Haydn's Symphony 13 arranged for Flute Ensemble

SOMERVILLE, Mass. - Dec. 13, 2023 - PRLog -- Noteworthy Sheet Music, LLC (NSM) is an online sheet music publisher, specializing in but not limited to flute and alto flute music, with a catalog of over 200 editions. They offer original works by distinguished contemporary composers, re-notated versions or facsimiles of rare historical scores, and unique transcriptions and arrangements of pieces from the classical repertoire. Selected NSM publications are offered as professionally-printed hard copy editions, while most are available as convenient PDF downloads from the NSM website.

- adapted from John W. Pratt's foreword to the edition:

Haydn composed three symphonies in 1763, No.13 being one of them; a large flute ensemble would be about the size of Haydn's core orchestra at the time.  This new arrangement, created by John W. Pratt and published by Noteworthy Sheet Music, is for a flute ensemble of any size including at least one bass, one alto, and two concert flutes.  Third and fourth concert flute parts are also provided, and all parts can be doubled at will.  If a contrabass flute is available, it can double the bass flute similarly, serving to deepen and enrich the sound.  Haydn's original key has been raised a minor third to better suit the natural range of a flute ensemble and reduce the number of octave changes required.

The second movement of this work is a beautiful Adagio cantabile for solo cello accompanied by strings, which transcribes nicely for alto flute accompanied by the rest of the flute family.  And the trio of the third movement has a delightful solo flute part with only string accompaniment.  Essentially all of Haydn's relatively few performance marks are given, along with a few others in parentheses, and the players are encouraged to add the kind of articulation, accentuation, and phrasing that give even such "early" Haydn symphonies as this so much vigor and life in good performances.

Separate parts are provided for all designated players.  In the score, however, the flute 1 and 3 parts are combined on one staff, as are flutes 2 and 4.  This reduces the number of staves in the score to four, making it easier to apprehend the music and immediately evident when flutes 1 and 3, or 2 and 4, are in unison, as they often are.  For additional information, visit the NSM listing page at https://noteworthysheetmusic.com/score-descriptions/40-flute-duos-trios-quartets/993-haydn-symphony-13-arr-for-multiple-flutes.