weak. 2
    A sound without overtones is open, pure, hollow, and sometimes dull; the French have two wonderful words for this, détimbré (uncolored) or naturelle, 3 and Trevor Wye calls this the Yellow Tone. A sound with overtones is full, rich, brilliant, and sometimes harsh; the French call this pénétrante, and Trevor Wye calls it the Purple Tone.⁴

Teaching Tone Color
    Each flutist has a unique customary color due to physical attributes, such as size and shape of the mouth and lips; conception of sound (we naturally play with the tone we perceive to be the best); and the qualities of the particular flute. The third factor has less effect than the first two; several flutists playing the same instrument can sound more different from each other than one flutist playing various flutes.
    A good teacher encourages students to discover their own sounds within the limits of good taste. Young flutists should listen to many different professionals instead of modeling their sounds on one. Too often an influential player has produced a generation of imitators. The trend over the past century has been to abandon the détimbré (with few harmonics) color in favor of the penetrating one, and some current flutists never diverge from brilliance. Some flute makers have contributed to this trend by designing flutes that bring out the upper partials.
    Our goal should be to have control over an array of colors and use them wisely. Some suggest experimenting with various vowels, and obviously ee sounds more brilliant than a vowel such as ah or oh. The differences in flute tone are subtle. Another variable is the lip opening: a round shape makes the tone more pure, while an ellipse contributes more harmonics.
    The biggest change in color results from varying the blowing angle and airspeed, or as John Coltman writes, “Jet offset combined with blowing pressure seems to be the dominant variable under the control of the player in shaping tone quality and dynamics.”5 A steep blowing angle combined with higher blowing pressure produces more harmonics.
    I manipulate tone color with the upper lip. A relaxed upper lip results in the uncolored sound, and a firm upper lip that directs the air downwards results in a more penetrating sound. You can see the difference in tone with a spectrum analyzer, which displays various frequencies within a sound. Many are inexpensive.6
    Frequency is a way of measuring pitch in cycles per second, or Hertz. The flute’s basic range is from 247 Hz (low B) through 2349 Hz (high D). The following, a screen shot from the spectrum analyzer in the recording software Amadeus Pro, illustrates a détimbré color; the fundamental, A-440, is clearly dominant, and the harmonics are weak.

    Contrasting with the first example, the following shows the same note played with a penetrating color; the harmonics are much stronger.

     At first some students have trouble hearing or bringing out these differences, but visual feedback enhances their sensitivity and control. Once they can distinguish and manipulate colors, practice using them on different tunes, starting with “The Aquarium” from Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals for pure tone and a theme from Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro for brilliant tone, both of which can be found in Trevor Wye’s Tone Book.7

Homogeneous Sound
    One challenge is keeping the color consistent from one note to the next. As we have seen, the harmonic content of the flute sound changes between registers, and the changing length of the tube within each register colors the sound as well. Nevertheless, it is possible to minimize color changes between adjacent notes. Marcel Moyse designed this exercise to practice homogeneous sound:8

When practicing it, listen closely for matching colors. Using a spectrum analyzer will make you more sensitive to tone quality.
    Wide intervals require particular attention when working on color matching. In an ascending leap, prepare the greater brilliance of the high note with a penetrating tone on the low note, as in this passage from Mozart’s G Major Concerto:

Artistry of Tone Color
    The next step is deciding where to use different colors. In general, modern music requires more brilliance, and Baroque and Classical music call for a sweeter tone, closer to that of the wooden flute. In tonal music, tone color should reflect harmony and key. Bach’s cantatas and Mozart’s operas show a consistent association between certain keys and specific emotions and moods in the text. Theoretical writings by Charpentier, Kirnberger, Mattheson, Rousseau, and Schubert also directly connect keys to affections. For instance, begin Bach’s Sonata, BWV 1034 with a tone rich in harmonics to reflect the tragic implications of E minor.

    Later, when the same theme occurs in G major – a gentle, idyllic, and peaceful key – play with fewer harmonics.

    
    The third movement of this sonata is the reverse: it starts in G major, requiring a gentle tone, and the middle section modulates to E minor and B minor, calling for a richer sound.
Since Debussy, French composers treat harmony more coloristically than functionally, and their music cries out for a wide array of colors. A contrast in color is especially effective to underline a chromatic inflection as in this passage of the Hüe Fantasie.

  
    Many players use tone color to enhance dynamics. For instance, a timbral change is effective in the following passage from the Griffes Poem.
Contrarily, I normally use color in the opposite way. I add a little brilliance to compensate for the flute’s tendency to sound dull in soft dynamics and use an open sound to prevent shrillness in loud dynamics.

