Essential Repertoire,
Highlighting Unaccompanied Woodwind
Here at Presto we have been thinking a lot about our customers throughout the globe who are spending much more time at home due to self-isolation and social distancing measures put in place in many parts of the world. You may find yourself struggling to find pieces to play, without access to your usual accompanist, chamber music groups, orchestras and ensembles. We thought it would be a good idea to begin a series of articles focusing on new, bestselling and recommended unaccompanied repertoire. It is perhaps also the perfect time to work on perfecting that technique that you’ve been putting off, or thinking about taking up a new instrument to pass the time.
For the second article in this series we will be looking at woodwind instruments. Here you will find some of our bestselling solo flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon and recorder pieces.
Unaccompanied Flute
Below you will find our selection of some well-known and popular unaccompanied flute repertoire.
The fourth volume of Die Soloflote series containing key repertoire composed between 1900 and 1960. Including Debussy's Syrinx, Karg-Elert's Sonata appassionata, Honegger's Danse de la chevre, Fukushima's Requiem and many more. Browse the entire series here
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An entertaining extended technique showpiece that sounds like its title! The piece has proved extremely popular with audiences. Techniques include; residual/breathy fast tonguing, multiphonics, singing & playing, lip bending, explosive harmonics and an optional circular breathing section. A forward with explanations of the techniques is given along with fingerings in the score for easy reference. The multiphonics used are of the more friendly variety; seven from only four different fingerings.
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Aside from the Partita in A Minor by J.S. Bach and the Sonata in A Minor by his son C.P.E. Bach, it was mainly Telemann's Fantasias that enriched the solo flute repertoire in the first half of the 18th century. Commentary on performance practice by Rachel Brown included.
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A collection of six unaccompanied etudes in Tango style by the Argentinian composer Piazzolla.
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Eight pieces for bass flute, alto flute, C-flute, or piccolo. Commissioned and first performed by Sarah Baird Fouse in 1998 at the National Flute Association Convention in Phoenix, Arizona.
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Composed by Paul Taffanel and Philippe Gaubert, these exercises are recommended to be practised daily to maintain and strengthen your technique and tone. A calendar appears at the beginning of the method to ensure progress is made and advice is given in four languages.
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Unaccompanied Oboe
Below you will find our selection of some well-known and popular unaccompanied oboe repertoire.
Six short movements for solo oboe inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses. Each of the six sections is based on a character from Roman mythology. Movements include Pan, Phaeton, Niobe, Bacchus, Narcissus, Arethusa.
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In his oboe cycle, Anno Schreier composes a journey through time at various Medea receptions. The six lamentations relate to one another in a kind of variation series and also incorporate influences from other music.
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First Grace of Light was composed for Nicholas Daniel to perform at a concert in memory of Janet Craxton.
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This excellent suite is for Solo Oboe and is, as the title suggests, in seven movements including March, Elegy, Slow Air, Limerick, Chinese Tune and Galop.
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For his eightieth birthday, Heinz Holliger presents the oboe world with five precious miniatures. Con slancio, which is lyrical and melodic for the most part, takes the performer to the most virtuoso playing techniques. Performable individually as encores or cyclically as a weighty concert piece.
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Inner Song was written for a festival of Stephan Wolpe's music in Germany, 1992. It was first performed at this festival by Heinz Holliger. Oboe solo from Trilogy.
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With many studies for the Oboe in print, Gillet's Exercises for Advanced Oboe Technique is set apart by the significant experience of the composer which informs the compilation. Including scales, articulation, chromaticism, intervals, flexibility, range, and variations in time and key signatures, amongst other aspects.
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Unaccompanied Clarinet
Below you will find our selection of some well-known and popular unaccompanied clarinet repertoire.
I Got Rhythm, Summertime and It Ain't Necessarily So are the three Gershwin tunes which the renowned performer, teacher and composer Paul Harvey took as the themes for his studies.
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Dancing Solo gives clarinettists an excellent chance to display their technical prowess in a widely varied, dramatic, and colourful context.
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The clarinet in Clifford Odets' comedy Night Music is directly involved in the stage plot: it is played by the main character and characterizes his moods and actions. All three works are suitable for pedagogical practice as well as for concert performance, thanks to their sometimes brilliant, sometimes pensive musicality, together with their exemplary musical quality.
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Raga Music is a set of pieces composed by notable Indian composer John Mayer. Composed for solo clarinet, the piece comprises nine movements in the style of traditional Indian music.
