Multiple Flutes

Adagio and Fugue from BWV 564, by J. S. Bach

Arranged for Flute Quartet by John W. Pratt

Score and Parts for Flute 1, Flute 2, Alto Flute, and Bass Flute, PDF $21.25

Among J. S. Bach's big organ works, the Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue, BWV 564 is atypical in ways that make it especially adaptable to transcription for winds, as we noted when transcribing it for woodwind quartet. The middle movement Adagio has an elaborate and gorgeous melody which lies comfortably for flute and can benefit greatly from the shaded, nuanced dynamics and articulations that a solo flutist can provide. The four-part Fugue is unusual, too—light and lighthearted, happily adaptable to woodwinds. The Adagio and Fugue are particularly well-suited to a flute quartet and these (but not the Toccata) are included in John Pratt’s arrangement of the piece for two flutes, alto flute and bass flute. Note that the score is presented with the alto flute line in concert pitch and the bass flute line shown in bass clef so as to easily see the range of all the flutes' notes; in the parts, of course, the alto flute is transposed and the bass flute is in treble clef.

Score, 10 pages; Flute 1 part, 4 pages; Flute 2 part, 3 pages; Alto Flute part, 3 pages; Bass Flute part, 2 pages; Total, 30 pages.

Sonata in D Major, Op.5, No.1, by Giuseppe Maria Cambini

Duet for Two Flutes
Score and Parts, PDF $7.99

Giuseppe Maria Cambini (1746-1825) was an Italian-born violinist and composer. He was one of the most prolific composers of his era, particularly of instrumental works, of which he wrote over 600, including numerous symphonies, 149 string quartets and over 100 trios, as well as ballets, operas, & oratorios. Flutists will know him for his concertos and extensive body of chamber works featuring the flute, including duos, trios, quartets and quintets.

Noteworthy Sheet Music published this edition of Cambini's Sonata in D Major, Op.5, No.1 at the suggestion of flutist Richard A. Evans, who long ago obtained the duet from the Library of Congress and believed it undeserving of its current obscurity. We at NSM agreed that the duet should be made more readily available to present-day musicians and audiences. Our edition provides both score and parts, and incorporates articulation and dynamic edits supplied by Mr. Evans.

Note that Cambini's Opus 5 flute duets were made into trios by the addition of a bass part composed by Thomas Billington. A PDF scan of the trio edition for two flutes and continuo arranged by Billington is available at IMSLP.org as Cambini's 6 Duos for Two Flutes, Opus 11 (London, printed for Longman & Broderip, n.d.).

Score, 8 pages; Flute-1 part, 4 pages; Flute-2 part 4 pages; Total, 22 pages.

Sonata in D Major, Op.10, No.1, by François Devienne

Duet for Two Flutes

Score and Parts, PDF $9.99

François Devienne (1759-1803) was a French composer, flutist and bassoonist, as well as a professor at the Paris Conservatory. His compositional output included: 12 operas; many concerted pieces for various wind instruments, with orchestra; overtures; concertos, quartets, trios, sonatas, etc. for flute, piano, and other instruments; 12 suites; numerous romances, chansons, etc.; and an influential flute method book, Méthode de flûte (1795).  

Noteworthy Sheet Music published this edition of Devienne’s Sonata in D Major, Op.10, No.1 at the suggestion of flutist Richard A. Evans, who long ago obtained the duet from the Library of Congress and believed it undeserving of its current obscurity. We at NSM agreed that the duet, which has two movements, Allegro spirituoso and Rondo: Allegro poco presto, should be made more readily available to present-day musicians and audiences. Our edition provides both score and parts, and incorporates articulation and dynamic edits supplied by Mr. Evans.

Score, 10 pages; Flute-1 part, 5 pages; Flute-2 part 5 pages; Total, 24 pages.

Romance, Op. 11 by Antonín Dvořák

Arranged for Solo Flute and Flute Choir by C. A. Vater (originally for solo violin and orchestra)

Score and Parts for Solo Concert Flute, 4 Concert Flutes, 2 Alto Flutes, 2 Bass Flutes, and 1 Contrabass Flute, PDF $21.97

Czech composer Antonín Dvořák based his Romance, Opus 11 on the slow movement of his String Quartet in F minor, composed in 1873, re-working that Andante con moto quasi allegretto to create two versions of the Romance, one for solo violin and orchestra (B.39) and another for solo violin and piano (B.38). The Romance is one of Dvořák’s most magnificent melodic works, teaming with romance, lyricism, and emotional intensity. I created a solo flute version of this piece for my personal use, and I so enjoyed playing it that I shared it with a flutist friend / NSM editorial consultant, who suggested that the Romance might be nicely adaptable for flute choir. I took on that challenge and created this arrangement, scored for flute solo with the accompaniment of four concert flutes, two alto flutes, two bass flutes, and one contrabass flute. A few changes have been incorporated in the solo part, bringing the violin’s lowest notes into concert flute range and providing appropriate alternatives to the occasional double stops. Likewise, the various string and wind parts created by Dvořák for his orchestral arrangement (available on IMSLP.org) have been modified in places to suit members of the flute family. Of course, any work played by a flute choir will sound very different than when played by an orchestra, but in arranging this piece for flute choir, every effort has been made to maintain the spirit, character, balance, and flow of Dvořák’s exquisite Romance.