Blending and Projecting
    Flutists should learn to adjust color according to their role as a soloist or an ensemble player. A brilliant tone attracts more attention.
    A complex and much debated question is the role of tone color in projection, or the ability to be heard at a distance as distinct from others in an ensemble or an accompaniment. As every experienced flutist knows, the flute sounds much different to an audience than it does to the player. I have heard a former principal player of a major orchestra sound disconcertingly diffuse up close but project marvelously. Some players who use a lot of edge cannot be heard at a distance, but those who play without many upper partials also do not project.
    One factor is room acoustics. Different halls emphasize different frequencies, so a tone that projects well in one setting may not in another. You should always ask a knowledgeable listener whether a certain sound carries.
    Research contradicts the common assumption that the fundamental projects better than the overtones. For the sound waves coming directly to the listener’s ear, the intensities of all the frequencies in the flute range fall off nearly at the same rate with distance. In a concert hall, higher frequencies in the indirect sound may be absorbed more than lower ones, so the performers may want to emphasize these to correct for the loss. Furthermore, listeners can infer the fundamental from harmonics: “For fundamental frequencies up to 500 Hz, the third, fourth, and fifth harmonics when present are especially important. They are often even more important than the fundamental itself, which can be completely absent without changing the perceived pitch.”9
    A listener’s heightened sensitivity to pitches in specific registers determines how well a flute tone is heard at a distance. “The higher harmonics make the note sound louder partly because they add extra power to the sound wave, but also because our ears become more sensitive as the frequency increases with increasing frequency.”10 Dr. Neville Fletcher, a physicist with a distinguished history of writings on flute acoustics, wrote, “I would guess that ‘projection’ is maximized when the strength of the harmonics between about 1000 and 3000 Hz is maximized. This will give a particular characteristic tone color to the flute sound.”11 The audience will hear a flutist more clearly when the flute tone contains a rich mix of fundamental and harmonics in the ear’s most sensitive range .
 
    Trained musicians can identify a particular flutist on recordings because each player has a distinctive characteristic timbre. However, we should not become so attached to a particular sound that it never varies. Dare to employ a range of colors, even one that is as dull as Dorothy’s Kansas, which is effective in context. In conjunction with changes in volume and vibrato, tone color provides a powerful expressive tool. Not every musician will use the same color in the same passage, but Vive la difference!

1“Timbre,” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, (accessed May 25, 2009).
2 Neville H. Fletcher, “Acoustical Correlates of Flute Performance Technique,” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 57/no. 1 (January 1975)” 235-236.
3 Angeleita S. Floyd, The Gilbert Legacy: Methods, Exercises and Techniques for the Flutist (Cedar Falls, Iowa: Winzer Press, 1990), 87-88.
4 Trevor Wye, Proper Flute Playing: A Companion to the Practice Books (Borough Green, Sevnoaks, Kent: Novello & Company Limited, 1988), 18.
5 John W. Coltman, “Jet Offset, Harmonic Content, and Warble in the Flute,” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 120/no. 4 (October 2006): 2319.
6 See the Shareware Music Machine (accessed May 25, 2009).
7 Trevor Wye, A Trevor Wye Practice Book for the Flute, Volume 1: Tone (Borough Green, Sevnoaks, Kent: 1980), 9-10.
8 Marcel Moyse, De la Sonorité: art et technique (Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1934), 3-9.
9 Donald E. Hall, Musical Acoustics, 3rd ed. (Pacific Grove, Cal.: Brooks/Cole, 2002), 403.
10 Joe Wolfe, “Loudness and Spectra,” University of New South Wales,(accessed May 25, 2009)
11 Neville Fletcher, email message to author, May 21, 2009. See his many publications at (accessed May 25, 2009).

The post Colorful Musical Performance appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Shape of the Note
    Most students never think about the shape of the note they are playing. The most common problem in shaping notes is starting the tone with a slow air stream and no vibrato and then, when confident, increasing the speed of the air and adding vibrato. Many teachers refer to this as bulbing because the shape produced resembles a light bulb. A teacher whom I admire says: Walk into the room with the lights on. Don’t walk into the room and then turn on the lights.

Three Parts of a Note
    Each note has three parts:  a beginning or attack, the middle, and an end.  The attack has an ictus or metrical accent. Engineers at the Bell Telephone Laboratory conducted an interesting experiment. Several instrumentalists were instructed to play one note. The attack or beginning of the note was edited out. When the note was played back without the attack, it was almost impossible to tell which instrument was playing. From this it seems that it is the attack that helps us identify which instrument is playing.
    When practicing attacks with a tuner, it is almost impossible to avoid being slightly sharp on the attack if the conclusion of the note is to be in tune. In his book The Horn, Guenther Schuller suggests that players aim to produce a square-shaped note. I find this is the best place to start learning how to make different shaped notes.

