Flute w/Mixed Ensembles

Moon Shadows, by Walter A. Finlayson

Contemporary Composition for 2 Flutes, 2 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, and 9 Percussion Instruments

Score and Parts, PDF $14.25

Walter Finlayson (1919-2000) was an American composer, musician, educator, and music innovator, with nearly twenty original compositions and some forty arrangements to his credit.  While serving in the navy, he played saxophone and clarinet in the US Naval Reserve dance band, seated next to the great Artie Shaw.  Finlayson's ASCAP output includes music for band, dance band, orchestra, voice, and chorus.  His compositions and arrangements have been published by Boosey & Hawkes, EB Marks, Boston Music, and Mercury Music, and performed by major college marching band programs.  One of his best-known compositions is I Had a Premonition, which was written for voice and piano, but which was later arranged for the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra, one of the preeminent bands of the swing era.  A recording of the tune can be heard on The Jimmie Lunceford Collection: 1930-47 compact disc released in 2014 on the Fabulous label, and on YouTube.

Noteworthy Sheet Music's chief editorial consultant Peter H. Bloom received Finlayson's previously-unpublished score for Moon Shadows from the composer's daughter, and we were impressed with its quality and sophistication.  For a piece written in the late 1930's or early 1940's, as Gale Finlayson recollects (the score is not dated), Moon Shadows seems remarkably ahead of its time.  The work is scored for two flutes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, bells, vibraphone, xylophone, finger cymbals, maracas, bongos, roll cymbals, temple blocks, and tympani.  We notated our modern edition of the piece as faithfully as possible based on the hand-written Finlayson score; our edition of Moon Shadows includes both score and parts.  We at NSM are pleased to aid in the re-discovery of some of Walter Finlayson's works; for additional information about this interesting composer, please visit the Our Composers page under About Us.

Score, 19 pages; Parts for Flute-1, Flute-2, Clarinet-1, Clarinet-2, Bass Clarinet, Bells, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Finger Cymbals and Maracas, Bongos and Roll Cymbals, Temple Blocks, and Tympani, 1 page each; Total, 34 pages. 

Sinfonia Concertante, K.364, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Piano Score, Flute & Clarinet Parts, PDF $17.99

Excerpted from the Foreword by J. W. Pratt:  "The idea that every piece, especially a major one, can be satisfactorily transcribed for whatever instruments one would like is one I firmly reject.  However, a trio arrangement of this Sinfonia Concertante for flute, clarinet, and piano can, I believe, capture and present in a new light many of the wonders of this great work, even the wonders of its sonorities. .... In the arrangement here, the flute and clarinet almost always play either a solo part or an orchestral part with only octave changes. .... For the piano, on the other hand, straightforward orchestral reduction is often ineffective and unsatisfying, and that would certainly be true here, even with the flute and clarinet taking some wind parts. I have attempted instead to find natural piano "orchestrations" as alternatives to Mozart's orchestral layouts, especially where the full orchestra is playing. .... Such effects, often heightened on returns, are better suited to the piano's capabilities and its role as a member of a trio than a straightforward reduction would be. .... The music available for flute, clarinet, and piano includes surprisingly few major works.   The purpose of our arrangement is to add a significant piece to this repertoire and to enable players and listeners to enjoy Mozart's magnificent Sinfonia Concertante in a new way."

Score, 41 pages; Flute part, 18 pages; Clarinet part, 17 pages; Total, 82 pages.

Play of Light, by Richard Nelson 

Contemporary Composition for Flute (doubling piccolo & bass flute) and Harp

Score and Flute Part, PDF $15.25

Play of Light, for flute and harp, was written for the duo "2" (Peter H. Bloom and Mary Jane Rupert).  The piece is built around spaciousness, transparency, multi-hued shadings and playful chases.  The incorporation of bass flute and piccolo further enhances the inherently rich color possibilities of the flute/harp combination—the three flute instruments in succession form a sort of "super-flute" in the work's final section.  

Drawing on his jazz and improvisation background, composer Richard Nelson in this composition leads the players into a substantial section that they complete through improvisation.  While they follow signposts on intensity, energy and pitch content that he provides, this practice nonetheless creates an element of intrigue and unpredictability that the composer values highly.  It also assures that each performance of the piece will have a strongly individual profile. 

The Duo "2" artists have released a studio recording of Play of Light, available free of charge; please click the link to listen to the audio file on the composer's SoundCloud site.

Peter H. Bloom gave a lecture on “Effective Writing for Flutes and the Contemporary Flutist” at the 2018 Snow Pond Composers Workshop.  In his presentation, Mr. Bloom discussed various topics using four contemporary works published by Noteworthy Sheet Music, including Play of Light, as examples.  We later published a free text version of this excellent presentation on our website, in the Reviews and Articles section, including some of the audio clips and supplemental written materials that Mr. Bloom used as demonstrations.

Score, 23 pages; Flute part, 9 pages; Total, 36 pages.

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We also offer a print version of Play of Light by Richard Nelson, for those who prefer to purchase the work as a professionally-printed hard copy. Due to prohibitively high international shipping rates, we ship print editions only to addresses in the USA. The cost of the hard copy edition of Play of Light is $25.93, plus a $5.95 shipping and handling fee. Please use the Contact Us form to let us know which print publication(s) you would like to purchase, along with your email contact information and USPS mailing address. We will then send you a PayPal invoice for the sale and, once we receive notice from PayPal that you have paid for the item(s), we will ship your music to the address provided for delivery in 7-10 business days.

