Newsletter ‒ Noteworthy Sheet Music ‒ August, 2022
Welcome to the latest NSM Newsletter. We focus here on a few of our more recent transcriptions and arrangements; click the title links to find additional information about them on our listing pages. And please check out our website for NSM editions of some terrific original works by our contributing contemporary composers. Our catalog now includes over 200 publications—pieces for winds, piano, strings, and even a few excellent selections for percussion or brass—browse our website by instrument and/or ensemble type to find something of interest to you. All of the sheet music editions mentioned below are available as convenient, downloadable PDFs, which you can print for hard copies or display on your digital devices. [The photograph above was taken this past April while hiking the beautiful Dune Shacks Trail outside Provincetown, MA.]
Elgar/Vater – Salut d’Amour, Op.12 – trans. for Alto Flute and Piano
The English composer Edward Elgar composed Salut d’Amour in 1888 as an engagement gift for his beloved fiancée. Though first written for piano solo, arrangements were created shortly thereafter by the composer himself for violin and piano, and for orchestra. The piece is now one of Elgar’s most widely recognized works, and its immense popularity has led to arrangements for a wide variety of other instruments.
Elgar/Vater – Mot d’Amour, Op.13 No.1 – trans. for Alto Flute and Piano
Later, Elgar wrote Mot d'Amour for violin and piano as a companion piece to Salut d’Amour. Both pieces are charming and romantic, and both are especially rich and mellow when performed on alto flute. Our transcriptions of Salut d’Amour and Mot d'Amour for alto flute and piano have been adapted from Elgar’s own editions for violin and piano, and are now available as PDF downloads from Noteworthy Sheet Music.
Dvořák/Vater – Romance, Op. 11 - arr. for Flute Choir
Dvořák based his magnificent Romance on the slow movement of his String Quartet in F minor, re-working that Andante con moto quasi allegretto to create two versions of the Romance, one for solo violin and orchestra and another for solo violin and piano. I created a flute and piano transcription for myself, and when I shared it with a flutist friend/NSM editorial consultant, he suggested the piece might be nicely suited to a flute choir arrangement, so I took on the challenge. My arrangement is adapted from Dvořák’s orchestral version and is scored for flute solo with the accompaniment of four concert flutes, two alto flutes, two bass flutes, and one contrabass flute. Of course, any work played by an all-flute ensemble will sound very different than when played by an orchestra, but every effort has been made to maintain the spirit, character, balance, and flow of Dvořák’s exquisite composition.
Bartók/Pratt - For Children – arr. as Wind Duos, Trios, and Quartets
John Pratt recently completed his series of arrangements of Bartók’s For Children folksongs for winds. Written by Bartók for solo piano, the original Books 1 and 2 contained 42 pieces after Hungarian folksongs and 43 pieces after Slovakian folksongs, respectively. The NSM collection of arrangements for winds now includes eight editions, four derived from Book 1 and four from Book 2, containing selected songs arranged as duets for flute (or oboe) and clarinet, duets for oboe (or flute) and bassoon, trios for flute (or oboe), clarinet, and bassoon, or quartets for flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. Though the notes in these folksongs may be easy to play, these pieces have a lot else to offer. They were written when Bartók’s folksong research was well under way and his notational efforts at their peak. Players can make as much of them as they like ... as simple tunes for beginners content to learn basic notes and rhythms, or as more advanced studies on articulation, musicality, etc.
Haydn/Pratt – Adagio from Symphony No.24 - arr. for Flute Choir
The second movement of Haydn’s Symphony No. 24 is a beautiful Adagio for solo flute accompanied by strings. We have long been enjoying John Pratt’s duet arrangements of the Adagio for flute or alto flute and piano. Recently, he created a new arrangement for solo flute (supplied with a written cadenza), accompanied by two concert flutes, alto flute, and bass flute (optionally doubled by contrabass flute). As Haydn’s accompanying string parts are simple, with no double stops or extreme high notes, this transcription for flute choir is straightforward; the string parts can be played comfortably by corresponding members of the flute family, given the minor adaptations introduced for this flute choir edition.
I hope you find some attractive repertoire ideas either in this Newsletter or by browsing the NSM website at https://noteworthysheetmusic.com/. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome, so don’t hesitate to email me. Have a great rest of the summer! Carol
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Carol A. Vater
Noteworthy Sheet Music, LLC
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