A Square Shape
    The first step in playing square-shaped notes is learning to control the air speed throughout the note. The vocal folds should be separated as if in panting. Pant for several moments and notice how your vocal folds are separated on both the inhale and exhale of air. This position is what many teachers refer to as an open throat. I prefer to avoid that term because most flutists think their throat is some place other than in the vocal folds. Instead, I prefer to say: separate your vocal folds.
    Try the following exercise:

    On the first note use a breath attack hah. On the second note, while keeping the vocal folds separated as if using the hah attack, start the tone with a T. On the third note, keeping the vocal folds in the hah position, start the note with the T and add the vibrato. These three steps will help you make a perfectly square note. Repeat on several notes. Some notes are easier than others because of the tessitura or range and the response of the flute.

A Rectangle – The Middle
    After making a square note, the next step is to increase the length of the square note to a rectangle. Continue to practice the above steps, only lengthen the final note by several counts.

     On longer rectangular notes, the air speed is of prime importance. If the air comes too fast, the tone will bulb. If it comes too slowly, the tone will become flat in pitch. The goal is to have an even air speed. When speaking with students, I refer to this as playing with even air. Use a tuner to check whether you can keep the needle still while playing a rectangular note. Many times our eyes are better developed than our ears.
 
Connecting Two Notes
    Once you can control playing square and rectangular-shaped notes easily, the next step is to connect two of these notes together. When notes are connected perfectly, the vibrato does not stop when moving from one note to the next but remains in constant cycling. The timbre or color of each note should be identical. This exercise is difficult and a challenge to most players, but once conquered, players can perform at a higher artistic level.
    Many flutists are unaware of this on/off vibrato when performing. As mentors we must teach them what to listen for and how to fix problems when they occur. I use a voice recorder with students that records at two-times speed and plays back at one-time speed. In this teaching technique, the student plays a note or passage that is recorded at two-times speed. When the passage is played back at one times speed, the pitch of the notes is one octave lower and at half tempo or very slow. This half tempo allows us to hear the vibrato’s shape or contour, its regularity, and whether it is continuous when changing from one note to the next. The result is very much like looking at an object under a microscope. Hearing the flaws or imperfections helps students learn to listen more acutely.
    The first exercise in Marcel Moyse’s De La Sonorite addresses this problem very well; however, it is possible to use any two notes throughout the flute’s range.  Remember, the better the connections are between notes, the stronger the performance will be. Once flutists can make controlled one- and two-note connections, they should progress to controlling five-note patterns and one-octave scales.

The End of the Note
    The end of a note occurs in one of two ways – either by stopping the air or by tapering or playing a diminuendo on the note ending. Joseph Mariano, the legendary Eastman School of Music flute professor, suggested that there were three ways to taper a note. The first was to slowly bring your head back away from the flute as you get softer. The problem with this method, he explained, was that it was hard to control the quality of the tone and pitch.
    Another method was to slowly purse the lips. Once again he did not like the timbre of the sound that this method often produced. He thought the best way to taper a note was to purse the lips while slowly pushing the end of the flute forward. With this method, the pitch and timbre could be controlled. For the audience, there was a bonus of a visual image of the sound becoming less. Sometimes Mariano continued to move the flute forward long after the note had stopped. To the audience it seemed as if the taper went on forever. 
    One thing Mariano emphasized over and over again was that vibrato must stop before you go into the final tapering of the note; otherwise you have a silent vibrato cycle continuing when you are trying to end the note. Most professional flutists use a combination of one of these three methods, depending on the music at hand. Because most embouchure holes are more finely hand cut today, the results are much improved over those that were possible in Mariano’s time. Differences in under- and upper-cutting embouchure holes vary from one flute to another.

Flare
    Some flutists make the poor choice of letting the end of a note flare. This happens when you dump all of the remaining air in your body at the conclusion of the note. Many folk singers do something similar. They let a rush of fast vibrato pulses out at the conclusion of a note because they relax the tension of the vocal folds before ending the note. For most musical situations that flutists encounter, this is not a good way to end a note.

Tongue
    Many flutists develop the habit of ending the note with the tongue positioned too high in the mouth. A high tongue changes the timbre of a once beautiful note to something that is not so good. I believe this happens when a player anticipates using the tongue for the next attack before they have finished the note that they are currently playing. Once again, a voice recorder will quickly illustrate this problem. The solution is easy: keep your tongue in place and wait until you are finished with one note before you play the next.

Triangle Taper
    I like to use a triangular shape to illustrate a taper or diminuendo. For many students, playing a triangle simplifies the process and produces better results. Triangular-shaped notes are excellent to use on dotted quarter notes. A simple acronym is: DDT -decay to the dot or tie. This small diminuendo adds interest and expression to most any melody.

