Music Notes
A Favorite German Hymn (from one of Pleyel’s string quartets) is listed as being by Ignace Joseph Pleyel (1757-1831), the famous composer, pianist, and publisher. His music was very well-known and is often found in arrangements intended for the public. This is the case here, where we find the piece arranged and retitled by Frederick Granger of Boston, and included in the 1802 publication, Gentlemen’s Pocket Companion being a Collection of the Most Favourite Marches, Airs, Songs, Rondos, & – adapted as Duettino for Two German Flutes or Flute and Violin.
This collection would almost have seemed to be popular music to a person of the time. It is worth noting that 1802 is a very early date for flute music published in America. Granger was a publisher, but was best-known in Boston as a professional clarinetist, where he played with the Handel & Haydn Society. The copy of the piece used for this edition is from the Selch Collection recently donated to Oberlin Conservatory.
The piece is arranged in a typical Rondeau and Variations form. It is excellent for beginning and intermediate students with much of the more difficult material in the second part. The notation is fairly clear once the players grasp the repeats. The tempo should be quick but relaxed at the beginning and then change to something more energetic for the Presto marked in measure 67.
For a PDF of this duet see Online Extras.
