Between the late 19th century and the early 1960s French music experienced a Golden Age during which the flute played a prominent role: this age-old instrument played by fauns and shepherds spun numerous arabesques whose sensuous contours seemed to celebrate ?the mysterious connections between nature and the imagination? (Debussy). It was therefore quite tempting to draw on the rich catalogue of French works from the Editions Leduc and Heugel and put together this collection of pieces for flautists in the fourth year of study and up. It?s simply impossible to resist the compelling lyricism that floats up from such celebrated pages asFauré?s Sicilienne or the Pièce en forme de Habanera a composition by Ravel superbly transcribed by Theodore Doney. Philippe Gaubert?s Orientale and Sicilienne ? two bestsellers ? are also included. Original pieces such as the Aria for flute and piano by Roussel rub shoulders with delightful arrangements such as the one by Marcel Moyse based on Jacques Ibert?s gentle Histoires or the successful adaptation of Hahn?s À Chloris; while famous pieces ? like Debussy?s Le Petit Nègre ? nestle against a few rare gems (Pierné Bozza) that are utterly charming.

Variations Sur Un Thème De Mozart is a piece composed by Reynaldo Hahn and dedicated to Philippe Gaubert. Composed after a tune by Mozart and scored for the Flute this piece features a main theme and a total of seven variations which follow one another. The Flute score features many trills especially in the Variation 2 some fast rhythms and up to 6 flats on the key for the Variation 4. It would require a good mastery of techniques for these challenging parts. Reynaldo Hahn was a naturalised French composer conductor theatre director and singer. Best known as a composer of songs he also wrote many piecesand melodies for different instruments.

Alors que les oeuvres de grande envergure de Roussel sont programmés rarement ces jours, ses oeuvres de musique de chambre sont toujours très populaires. Pour flûtistes, le cycle de Joueurs de Flûte est un ouvrage de référence fréquemment jouée du XXe siècle. Son charme unique réside dans l'affectation des flûtistes mythologiques de flûtistes distingués du début du XXe siècle. Ainsi ont été créés courts portraits musicaux des dedicatees qui reflètent ces fascinants flûtistes : Gaston Blanquart, Marcel Moyse, Louis Fleury et Philippe Gaubert. / Flûte Traversière Et Piano