All The Same?
    Obviously when playing a phrase of music that includes many notes, we would be boring players if each note we played were square or rectangular shaped. To be interesting we may choose to make notes of various shapes. The final decision in choosing the shape depends upon tempo, range, note length, and style period.
    Guilio Caccini first discussed the vocal technique messa di voce in his treatise Le nuove musiche (1601-1602). In this technique the performer sings a gradual crescendo and then decrescendo on a sustained note. Messa di voce later became one of the primary exercises in the bel canto style of singing and is still used in many vocal studios today.
    This is also an excellent exercise for flutists to practice; however, there are few places in flute literature other than in cadenzas or preludes when it is truly appropriate to apply this technique. Unfortunately, many inexperienced players try to use this technique when playing in block woodwind chords.  My best advice is to practice messa di voce because it will help you discover more facets of your tone, but keep the technique in the practice room unless you are playing a prelude or cadenza.
 
Other Symbols
    The first sign to come into common use was the staccato (early 1700s). It could be shown by a stroke (dagger pointing down), dot , or wedge (dagger pointing sideways) to indicate an accent as well as separation. Generally today the staccato implies the note is detached from the notes on either side of it. Another early symbol was the accent  > or little diminuendo. Unfortunately common usage implies the accent is played stronger or louder rather than as a little diminuendo. Experiment by playing the accent as a little diminuendo rather than hitting the note harder or stronger and staying there. 
    Noted flutist, Claude Monteaux, told me that his father, legendary 20th-century conductor Pierre Monteaux, instructed the members of the Boston Symphony to play the accent as if saying the word die. Notice when you say the word die there is a natural diminuendo.
    Two other markings that influence the shape of notes are the tenuto and the portato markings. For most situations flutists treat these two markings similarly. Tenuto means that the note is held. Generally there is a slight separation between the two tenuto notes.

Developing Inflection 
    Learning to play with inflection is a life-long process. Active listening at concerts and on CDs will help you discover the variety of note shapes that you can choose from to make your music more interesting.  Playing without inflection is like listening to a person speak in a monotone; playing with inflection is like listening to a great orator. In order to play with inflection you must have excellent control of the air speed. Practice with a tuner, not to check the pitch, but to keep the needle still while playing a whole note.  This exercise will show if your air speed is even. Once you can play with even air, it will be easier for you to insert inflections or small diminuendos into your music. The added bonus of this type of practice is that the greater control you have over the shape of a note, the better you will play in tune.                   

The post The Shape of a Note appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Anhran
    The first and last movements are entitled “Anhran,” which is Gaelic for song. Rouse says, “they were intended in a general way to evoke the traditions of Celtic, especially Irish folk music but to couch the musical utterance in what I hoped would seem a more spiritual, even metaphysical manner through the use of extremely slow tempi, perhaps not unlike some of the recordings of the Irish singer Enya.”
The first movement begins with a single chord played by harp and mallet percussion, out of which emerges a flute solo. The tempo indication, quarter = 120, is senza misura (without measure). I recommend a slower tempo of approximately quarter  = 110. Play this opening section with freedom, avoiding a metronomic beat. The tonal center is a G that almost acts as an ornamented drone.

    Play the accented notes with a firm attack while maintaining a rounded sound. Exaggerate the length of the notes before rests and end with a taper. The sound should disappear into the concert hall before you begin to play the next note. Be careful to keep the vibrato sweet and controlled throughout the first movement. Think about spinning the vibrato, keeping it inside the tone while avoiding unnecessary bumps in the line. This will help to maintain the movement’s meditative character.
    Beginning at rehearsal 1, dolce, semplice, cantabile, the flute is accompanied by a soft chorale-like passage in the strings. Play on the inside of the lip as if saying moo. This should help to create a shimmering and unforced sound. The ghost harmonic exercise on page 48 of Angelita Floyd’s book The Gilbert Legacy will develop the correct air speed and help loosen the embouchure for the high notes.
    The flute’s lyrical melodic line over constantly changing meters makes this movement’s compositional style unique. Maintaining rhythmic accuracy while also playing the smooth, legato melodic line is a challenge. Keep track of the eighth-note pulse within the long notes and maintain the long melodic line. Listening to a recording of yourself practicing this movement is a great way to ensure that your melodic line is well connected and rhythmically accurate.

   
    There is an error in the flute and piano score in the 58 measure before rehearsal 3. The written notes are F-G flat-A, but in the orchestral score they are A-B flat – C, which are the notes played by Carol Wincenc in the recording with the Houston Symphony.

Alla Marcia
    The second movement is an energetic and boisterous march proceeding directly (attacca) from the first movement. The tempo marking is a quarter  = 176, but I think that makes the music too frantic for soloist and orchestra. A tempo of approximately 160 is more preferable.
    The energy in this movement should come from rhythmic integrity and clarity of articulation. It is important that each grouping of notes be played with a sense of forward motion into the next beat.

