Skaters Waltz

The Skaters Waltz (Les Patineurs) by Emile Waldteufel
Arranged for Flute Choir by Sondra Tucker
Published by Quicksilver Publications
Includes score and parts

Instrumentation: piccolo, three C flutes, alto flute, bass flute

He is a French composer of dance music, and was from the late 19th to early 20th centuries.  This piece is also known as Les Patineurs in French, it was composed in 1882 and was inspired by the Cercle des Patineurs or Rink of Skaters at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.  The composer’s introduction to the waltz can be likened to the poise of a skater, with the glissando notes invoking scenes of a wintry atmosphere.  The other themes that follow are graceful and swirling, as if to depict a ring of skaters in their glory.