Five Fantasy Pieces for Four Flutes

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is not often associated with the flute and so this arrangement of an early work for string quartet is very welcome. The style here is a mixture of Romanticism and folk music and there is no over-arching formal structure. This produces a collection of pieces each of which has a very distinct character. The Humoresque is particularly quirky with an opening and closing section bouncing along on either side of an unrelated but equally charming melody. Each movement would stand alone and combinations would work very well too. If you're looking for something slightly away from the mainstream this would be very good choice.

Coleridge-Taylor’s music has begun to come back into the spotlight in recent years as the Classical music industry tries to diversify and give rightful attention to historically underrepresented composers. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was a mixed race British composer who grew up in Croydon and studied at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford. The Five Fantasy Pieces Op. 5 were written in 1896 and were originally written for string quartet. In this arrangement for flute quartet (2 flutes, alto and bass) a lot of the material is transposed up an octave to fit the range of the ensemble, giving a greater sense of brightness than in the original string version. The string quartet textures remain, allowing melodic writing for all of the instruments and plenty of interest in the alto and bass parts. As the title suggests, the piece is in five movements, beginning with a richly romantic Prelude which features crotchet triplet rhythms and lyrical melodic lines. The Serenade develops this lyricism further with a soaring melody in the first flute and some twisty chromaticism adding colour to the harmony. The central Humoresque is perhaps my favourite of the five; marked at a Presto tempo it is full of energy and sparkle, with bouncing rhythms, accents and staccatos. This movement is a lot of fun for all of the players. The fourth movement is a short Minuet and Trio, and the final movement is a boisterous dance. The piece provides challenges (especially when played at tempo) for all of the ensemble players and is likely to be an enjoyable repertoire piece for an advanced group of players. The arrangement itself works well and is presented in Forton’s house style.