    The tendency is to play the 16th of the dotted-eighth-sixteenth rhythm too slowly, almost like a triplet. To place the 16th precisely, practice playing three 16ths in place of the dotted eighth-note.
The flute often has triplets while the strings have dotted-eighth and 16th figures, and vice versa. Be sure to keep a strong sense of the beat and do not conform to the rhythm you are hearing in the strings. Listening to the steady quarter notes in the bassoons and double basses when they occur will help anchor the tempo and prevent rushing.
    At rehearsal 11 the musical texture is reduced to flute, timpani, and snare drum. Consider attacking the beginning of each note with a slight accent to match that of the percussion. Alternate fingerings will help bring the pitch down in this section. I suggest the following:

     For the high C – use a B fingering without the thumb
     For D# – use Aflat and the first trill key
     For E  – use A and the second trill key
     For G – use F# without the thumb
     For B – add the side of the F# key to the regular fingering.

    A great resource is Nestor Herszbaum’s book Alternate Fingerings for the Flute published by the Carolyn Nussbaum music company. Many of these fingerings bring the pitch down a significant amount, so play out if you decide to use them.

    The fast and energetic trills in this movement should help propel you into the next beat. They are flutter tongued at rehearsal 22 when thematic material from the beginning returns. Play these loudly so that the flutter effect can be heard clearly.

    Get into the habit of studying the score so you will have a clear idea of how your part fits in with the orchestra. It may also be helpful to practice with Wincenc’s recording. It can be difficult to hear every part, but you will arrive at a stronger idea of how the piece fits together.  
     Another possible wrong note occurs three before rehearsal 13. The B in the flute and piano score is a D in the orchestral score and on the recording. I should mention that it is our highest D.
   
       
Elegia    
    The third movement is described by the composer as the “structural and emotional centerpiece of the work.” It is a mournful lament for the dead, specifically composed to the memory of James Bulger, a two-year old English child who was abducted from a mall and brutally murdered by two ten-year-old boys. The musical indication for the flute solo is doloroso, meaning sadly or mournfully, with a tempo of a quarter  = 42.

   
    To create this mournful emotion through the flute, work for a gentle yellow or grey color that is less focused and use a light vibrato. Use fewer harmonics in the sound with a looser, more open embouchure hole. Think of having more space between the top lip and the outer edge of the embouchure hole on the flute. A good exercise for attaining this color can be found on page 24 and 25 of Trevor Wye’s  Practice Book 1-Tone.
    To get a pianissimo on the high B at rehearsal 32, practice the Ghost harmonic exercise mentioned above in the first movement. Listen to the F# dominant harmony in the oboes, clarinets, and bassoons in the preceding measure. Hearing the B as a resolution of that harmony will help you play it in tune.

    The section between rehearsal 32 and 33 is a long, dramatic crescendo in the woodwinds. Gauge your crescendo so that the A# a beat and a half before 33 is the loudest note.
    After the nine-measure orchestral interlude at 33, the flute reenters at 34, accompanied by violins and basses playing a pedal tone on B. A good way to practice this section is with The Tuning CD () imitating the strings on a sustained B. Use a grey sound with very little vibrato to evoke a still, calm atmosphere. The F# at rehearsal 35 should be as soft as possible, so that

 the ppp parts in the strings can be heard. We get a sense of the enormity of the horrible crime done to James Bulger when the orchestra (without flute) reaches its final climax at rehearsal 37. After this amazing crescendo, the music recedes back into the same calmness in which it began. 

Scherzo
    Rouse writes that the fourth movement “keeps trying to become a jig.” The tempo indication is a quarter =176, but again I recommend a slower tempo of approximately 160. Listen carefully to the opening eighths in the strings and winds to avoid entering at a faster tempo. Know where your phrases are going throughout this movement and drive the eighths forward to the longer note values.

    One of the most unique and exciting aspects of this concerto is the passage between rehearsals 52 and 55. The three orchestral flute parts are featured as equal partners (see right) with the solo flute in this section that is frenetic, challenging, and technically virtuosic. Rouse notes that the soloist should blend with the orchestral flutes. Consider playing slightly softer so that the flutes in the orchestra, who are seated further back on the stage, can be heard equally well. Pay attention to the steady pulse in the strings, harp, and percussion to keep the ensemble rhythmically tight.

    Six measures before rehearsal 55, overblow the B to Bflat to produce the Gflat to F. For the E flats at rehearsal 55 consider using the Aflat fingering plus the 1st trill key to keep the pitch down. The section from rehearsal 61 to 63 also requires alternate fingerings because of the extremely loud dynamic level. It is during this section that we hear an obvious statement of the jig, but the jig is lost when the tempo accelerates to a point where the music becomes almost out of control.
     Gradually the chaos recedes and without a break the flute leads us into the final movement.

Anhran
    In an arch-like form, this piece ends si milarly to how it began. The audience should have a sense of calmness, which is certainly needed after the intensity of the second, third, and fourth movements. Again, think about playing with the inside of your lips (more puckered) and add more space between the teeth, to decrease the intensity of your sound. Explore areas that can be played with little or no vibrato.

