Flute quartet: Difference between revisions

A '''flute quartet''' is a musical term for a type of [[Chamber music|chamber music group]]. They are normally found in two forms: those consisting of a [[flute]], a [[violin]], a [[viola]] and a [[cello]]; and those consisting of four flutes. This last combination can come in multiple different but distinct arrangements:

* a group of four C flutes;

* a group of three C flutes and [[alto flute]];

* a group consisting of two C flutes, alto, and [[bass flute]] (this grouping is the closest comparable equivalent of a [[string quartet]] for four flutes); or

* a group consisting of piccolo, C flute, alto, and bass.

==Works for flute, violin, viola and cello==

This form is closely related to the string quartet, but with a flute in place of the first violin. It is generally believed that this type of chamber music reached its pinnacle around the middle of the second half of the 18th century. Notable works for flute quartets consisting of a [[flute]], [[violin]], [[viola]] and [[cello]] include those by the following composers:

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*[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]:

**[[Flute Quartet No. 1 (Mozart)|No. 1 in D major]] ([[Köchel-Verzeichnis|K.]] 285)

**[[Flute Quartet No. 2 (Mozart)|No. 2 in G major]] (K. 285a)

**[[Flute Quartet No. 3 (Mozart)|No. 3 in C major]] (K. Anh. 171/285b)

**[[Flute Quartet No. 4 (Mozart)|No. 4 in A major]] (K. 298)

*[[Johann Christian Bach]]

*[[Christian Cannabich]]

*[[Domenico Cimarosa]]

*[[Franz Danzi]]

*[[François Devienne]]

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*[[Adalbert Gyrowetz]]

*[[Joseph Haydn]]

*[[Franz Anton Hoffmeister]]

*[[Franz Krommer]]

*[[Friedrich Kuhlau]]

*[[Ignaz Pleyel]]

*[[Anton Reicha]]

*[[Carlo Giuseppe Toeschi]]

*[[Georg Abraham Schneider]]: ''First Grand Quartet'' Op.68 in E{{music|flat}} Major (as well as 32 additional flute quartets).

*[[Adolphe F. Wouters]]: ''Adagio and Scherzo'' (1895)

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The interest of the enthusiasts in arrangements of flute with [[string trio]], which at times rivaled the popularity of the string quartet, is shown by contemporary transcriptions of string quartets by publishers, for instance, the quartets of Haydn. [[Gioachino Rossini]] also transcribed six of his ''Sonate a quattro'' (originally for strings).

In the first decades of the 19th century, the [[string quartet]] became far more important than the flute quartet; as a result, very few new works were composed until the [[20th century music|20th century]]. Until the works of [[Volkmar Andreae]] (quartet Op. 43) and [[Gottfried von Einem]] (quartet Op. 85), the 20th century was also somewhat lacking in compositions of this type. Works from the 21st century have included the ''Air and Adorable Blues'' by [[Blaž Pucihar]], "Broken words" (2000) by [[Sophie Lacaze]] and ''In blauen Linien'' (2012) by [[Graham Waterhouse]].

==Works for four flutes==

===19th century===

Works for four flutes were particularly popular at the turn of the 19th century. Some of the most well-known from this time might include the compositions of [[Friedrich Kuhlau]] (quartet in E minor) and [[Anton Reicha]] (quartets Op. 12, Op. 19). Further quartets came from, for example, [[Friedrich Hartmann Graf]], [[Anton Bernhard Fürstenau]] and [[Luigi Gianella]].

===Early 20th century===

In the 20th century, quartets with four flutes experienced a renaissance. This type of arrangement, with its specific, light tone color, especially appealed to the French wind tradition. Examples of some works from the early 20th century include those of [[Florent Schmitt]] (quartet Op. 106), [[Josef Lauber]] (''vision de Corse'', Op. 54), [[Marc Berthomieu]] (''Arcadie''), [[Joseph Jongen]] (''Elégie'', Op. 114.3), [[Alexander Tcherepnin]] (''Quatuor pour flûtes'' Op. 60 - 1939), and ''Colonial Sketches'' (1940) by [[Sol B. Cohen]].