The parts in our edition have been formatted for convenient page turns when the complete PDF is printed 2-sided in its entirety. If a more compact version of the score is desired, however, please select a “2 pages per sheet” printer option for the score and print the score pages separately from the parts.

Score, 60 pages; Solo Flute part, 4 pages of music; Flutes 1-4 parts, each 3 pages of music; Alto Flute 1 part, 4 pages of music; Alto Flute 2 part, 3 pages of music; Contrabass Flute part, 3 pages of music; Total, 104 pages.

Quartet, Op.1, No.1, by Franz Joseph Haydn

Arranged for Flute Quartet by John W. Pratt (originally for strings)

Score and Parts for Flute 1, Flute 2, Alto Flute, and Bass Flute, PDF $15.99

The earliest quartets of Franz Joseph Haydn are not precursors of the later works wherein he developed the form and style of the classical string quartet, but rather divertimenti written for four friends when he was about 25.  Most of these early works have five movements: fast, minuet/trio, slow, minuet/trio, fast; and their slow movements feature beautiful, elaborate, gently accompanied melodies. 

The divertimento style and instrumental character of these early pieces does not evoke strings specifically or necessarily, and thus arrangement for other instruments is natural and might expand enjoyment of these wonderful first significant Haydn works to other players and audiences.  In John Pratt’s arrangement of Haydn’s Op.1, No.1 (Hob.III:1), most of the range issues for flutes were solved by transposition up a step, a few more by exchanging the two inner voices in places or by octave transpositions.  This lovely, effective arrangement is for a flute quartet consisting of two concert flutes, alto flute, and bass flute; the edition is available exclusively from Noteworthy Sheet Music.  

Score, 19 pages; Parts for Flute 1, Flute 2, Alto Flute and Bass Flute, 5 pages each; Total, 46 pages. 

Adagio from Symphony No.24 by F. J. Haydn

Transcribed for Solo Flute accompanied by Flute Choir, by John W. Pratt (originally for flute and strings)

Score and Parts for Solo Flute, Flutes 1 and 2, Alto Flute, and Bass Flute/Contrabass Flute, PDF $7.99

Haydn wrote his Symphony No.24 in 1764. Its second movement is a beautiful Adagio for flute solo accompanied by strings. The string parts are simple, with no double stops or extreme high notes, so they can be played comfortably by corresponding members of the flute family, except for a few low notes.  This transcription for flute choir is therefore straightforward except that the alto flute sometimes plays violin notes that C-flutes cannot play or can use support playing, and similarly the bass flute plays some viola notes instead of or in addition to the alto flute playing them. Notes taken from the cello in its lowest octave have been raised an octave for bass flute, but there are fewer than one might expect. Perhaps one reason is that Haydn expected a (string) bass to be doubling the cello an octave lower, playing from the same part. If a contrabass flute is available, it can double the bass flute similarly, serving even more to enrich the sound. —adapted from JWP’s preface to the edition

Listen to a computer-generated audio sample. 

Score, 5 pages; Parts for Solo Flute, 2 pages; Flutes 1 and 2, 2 pages; Alto Flute, 1 page; Bass Flute/Contrabass Flute, 1 page; Total 19 pages.

Divertimento No. 1 (Hob. II:21; Op. 2 No. 3) by Franz Joseph Haydn

Arranged for Flute Quartet by John W. Pratt (originally for string quartet plus 2 horns)

Score and Parts for Flute 1, Flute 2, Alto Flute, and Bass Flute, PDF $11.97

excerpted from John W. Pratt’s © preface to the edition:

“Haydn (1732-1809) is credited with developing the classical forms of both the string quartet and the symphony, starting from the loose structures and permissive instrumentation of Baroque instrumental music. … His first string quartets are his Opus 1 Nos. 1-4 and 6, and Opus 2 Nos. 1-6, thus eleven. Opus 1 No. 5 is somewhat later, added to make a set of 6, apparently a perfect number in music publication as well as in mathematics. Opus 2 Nos. 3 and 5 are quartet arrangements of two divertimentos including also two horns and listed in the Hoboken catalogue as II:21 and 22 … The spirit and spiritedness of the two divertimentos suit them to flute quartet, as does the distribution of activity. In addition, a flute quartet combines the unified timbre of a string quartet with the wind sound of the horns, while the early string quartets do not exploit the string sound per se. Transposition up a step puts the cello and viola parts of Hob. II:21 mostly within the bass and alto flute ranges and makes the violin parts if anything more comfortable for C flutes.”