    The music at rehearsal 66 is an ornamented variation of this movement’s opening melody. While it is marked piano, it can be played with more intention in the sound.
    The final two measures of the piece at rehearsal 68 are unmeasured and similar to the beginning of the concerto. However, this time the flute begins the senza misura solo, and the harp and mallet percussion chord brings the piece to an end. The flute’s last note should disappear into the chord. The first grace note at rehearsal 68 is a Gflat in the flute and piano score, but G natural in the orchestral score. Wincenc plays G natural on the recording.
    Rouse’s flute concerto is a passionate piece, often with dissonant harmonies, energetic rhythms, and melodies that evoke a wide range of emotions. One of the most interesting examples of this can be heard in the use of specific intervals at the very beginning and ending of the piece. The senza misura solo at the beginning of the first movement revolves around a G. The highest note in that section is a Bflat, which forms a minor third with the G, evoking sadness. The lowest note is a C#, which forms a tritone with the G, creating uncertainty and anxiety.
    In the senza misura solo at the end of the fifth movement, the G rests an octave lower than the beginning. The highest note is now a B natural, which forms a major third with the G, creating a sense of peace. Finally, the penultimate note of C# is now replaced by a D, forming a traditional dominant to tonic relationship. The music comes to a final resting point, a result of the catharsis brought about by the more dissonant music heard earlier in the piece.          

The post Introduction to the Rouse Concerto appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Competitions
    “The problem with competitions is not the music. The problem is that the juries sometimes come, not to listen to what the contestants are able to do but to hear what the contestants are not able to do. Contestants can feel that negative energy. However, it is very good for students to enter competitions, to move forward, to try to refocus and give their heart, even while being judged. Contestants eventually learn that the only way to perform is to love the music, the audience, and also the juries. Why not love the audience; they don’t judge you. They just listen, and like your playing or not. This is positive energy. When you can have this attitude toward competions, you start to win.
    “I know that the only energy stronger than fear is love. To illustrate this point I use the following example with my students, most of whom are girls: If there is a fire in your house and your baby is inside, you will immediately try to save your baby. See…no fear! Love is stronger.
    “Competitions are also motivational. I am from the South of France. We like the sun and are more laid back, more relaxed. I like life, so the only way for me to practice was to set goals, and competitions did that for me – 10 pieces for Munich, 15 pieces for something else, etc. Competitions were very good for me.
    “Competitions also help to build repertoire and teach contestants how they will react in the face of fear and under pressure. I think that players need competition in order to build backgrounds and experience. Beyond that, competitions are essential for those who want to be signed to an agency or a recording contract. Although I don’t like it, the fact is that you need to win competitions for success.”

Teaching
    Ferrandis teaches today at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, and says that “teaching is just a question of experience. The ability to teach is the result of having tried various approaches. Some work and some do not, so you just discard those approaches that do not work for you and keep those that do.
    “I focus on the music when I teach. Mostly I want to be effective for the students. No nonesense. Students come from around the world in my classes. There are three or four students from the US and students from Japan, Korea, China, Italy – they come from so far, so I cannot cheat them. They have finished at their own colleges and are very good when they enter my class. They expect something special, and therefore I have to be very efficient and see that they receive what they came for.”
    “I am a demanding teacher. I want students to understand that, for me, the most important thing is that they know what they want. If they know what they want musically, they will improve to the technical level necessary to produce it. They succeed not just because they practiced the assigned scales and etudes. Yes, the exercises are important for development, but the truth is that you have to know what you want to sound like. I ask them, ‘Do you want this color, to phrase this way, with this inflection? OK, show me that.” They get it, and they find the way to produce what they want. When you miss the mark technically, most of the time it is because you didn’t know what you wanted in the first place.”

