FOR FLUTE AND STRINGS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 24, Issue 621, 25 May 1951, Page 15

FOR FLUTE AND STRINGS

N Thursday, May 24, the National Orchestra (guest conductor Sir Bernard Heinze) will present a studio concert from 2YC at 8.30 pm. The programme includes Smetana’s tone-poem "The Moldau," "A Walk to the Paradise Garden" ("A Village Romeo and Juliet"), by Delius; and Bach's Suite No. 2 in B Minor for Flute and Strings.’ Here BESSIE POLLARD. discusses the last-named work in outline. IKE the "English" and "French" keyboard suites, each of Bach’s orchestral suites consists of.a series of dance-form movements, preceded by an imposing introductory movement. Bach himself called these works Overtures (the name given to orchestral suites in his day) because of the importance of the opening movement, usually subtitled Overture. In his remarkable book about Bach, Albert Schweitzer says: "The introductory movements (of the Suites) are monumental, all laid out on the plan of the French overture, the invention of which is attributed to Lulli. They open with a grave section, to which succeeds a lengthy, elaborate and beautiful allegro, the grave section often being repeated at the close." The second Suite-for Flute and Strings in B minor-begins with an Overture comprising a stately introduction ("A" below quotes the opening motif) which proceeds directly into a fugal allegro ("B" below gives the first bars of this section). It ends with a slow section reminiscent of the opening bars-

The rondeau has a gay and colourful flute theme ("A" below). In the sarabande ("B" below) the flute and the ‘cello proceed, dialogue fashion, in the form of a canon at the fifth below-

The fourth movement--bourrees I and II-shows Bach in one of his most jovial moods. The succeeding movement is cast as a polonaise, where the flute has the same theme as the violins, one octave higher. In the double section (or variation) the polonaise melody is played by lower strings while the flute gives out a florid counter-theme, the polonaise then being repeated da capo-

The sixth movement is a minuet (without Trio) based on the theme "I quote below. Its courtly grace and rhythmical precision suggest perfectly the little steps that originally gave this dance-form its name-

The Finale, Badinerie (literally badinage-a playful, trifling piece), is free in form. The flute has the melody throughout while the strings (violins and violas in particular) accompany with detached chords. The '’cellos play a splendid, moving part which abounds with contrapuntal imitations of the flute’s theme. Here are the opening bars of the Finale-