===Late 20th century===

The late 20th Century saw a new revival for the flute quartet, including these works:

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*[[Eugène Bozza]]: ''Jour d'été à la montagne'' (1953)

*[[Peter Bacchus]]: ''Quartet for Diverse Flutes'' (1985)

*[[Marc Berthomieu]]: ''Les Chats'' (1969) (Berthomieu wrote four other flute quartets as well)

*[[Howard J. Buss]]: "Festival" (1996) Brixton Publications

*[[Jacques Castérède]]: ''Flûtes en vacances'' (1962)

*[[Ingolf Dahl]]: ''Serenade for Four Flutes'' (1960) ([[Boosey & Hawkes]])

*[[Robert Dick (flutist)|Robert Dick]]: ''Eyewitness'' (1990)

*[[Daniel Dorff]]: ''The Year of the Rabbit'' (1999)

*[[Pierre Max Dubois]]: ''Quatuor pour flûtes'' (1961/2)

*[[Jennifer Higdon]]: ''Steeley Pause'' (1988)

*[[David Evan Jones (composer)|David Evan Jones]]: ''Tibae'' (Solo for Four) (1983)

*[[Serge Lancen]]: ''Quatres Flûtes en Balade'' (1970) ([[Chappell & Co.|Chappell]])

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*[[Paule Maurice]]: ''Suite pour quatuor de flûtes'' (1967)

*[[Anne McGinty]]: ''Epigrams'' (1985)

*[[Catherine McMichael]]:

**''Floris'' (1995)

**''A Gaelic Offering'' (1995)

*[[Roger Reynolds]]: Four Etudes (1961) ([[Edition Peters]])

*[[R. Murray Schafer]]: Five Studies on Texts by Prudentius (for four flutes and soprano) ([[Berandol Music]])

*[[Alexander Shchetynsky]]: ''Con Re'' for Four Flutes, Alto Saxophone, Violin and Cello (2002)

*[[Harvey Sollberger]]: Grand Quartet for Flutes (1961) ([[McGinnis & Marx]])

*[[Preston Trembly]]: Cantelena (1975)

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===21st century===

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*[[Richard Arnest]]: ''Jacob's Ladder'' (2007)

*[[Sarah Bassingthwaighte]]: ''Echoes of the Ancients'' (2006)

*[[Elizabeth Brown (composer and performer)|Elizabeth Brown]]: ''The Baths of Caracalla'' (2007)

*[[Howard J. Buss]]:

**''Prelude and Intrada'' (2009) Brixton Publications

**''Levi's Dream'' (2014) Brixton Publications

*[[Miguel del Aguila]]: ''Crystal Flutes Swing'' (2003) [http://www.migueldelaguila.com Publisher]

*[[Charles Knox]]: ''Music for the Outer Edge'' (2012)

*[[Sophie Lacaze]]:

**''Cinq voyelles pour quatre flûtes'' (2005)

**''Het Lam Gods III'' for four flutes and narrator (2009)

**''Estampes'' for flute quartet (2012)

**''And Earth moves away'' for flute quartet (2018)

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*[[Catherine McMichael]]: ''Falconer'' (2008)

*[[Anze Rozman]]:

**''Creatures of the Enchanted Forest'' (2010)

**''Aqua et Ventus'' (2011)

*[[Joseph Schwantner]]: ''Silver Halo'' (2007)

*[[William Susman]]: ''Seven Scenes for Four Flutes'' (2011)

*[[Alberto Roque Santana]]: ''Operarios'' (2014) for Four Flutes, after a painting by Tarsila do Amaral, AvA Musical Editions

*[[Fabio Mengozzi]]: ''Pavana'' for flute quartet (2020)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfjBnL15Iv0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/vfjBnL15Iv0 |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live|title=Aulos Flute Ensemble plays "Pavana" by Fabio Mengozzi|first=|last=Aulos Flute Ensemble|date=11 February 2021|publisher=|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

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== References ==

{{reflist}}

==See also==

* [[Alto flute]]

* [[Bass flute]]

* [[Flute repertory]]

* [[Flute choir]]

{{Western concert flutes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flute Quartet}}

[[Category:Compositions for flute|Compositions for flute]]

[[Category:Chamber music]]