There are 5 movements in total: I-Allegro molto, II-Minuet, III-Adagio, IV-Minuet, and V-Finale Allegro. To get some sense of how the Op. 2 No. 3 quartet works with flutes in lieu of strings, listen to this computer-generated audio clip of the first movement—realizing it will of course sound considerably better played in-person on real instruments.

Score, 11 pages; Flute 1 part, 6 pages; Flute 2 part, 6 pages; Alto Flute part, 5 pages; Bass Flute part, 5 pages; Total, 38 pages.

Divertimento No. 2 (Hob. II:22; Op.2, No.5) by Franz Joseph Haydn

Arranged for Flute Quartet by John W. Pratt (originally for string quartet plus 2 horns)

Score and Parts for Flute 1, Flute 2, Alto Flute, and Bass Flute, PDF $10.97

This is the second of Haydn’s two divertimenti, Hob. II:21 and II:22, that John Pratt has arranged for flute quartet, scored for two C-flutes, alto flute, and bass flute.  Both divertimenti were written originally for string quartet plus two horns, but were later adapted by others as quartet-only versions identified as Opus 2, No.3 and No.5.  Please see the text excerpted from Mr. Pratt’s preface to his arrangement of Haydn’s Divertimento No.1 (Op.2, No.3) for additional information that applies to both these works.  There are 5 movements in Op.2, No.5: I-Presto, II-Minuet, III-Largo, IV-Minuet, and V-Finale Presto.  Listen to this computer-generated audio clip from the second movement Minuet to get a sense of how the quartet sounds with flutes in lieu of strings. 

Score, 10 pages; Flute 1 part, 4 pages; Flute 2 part, 4 pages; Alto Flute part, 4 pages; Bass Flute part, 3 pages; Total, 28 pages.

Symphony 13, by Franz Joseph Haydn

Arranged for Multiple Flutes by John W. Pratt

Score and Parts for Flutes 1-4, Alto Flute, Bass Flute; PDF $23.95

This arrangement of Haydn’s Symphony No.13 is for a flute ensemble of any size including at least one bass, one alto, and two concert flutes.  Third and fourth concert flute parts are also provided, and all parts can be doubled at will.  If a contrabass flute is available, it can double the bass flute, serving to deepen and enrich the sound.  The second movement is a beautiful Adagio cantabile, originally for solo cello accompanied by strings, which transcribes nicely for alto flute accompanied by the rest of the flute family.  The trio of the symphony’s third movement has a delightful solo flute part with only string accompaniment.  A large flute ensemble would be about the size of Haydn’s core orchestra at the time this symphony was composed; in our arrangement, Haydn’s original key has been raised a minor third to better suit the natural range of a flute ensemble.  

Score, 17 pages; separate parts for Flute 1, Flute 2, Flute 3, and Flute 4, 6 pages each; Alto Flute part, 7 pages; Bass Flute part, 6 pages; Total, 68 pages.  

Trois Grands Duos Brillants et Mélodiques pour Deux Flûtes Concertantes, by Jules Herman

New Editions by Noteworthy Sheet Music, with a Foreword by P. H. Bloom

Duo 1: Flute 1 Part, Flute 2 Part, and Mini-Score ― PDF $17.98

Duo 2: Flute 1 Part, Flute 2 Part, and Mini-Score ― PDF $21.75

Duo 3: Flute 1 Part, Flute 2 Part, and Mini-Score ― PDF $17.98

Jules Herman's Grands Duos Concertantes (Opus 86) are works of ingenuity, charm, brilliance, grace, and humor.  Long overlooked, they are extraordinarily fine examples of concert-worthy duets of the late 19th century.  Originally published by Choudens in Paris about 1885, the Grand Duos were dedicated to composer François-Auguste Gevaert (1828–1908), then director of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.  Flutists will find these works challenging and rewarding, teachers of advancing students will be amazed by their utility, and audiences will be enchanted.  (excerpted from PHB's © foreword)

Note that these duets make for excellent sight-reading training ... the music is interesting and demanding, and the parts are nicely balanced.  All three duets have three movements each.  Duo 1: Allegro moderato; Adagio sostenuto; and Rondo allegro.  Duo 2: Moderato; Scherzando; and Polonaise.  Duo 3: Allegretto vivace con brio; Air Varié, Andante; and Boléro, Moderato.