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Igor Stravinsky's Three Pieces for solo Clarinet. Revised and edited by Nicholas Hare in 1993.
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Written for upper-intermediate to advanced clarinet players, these scales and exercises are a set of studies tailored for advanced courses. Ideal to continue developing skills and technique, they focus on mastering scales, arpeggios, and trills to obtain a fluidity of the tone.
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Unaccompanied Saxophone
Below you will find our selection of some well-known and popular unaccompanied saxophone repertoire.
You can browse our unaccompanied saxophone category here. >>
Japanese born Ryo Noda has been hailed for his forward-looking, avant-garde compositions and innovative playing techniques. Improvisation 1 is no exception. Exploiting extended techniques on the saxophone to their full potential, Noda provides a score with a written glossary. Improvisation 1 is an excellent varied addition to advanced repertoire.
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Another gem by the virtuoso musician and winner of the 'Echo Klassik' award, Raaf Hekkema. The virtuoso arrangement of J.S. Bach's three partitas BWV 1002, BWV 1004 and BWV 1006 for solo saxophone is a valuable addition to the saxophone repertoire.
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Composed by Jeanine Rueff, Sonata for alto saxophone solo is a piece for advanced players. Very technical yet very lyrical, this piece is really enjoyable and can be used for recitals or contents.
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A follow-up to the original top-selling 15 Crazy Jazz Studies, these studies are no less challenging and explore a multitude of modern techniques including irregular meters, alternative fingerings, fast tonguing and fingerwork, in swing, rock, latin, and ballad settings.
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Twenty-four pieces by French Baroque composer Marin Marais especially arranged for saxophone by Nicholas Prost. French language edition.
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Born in Tunisia in 1952, Christian Lauba has been a prominent contemporary composer, winning many prizes since his graduation from the Conservatory of Bordeaux during the mid-1980s. Composed between 1992 and 1994, Nine Studies for Saxophone won Lauba the SACEM prize in composition. Very modern in style, this book exploits extended techniques of the Saxophone to the maximum.
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Unaccompanied Bassoon
Below you will find our selection of some well-known and popular unaccompanied bassoon repertoire.
Gordon Jacob's Partita for unaccompanied bassoon. For advanced players.
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The Osborne Rhapsody for Bassoon, is one of the most widely performed solo works for the instrument, and was later adapted for clarinet.
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Two testing pieces for ageing bassoonists! The music is contemporary, nevertheless, each piece makes musical 'sense' on first hearing. Although sometimes challenging, the piece is written with care to suit the character and technique of the instrument.
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To this day, Eugene Bozza remains one of the most prolific composers for wind instruments, despite being a violinist himself. His twelve caprices for bassoon address a variety of very difficult, advanced features of the bassoon, including complex rhythms, articulation, chromaticism, variations in time signatures, breath control, phrasing, intervals, scales and arpeggios, amongst other aspects.
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Unaccompanied Recorder
Below you will find our selection of some well-known and popular unaccompanied recorder repertoire.
These pieces make an entrancing suite (and put a different complexion on studies!). For treble recorder there is a two part Invention and for tenor a haunting Canzonetta. The bass is given a mock-solemn Threnody, whilst the sopranino dances diabolically to a Tarantella. The Estampie, for descant recorder, is a whirling and exciting finale to the set.
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Jacob van Eyck's Der Fluyten Lust-hof is the largest work in European history written for wind instruments. Essential repertoire for the recorder, as well as being excellent study material.
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Malcolm Arnold's Fantasy for Descant Recorder is an exciting, varied piece which explores the range of the instrument. With a combination of lively, highly ornamented phrases and slow, lyrical lines, this work is an excellent opportunity to showcase your abilities to transport a listener through various moods.
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Written in June 1993, these four pieces demonstrate the reduced texture of Yun's later style. The musical material is deliberately limited, each respective piece is based on different motivic cells consisting of two or three notes, which are then elaborated by means of developing variation as well as contrasting reference and derivation. In some respects the music recalls idioms of various types of East Asian flutes.
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A huge collection of solo pieces from the 14th to 21st centuries. With a wide range of styles and moods, this volume has something for everyone. The pieces are all at a moderate level of difficulty and are suitable for intermediate to advanced players.
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50 Graded Studies for recorder brings together a broad range of repertoire spanning three centuries, placing pieces by Boismortier next to specially composed pieces by Sally Adams. The book is progressive and studies are arranged in order of difficulty spanning from a preparatory level to around grade five standard.
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Ellena Taylor - Sheet Music and Books Manager
