Home: http://www.editionsvitzer.com/index.php
Catalog: http://www.editionsvitzer.com/archive.php

A survey of new repertoire for flute choir by Elisabeth Hobbs

A survey of new repertoire for flute choir by Elisabeth Hobbs
(The British flute magazine PAN) December 2014
Edition Svitzer
Henrik Svitzer, a leading Scandinavian flautist and Associate Professor at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, is producing some of the most beautifully presented and interesting new arrangements around through his imprint Edition Svitzer. All Edition Svitzer pieces are printed and bound to the highest standard and, from that point of view alone, are a pleasure to use. Of those I have recently rehearsed from the Svitzer catalogue, my ensembles have particularly enjoyed Kuhlau’s Sonata for Ten Flutes – a work arranged by Asger Lund Christiansen to mark the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Kuhlau’s birth. With so many lines, this gives a great opportunity for a larger ensemble to play one-to-a-part, and the work is very effectively arranged for piccolo, six flutes, and two altos. As might be expected with Kuhlau, there is charming melodic interest through out and plenty of dynamic and expressive challenges for the ensemble. This arrangement is suitable for players of intermediate to advanced standard.
Solitude sur la Montagne by the Norwegian romantic composer Ole Bornemann Bull is an arrangement from the violin by Per Øien. Scored for solo flute accompanied by an ensemble of four flutes, two altos, and bass, this piece showcases the potential for a full flute choir sound with gorgeous harmonies overlaid by an expressive solo line. Because of the slow-moving harmonic line, the arrangement is relatively simple, and I found this to be an excellent choice for working on developing intonation with my ensembles, while delivering a highly satisfactory performance pay-off.
Henrik Svitzer’s own arrangement of Frescobaldi’s Two Canzoni for Double Choir (ten parts arranged in two choirs of three flutes, alto and bass) is a beautiful piece of renaissance polyphony which works very effectively for flute choir. The contrapuntal texture provides plenty of challenge, but the relatively simple melodic lines mean that the piece can be tackled by players of around grade 5 standard. This piece would be spine-tingling for a concert in the resonant acoustic of a church.