   
    When asked about tone color, he said, “I have many stories. I was the flute soloist in an Orchestra Symphony Francais in Paris. Once Claudio Abbado came to conduct the Prokofiev Piano Concerto #3. You know it starts with clarinet  pp, and the flute comes in afterwards playing the difficult theme:
    “The Maestro was not happy because my high C was too loud. During a break in the rehearsal I looked at Abbado’s score. The clarinet is marked pp, but the flute is marked piano espressivo. I had been trying to play the solo in the color of the clarinet, but that was wrong, and my high C sounded tense. What Prokofiev wanted was the different colors of the two instruments. When I changed to the piano espressivo color, Abbado was pleased. Understanding the music saved me once again. The problem was not technical, as in ‘how do I play the high C softly enough,’ but musical!
    “I’ve another funny story that demonstrates just how important a conductor can be in your musical life. When I was principal in my orchestra, guest conductors came, and generally they enjoyed my playing. Some even invited me to play a concerto. Once, a violinist friend called and asked me to play a Mozart flute quartet for a wedding. The bride had heard me play it at one of my concerts and enjoyed it. My friend told me that the mother of the bride wanted to listen to the rehearsal.
    “Before the wedding, we played the entire Mozart D-Major flute quartet in a beautiful place in Paris for the bride’s family. What we did not know is that the bride’s parents were Mr. and Mrs. Lorin Maazel! Fortunately they both enjoyed my playing, and thanks to this wedding, Mrs. Maazel recommended me to the Lotos Club in New York.” In 1988 Ferrandis was elected Artist in Residence by the New York Lotos Club, an organization whose objectives are “to promote and develop literature, art, sculpture, music, architecture, journalism, drama, science, education and the learned professions, and to that end to encourage authors, artists, sculptors, architects, journalists, educators, scientists and members of the musical, dramatic, and learned professions in their work.”
    Ferrandis does a fair amount of conducting and has his own ensemble, The Christopher Orchestra of Vilnius. He also conducts the St. Petersburg Camerata in Russia. As with many of his ventures, this one came about quite by accident. “To meet people is the most important thing to me. I was playing flute on a cruise with Vladimir Spivakov and the Virtuosos of Moscow string ensemble. I was supposed to play Mozart’s G-Major Concerto with them, and Spivakov suggested that I conduct as I played rather than having him conduct. “I was about to tell him that I had never conducted before, but he didn’t give me time to say it. So I went to the first rehearsal and conducted; the concert went well. After that concert the musicians went to Spivakov and said, ‘We have to invite this guy to Moscow to conduct.’ That’s how it all started. I had never conducted in my life. As you can imagine, I was very scared. Nobody knew it was my first concert conducting. After that, managers from the Russian Philharmonic invited me to fill in for their assistant conductor, who was unable to conduct several performances during that season. I was so surprised when they asked that I said, ‘Are you talking to me?’”
    The future holds many exciting projects for Ferrandis. He plans to continue conducting from the flute, and he is also very interested in transcribing works for the flute. “It is a tribute to the composer you transcribe. At the time of Mozart everybody transcribed everyone else’s works. Now some intellectual guys say you should not transcribe; this is stupid. Of course, there are some 20th-century works that do not transcribe well. Composers like Debussy knew exactly the timbre that they wanted, and changing those colors to a new instrument doesn’t work. But I often transcribe Classical and Romantic works. Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata, for instance, works very well for flute because the music itself is like a melody, a lieder. I really enjoy performing pieces that come from the vocal repertoire. We don’t have that much music for flute, so more and more I try to make transcriptions. I would like to publish these works. When the music is very flowing, we don’t think flute or violin, the music just comes to the flute. I would like to establish an arrangement with a publisher.”
    Ferrandis also plans to perform with his brother, Bruno Ferrandis, who began his tenure as music director and conductor of California’s Santa Rosa Symphony Orchestra in 2006. Trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London as well as The Juilliard School, he has 20 years of conducting experience with some of the world’s great opera companies and orchestras of Europe and Asia. “We already have planned to perform the Mozart D-Major and Ibert Concertos together in Santa Rosa in May of 2012.”
    Hopefully for us, more recordings are also in Ferrandis’ future. His most recent CD features the flute works of Yuko Uebayashi: Flute Concerto, Sonata for flute and piano, Suite for flute and cello, and “Au del du temps” for two flutes and piano. They are modern and Romantic, with a hint of Hollywood harmonies every now and again. You can hear short snippets of this CD and three others at . At times his sound runs the range of vibrant and warm to fiery and agitated.

The post The Artistry of Jean Ferrandis appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Sonatina for solo piccolo by Peter Kopač (2005)
    This 97 measure, two-minute piece is a whirlwind of 16th notes, starting at quarter =120 and ending at 160. It is diatonic and chromatic in nature, but not tonal. The section with broken arpeggios is quite challenging. It is motivically driven and easy to listen to.  Because of the tempos marked, I grade this piece a 5. (Edicije DSS)

Grafiti by Aldo Kumar
    Grafiti is a serious piccolo and piano work with five short, challenging movements. You can hear it on a recording by Matjaž Debeljak, also titled Grafiti. (SAZAS 105715)
In the first movement, rhythm, hard accents  and compound meter are the focus, and speed (quarter =192) keeps it quite exciting. The entire piece is tonal, so the audience is never out of the loop. The form is understood from the start as a single statement rushing to the end.
    The second movement is built on a simple motive with variations and duet interplay with the piano. The piccolo part is all in C major with the piano playing half steps and whole steps in rhythmic unison.
    The third movement is very simple and a great relief after the fireworks of the first two movements. It is lyrical, repetitive, and reflective. When the piccolo first introduces the motive-melody, the piano accompanies with quarter notes and broken chords. However, when the same motive is restated in the piano, the piccolo plays repeated 16ths. It is a subtle and interesting effect.
    The fourth movement returns to speed. With a metronome marking of  quarter  =168, the piano and piccolo play the same eighth-note patterns, except one instrument is always a quarter behind. The impression is very much like the rhythms of Martinu. The end is a spectacular 16th-note passage with the piccolo and both hands of the piano in four note tonal clusters.
    The fifth movement starts out with each measure in a different meter and patterns that change abruptly from 58 to 38 to 58 to 48 and so forth at quarter =144. The meter never stays the same, and at that speed, there is a noticeable resemblance to the music of Janáček.
    This sonata is worth studying. It is exciting, well constructed, and pleasing, and it shows off great technique and a good lyrical sound. It is a solid grade 5. (Edicije DSS)

