Recommendations for music where flute figures prominently

Cafe Society
21

Rampal, thirded. For flautists that are at the top of their game now, she should check out Sharon Bezaly and Emmanuel Pahud.

As far as Classical repertoire is concerned, I particularly fond of :

  • J.S. Bach: Partita in A minor for solo flute
  • J.S. Bach: Flute Sonata in B minor, BWV 1030 (especially the third movement Presto)
  • Claude Debussy: Syrinx
  • Samuel Barber: Canzone

Also :

  • Antonio Vivaldi: La Tempesta di Mare
  • Claude Debussy: Chansons de Bilitis for two flutes, two harps, and celesta
  • Sergei Prokofiev: Sonata in D Major
  • André Jolivet: Chant de Linos
  • Henri Dutilleux: Sonatine

Debussy’s Prélude à l’Après-Midi d’un Faune has a prominent, and lovely, flute part.

22

Nice. Also Bach’s “Sheep shall Safely Graze,” Fourth Brandenburg Concerto, and the fantastic B-minor Orchestral Suite.

23

The flute part on the intro of Stairway to Heaven doesn’t seem too hard.

Added benefit since most guitarists probably know the song, she could provide accompaniment.

24

Boléro.

(It had to be said.)

25

Hear. Hopefully it will inspire her even more and she will try to play them.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations!

26

If she didn’t like Jethro Tull she might not like Camel but they were another prog band that prominently featured flute. Here are a couple good examples.

Rhayader

Supertwister

27

The Moody Blues’ “Nights in White Satin.”

28

DJ Quik features flute in a lot of his Tunes:

29

Peter Gabriel was a flautist. He’s all over early genesis LPs. He playes on Cat Stevens Katmandu too.

30

Up the Country by Canned Heat.

31

J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel both wrote bitchin’ flute sonatas. Telemann also too.

32

Herbie Mann

33

I came in here to mentioned this same song.

Here is a live version of it with Ian McDonald playing the flute. I think I’ve watched it at least 20 times over the past few years; I find it incredibly beautiful.

34

The theme from Titanic is heavy on the pennywhistle, an end-blown (as opposed to transverse) flute.

35

Thick as a Brick, by Jethro Tull .

Actually quite a bit by Tull.

36

For a female role model, there’s Holly Hofmann, who is very well known in jazz circles.

Or this rendition of Swinging Shepherd Blues, featuring Marie-Véronique Bourque.

37

Hawkwind: Assault And Battery/The Golden Void
The flute player is Nik Turner. (That’s Lemmy on bass)

38

Moe Koffman played jazzed-up (literally) arrangements of Bach that are very good for what they are - not the top Bach playing in the world and not the top jazz flute playing in the world, but really good as themselves.

39

Reading the OP is hard!

40

Thank you. :slight_smile: Here I am.

A lot of what I want to suggest has been suggested already in this thread. I’d add that the song “California Dreamin’” by The Mamas and the Papas has a flute solo (alto flute! A flute that’s a bit bigger and lower-pitched than the flutes most people play.) “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” by the Beatles also has one or two flutes in it - maybe also the alto flute, but I’ve never quite been able to find out.

Chaminade’s Flute Concertino is a piece I’ve always liked.