Fantaisie, Op.124, by Camille Saint-Saëns

Transcribed for Flute (originally for violin) by Peter H. Bloom

Flute Part, PDF $8.98

The following excerpt is taken from Peter H. Bloom's foreword to the edition:

"We flutists are always on the lookout for great repertoire to perform with harp, and the Fantaisie is a perfect gem to purloin from the violinists' repertoire.  The expressively romantic melodies, lush impressionistic sonorities, athletic intervals, diversity of articulation, variety of dynamics, and evocative exoticism are ideal for the flute.  The few problems of range are easily modified, customized, accommodated.   As a duo, the work features both instruments in equally prominent and demanding roles.  It's no surprise, then, that a number of flute transcriptions have been generated over the years.  My goal, in this current work, is to provide fellow flutists with a significantly fresh approach to the Fantaisie.

Although a simplified adaptation of the Fantaisie is fairly straightforward, an arrangement that preserves the thrilling virtuosic intensity and rhetorical thrust of the work is another matter.   An accurate presentation of Saint-Saëns's aural palette is essential to an authentic performance of the Fantaisie, and methods of achieving dynamic balance and tonal color often differ between flute and violin.  The rhetorical nuances of articulation between the two instruments also require different approaches to achieve equivalent interpretations. The treatment of the violin pizzicato at measure 178, the elimination of articulation marks at measure 11, the inversions of double-stops/tremolos at measure 43-44 and 77-86, and the octave transposition from measure 184-194 exemplify these accommodations.

Violin double-stops present a conundrum.   Technically impossible on the flute, double-stops are often reduced to a single line.  The lower part is simply excised. But discarding the sonic complexity and virtuosic gesture of Saint-Saëns's parallel voicing dilutes the music and belies the composer's dramatic intentions.   I've suggested double-stops be executed, on the flute, as tremolos.  They're somewhat challenging but not impossible.   Consider that the tremolo, as a virtuoso flute technique, was perhaps more popular during the composer's lifetime than in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Changes to the original violin part are made, here, with the intention of conserving the composer's ingenious creation.  After a decade of study, experimentation, adjustment, and performance of this work, I've settled on a transcription for flute that conveys, with integrity, the musical spirit of the original orchestration."

P. H. Bloom, May 11, 2013 ©

Click the icon to listen to a portion of the Saint-Saëns's Fantaisie performed by the duo "2", Peter H. Bloom on flute and Mary Jane Rupert on harp.  Or watch part of a performance video on YouTube.

Fantaisie, Op.124 was written originally for violin and harp.  We provide the Fantaisie flute part transcribed by P. H. Bloom; the harp part is available as a free PDF download from online libraries of public domain music, such as imslp.org.

Flute part, 7 pages; Total, 12 pages.

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We also offer a professionally-printed hard copy edition of Fantaisie, Op.124 by Saint-Saëns, transcribed for Flute for $14.99 plus a $5.95 shipping and handling fee to addresses in the USA.  Use the Contact Us form to let us know which hard copy publication(s) you would like to purchase, along with your email contact information and USPS mailing address. We will then send you a PayPal invoice for the sale and, once we receive notice from PayPal that you have paid for the item(s), we will ship your music to the address provided.

Nocturne, by William Schade

Schade’s original publication, re-notated and edited by NSM, plus an arrangement of the Nocturne for Unaccompanied Flute created by Peter H. Bloom

William Schade is primarily known today as the composer of fine pedagogical works for flute including sets of beautifully crafted caprices, impromptus, etudes, and progressive duets, but his career as a prolific and versatile performing artist should be celebrated as well.  Noteworthy Sheet Music’s chief editorial consultant Peter H. Bloom happened upon the published score and parts for Schade’s Nocturne while exploring music collected by flutist, conductor, arranger Elmer Reade.  Mr. Bloom was duly impressed with the beauty and expressiveness of the Nocturne; he created an arrangement of the piece for flute alone, and later suggested that NSM add the accompanied and unaccompanied versions of the work to our catalog.  NSM now offers both original versions of William Schade’s Nocturne, those for Flute and Cello accompanied by either Piano or Quartet (Violin-1, Violin-2, Viola, Bass), plus the Bloom arrangement for flute alone.  All editions have been re-notated and edited by NSM and include a foreword/preface written by Peter H. Bloom.

► Schade - Nocturne - for Flute and Cello with Piano Accompaniment
Schade provided a complete score for his version of the Nocturne for Flute and Cello with Piano Accompaniment.  Since the published copy we came across wasn’t in great shape, we re-notated the score and parts using a modern music notation program.  Note that we used a slightly modified and cleaned-up image of Schade’s lovely original publication cover on the inner covers for the flute and cello parts.
Piano Score, 7 pages; Flute part, 2 pages; Cello part, 2 pages; Total, 18 pages.
Preview, Flute & Cello, acc. by Piano

► Schade - Nocturne - for Flute and Cello with Quartet Accompaniment

Score, 13 pages; Parts for Flute, Cello, Violin-1, Violin-2, and Viola, 2 pages each; Bass part, 1 page; Total, 24 pages.
Preview, Flute & Cello, acc. by Quartet

► Schade - Nocturne – arranged for Unaccompanied Flute by Peter H. Bloom
As mentioned above, flutist Peter H. Bloom, having been moved by the uncomplicated eloquence of the Nocturne, adapted the work for flute alone—the flute in his arrangement is unaccompanied, yet evokes the entire original ensemble.  The composer’s harmonies and counterpoint are elicited and unveiled by the soloist through judicious use of auditory illusion and “sleight-of-ear.”  Mr. Bloom has performed his arrangement of the Schade Nocturne for solo flute in lecture/recitals for the New York Flute Club in 2008 and for the National Flute Association Annual Convention in 2026.   
Flute part, 3 pages; Total,6 pages.
Preview, Unaccompanied Flute