The anglophone listener may be deceived by both parts of the "Concertos pour flûte" title of this program of little-known Alessandro Scarlatti chamber music: the music is not for flute (or at least is not played by one), and there aren't any concertos. The recorder was and is known in French as a flûte a bec, whereas the transverse flute would have been known to Scarlatti's associates simply as a traverso. This music might have been intended for either instrument, but it is played here by Francis Colpron, the Quebecois ...
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The anglophone listener may be deceived by both parts of the "Concertos pour flûte" title of this program of little-known Alessandro Scarlatti chamber music: the music is not for flute (or at least is not played by one), and there aren't any concertos. The recorder was and is known in French as a flûte a bec, whereas the transverse flute would have been known to Scarlatti's associates simply as a traverso. This music might have been intended for either instrument, but it is played here by Francis Colpron, the Quebecois representative of the new breed of virtuoso recorder players. The genre designations of mid-Baroque instrumental works were likewise imprecise, with the words sonata, concerto, and even sinfonia used for various configurations. The pieces here are all for a small group headed by a recorder; those with the French designation Sonate (Concerto) are for recorder, two violins, and continuo. It might be possible to play these with a small string orchestra instead of a pair of violins,...
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