Four Ideas for piccolo and piano by Igor Krivokapič (2004)
    This little suite of four short pieces would work well for a serious player wanting to become a sensitive interpreter through dynamics, subtle tempo changes, and expressive sound. The first movement is called “Olden” and has a setting of Baroque to Classical style and form. The second movement entitled “Warbling” is a study in the use of grace notes with a 6/8 waltz in 7/8 time.
    The third movement, “Fermatas” is for piano solo. It is a 16-measure Largo with 7 and 8 note chords under long fermatas. It is followed by an attacca to the fourth movement called “Picobluz” This movement is a fast alla breve with lots of rhythmic movement in the piano. Grade 5. (slowaymusic.com)

Moments for two piccolos by Nenad Firšt (2004 )
    This is a contemporary piece without measures and with alternating speeds of 16th notes in one beat. (ie. 5:♩or 6:♩) It is not atonal, although it is chromatic and mostly contrapuntal. There are five “moments” of different moods and speeds never going faster than ♩=60. Its only drawback is that it is reproduced in the composer’s freehand manuscript and therefore is sometimes hard to read and decipher the alignment of the rhythms. Because of the speed, it has a grade of 4. (slowaymusic.com)

It Reminds Me for two piccolos and piano by Lazar Milko
    This straightforward, three-movement piece does not break any new ground, and that makes it a fine piece for good students. It has quite a few pleasant moments throughout, staying within the two lower octaves most of the time. The title is an enigma since there are no discernable excerpts from any familiar flute or symphonic music. This piece gets a 4-5 grade. (slowaymusic.com)

The Bird Tango for three piccolos and piano by Sojar Voglar
    The piece is very well written without the bird calls and clichés of the past. It is obviously a tango with sudden tempo and melodic changes and sections of extreme rhythmical difficulty. Because there are three piccolos in close range, there are quite a few “resultant happenings” all the time. This acoustic anomaly is quite noticeable and gives the piece another level of complexity. It is the best three-piccolo piece to date and is worth a read through from anyone looking for interesting styles and sounds. Because of some very difficult sections and the intonation challenge, the piece is a grade 5. (slowaymusic.com)

3 for 3 for piccolo, bassoon and piano by Igor Krivokapič
    This piece is quite different from Krivokapič’s other composition above. There are three movements as the title indicates, and in the first movement the musicians play tonal melodies and motives but with sudden changes in tempo and music.
    As an example, the piece starts with a mm. 144 Vivace, then a sudden Feroce section followed by a Tempo di Slow Waltz. There is some development of starting motives, and new material added followed by interplay of all these elements and the sudden tempo marking separating all the different material.
    The second movement is a straight-forward Largo amoroso with the piccolo playing a slow quarter-note melody. The bassoon takes over and embellishes the melody. A fugue at the end is a lovely blend of both instruments. The third movement is a none stop Fiero, an alle breve dance with a polka thrown in for good measure. Any good high school students can play this piece. It is a solid grade 4. (Edicije DSS)

Animula Vagula Blandula by Peter Kopač,  (2005)
    Animula starts with 20 measures of trills for bassoon and piccolo, with the piano playing three-voice chords in rhythm patterns. A short motivic section follows, and that proves to be the motive of the piece. It starts as a minimalist pattern, and as the piccolo extends and develops the motives, the bassoon starts the same music the piccolo just played, which creates a mini fugue. The variations grow faster to the end, where it suddenly stops and returns to the trills in both instruments.
    Both these works with bassoon are used as serious chamber music, and because of the nature of the two instruments, many new colors are created. This, too, is a piece that will not disappoint. Grade 5. (Edicije DSS)

All Work and No Play by Daniel Felsenfeld
    Daniel is an American composer living in New York. This piece was commissioned by Stephanie Mortimore for the MidAmerican Productions Recital held at Carnegie Hall. It has a lyrical beginning with lots of dissonances and unisons, an exceptional sound. An extremely fast middle section follows that eventually returns to the style of the beginning. To try to give a sense of the music, Felsenfeld uses words such as: pensive, strange; undulating, moody; stark, pushed, searing; wild, almost chaos; astringent, a little jumpy; grand, overblown, a little cheeky; even more antic; oceanic, like a quiet roar; unglued, and finally pensive, defeated.
    If these descriptions don’t pique your imagination, then this is not the piece for you. It is technically manageable for almost all serious players. Grade 5. (Felsenmusick Publishing)     Œ.

The post Delightful New Compositions appeared first on The Instrumentalist.