Description
Suite in C – Flute Clock Pieces was composed by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Arranged by Thomas M. Kuras for 3, 4, or 5 C flutes
Includes score and parts
Preludio (4 flutes) – Fugue (4 flutes) – Passepied (5 flutes) – Air (3 flutes) – Menuetto (4 flutes) – Finale (5 flutes)
Arranged for 3, 4, or 5 C flutes, according to texture, any of the movements can be performed independently or in any combination.
This Suite in C for flutes is an arrangement of six compositions for flute-clock, a mechanical instrument of the Rococo period. A cylinder lined with pins activated, by direct mechanical traction, a rank of organ pipes supplied with wind by a small bellows. Short pieces were used to mark the various hours of the day, or selected movements formed into suites could be played for the delight of the owner and his guests. Haydn composed three sets of pieces for this instrument in 1772, 1792, and 1793. In addition to these thirty short pieces, there are several works for flute-clock preserved in manuscript.