Liner Notes

Inland Seagulls

The time of the deep mist is here again.  Fall is knocking on the door. Last year I went out on one of these misty days to take pictures, and I’ll have you know that we are more than 30 mi in from the sea.  At the town square was a flock of seagulls, and as I approached they began to swirl in flight around me.  It was like being in a whirl wind.  I attempted to video tape the effect, but the video didn’t capture the moment.  I later composed a piece entitled, “Inland Seagulls”.  With this piece I played a Native American flute that was given to me by Kenny Reels, a local tribal elder of the Mashantucket Pequot Nation.  I also used a djembe to create the haunting sounds in this piece.

 

 

Orfeo Ed Euridice: Melodie De Gluck (Ballet II)

Try this.  Get a tomato seed and place it in your hand.  Few of you would ever say that you have a tomato plant in your hand.  Now plant it in the ground.  It is now covered in dirt and you have begun to water it.  If you showed someone your tomato plant, many would still doubt that you have a tomato plant.  As the tomato plant goes through different stages towards maturity, you may still find those who still doubt that you have a tomato plant.
As a beginning flutist, I was introduced to the Melodie de Gluck.  I immediately fell in love with the piece and the flutist for his interpretation of the piece.  The piece became an inspiration to practice diligently.  At first I practiced the piece quite often.  At times I would record myself playing it, but I was never satisfied with my interpretation of the piece.  Time would march on and eventually I became intimately acquainted with the piece.  Playing it became more than an interpretation.  It became something that I could say–like speaking.

What I didn’t fully appreciate was the fact that a tomato plant is a tomato plant even if it hasn’t produced ripe tomatoes yet.  It is perfect at every stage of development.

Click the video below to play along with this piano accompaniment.  There are many place where you can get the sheet music free online.  Click here for one example>

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Sonata in E Flat Major, BWV 1031: II Siciliano

Bach, Handel & Mozart Flute SonatasOne of the first styles of music that any aspiring flutist should encounter and study is Baroque music.  The Baroque music period takes place approximately from 1600 to 1750 A. D.  In this period you will hear from favorite composers like Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Friderick Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach.  Playing music from this period helps to establish good phrasing skills.  The music will also expose you to the use of ornamentation and improvisation.
Building good improvisational skills starts with the study of the Baroque period music.  During this period composers would add a host of symbols to their melody lines specific to different types of ornamentation.  The trill (tr), the mordent and the turn (~) are good examples.  The symbols served as a sort of shorthand for composers and players.  In other words, the composers embellished their music without writing so many notes.   And much like the use of jazz chords or chord symbols, composers would make use of the figured bass to fill in harmonies in a keyboard arrangement. Best Buy Co, Inc.

Below is the Sicialiano from the Sonata in Eb Major, BWV 1031 that I recorded for my Bach, Handel & Mozart Flute Sonatas CD.  This recording made use of the harpsichord for accompaniment.  Below I have also included the play along track.  Click this link for a .pdf of the flute music> J. S. Bach: Siciliano

Below is the play along track with harpsichord.