Airs et brunettes pour flûte traversière

Description

Jacques-Martin Hotteterre (1673-1763), a musician at the court of Louis XIV, was one of the first great French flutists. He composed several works for his preferred instrument, the transverse flute, and also wrote several important methods. Among the flutes he built, one is preserved today at the Steiermärkischen Landesmuseum in Graz, Austria. For this recording, a copy of that same instrument was used, made by the maker Giardino Tardino. Around 1721, Hotteterre published in Paris a collection titled Airs et brunettes. The name "brunes" indicated "small tender airs," or short and simple pieces, of a more popular nature and often with a pastoral ambiance. At the end of the book, there are twenty-one pieces for solo flute, with complex and refined ornaments — "agréments" or "doubles" — often with a free and fluid character, almost improvised. These are very delicate pieces, undoubtedly intended for pedagogical practice or simply for personal enjoyment. This is precisely what attracted me most to these works and motivated this recording. During the pandemic of 2020-21, these small works were a balm for my soul.