For this issue, I want to take a look at something a little different in the way we combine flute with others in a chamber ensemble by introducing Betty Roe’s charming settings of Shakespeare for medium voice, flute and piano. For me, matching the flexibility and nuances of the voice is one of the most enjoyable playing experiences, and one which can bring out different qualities in playing – compared, for example, to playing with other winds.

There are many fine works for flute and voice alone, as well as for flute and voice with other instrumental combinations, all well worth exploring. Some years ago I came across the “Four Shakespeare Songs” by Betty Roe (Thames publishing) and have not only enjoyed performing them, but have also found them to be most suitable for secondary school students, intermediate level and above. In a school where singers abound with perhaps not so many instrumentalists, this kind of combination is useful for fulfilling chamber music options.

Betty Roe is an English composer, best known for her solo songs, church and choral music, musicals, revues and music for schools. She trained as a singer, pianist and cellist at the Royal Academy of Music in London and later studied composition with Sir Lennox Berkeley. These wonderful Shakespeare settings are a testimony to her wealth of experience as performer and teacher.

The songs are set to a variety of texts from Shakespeare plays – “Sigh no More”(Much Ado about Nothing), “Come away, Death” (Twelfth Night), “The Willow Song” (Othello) and “Orpheus with his Lute” (Henry VIII). There is much scope for expression in delivering the songs and both flute and piano need to be attentive to variations in the singer’s breathing and musical nuances that are dictated by the text.

When working with students, I have found that the most immediately accessible song is number four, “Orpheus with his Lute”. Both piano and flute parts are straightforward in terms of note-learning, but the challenges come in achieving subtle rubato, dynamic shaping and a good balance. Compared with the voice part, the flute tessitura is quite high and this can pose balance problems. The flute player should find a light, floating quality of sound aiming for utmost legato, following the melodic contours of the vocal line with similar shaping as the two parts weave around each other supported by a broken chord accompaniment.

The first song, “Sigh no More” presents similar balance issues as it progresses with the flute rising to 3rd octave E above the voice in the low register. However, this is helped here by articulations in the flute part which remove the temptation to play with too much intensity – although it is marked forte, aim for a lilting, dancing style. Less experienced flute players (these songs are manageable for students Grade 4+) may find they have to work hard at developing their breath control and the ability to maintain pitch over a long diminuendo at the end of a phrase.The ending of “Orpheus” is an example, where, after a rising D major scale, the music descends again to a held A, with pause and dim, all within p.

In the second song, “Come away, Death”, the flute line continually ends on either a middle or high F# held over 2 bars with diminuendo. Listen carefully to the piano part here for pitching as it resolves onto an F# chord in the second bar of the held flute note – very revealing if the breath support has sagged!! This second song is marked “with urgency”. As in the first song, the flute sets the mood with an introductory melody. The notes of both first and second songs are rather similar, so the mood change between “happily” and “with urgency” can be conveyed by variety in vibrato – aim for a faster, more intense vibrato than you may have used in the first song, and see if you can find the sense of urgency in the introductory phrase. “Come away, Death” has satisfying rhythmic variations, which may take time to secure in rehearsal. The lilt of the 5/4 bars is enjoyable, but watch out for the breathing changes in the vocal line between verses 1 & 2. The text requires the singer to breathe differently, which means both pianist and flautist must have their antennae out, ready to respond.

Perhaps the more tricky song is the third, “The Willow Song”, which begins with voice alone in a parlando, rubato verse. The flute then joins the voice in verse two with the piano arriving for a short linking passage to verse three. This song requires the singer to maintain very good pitch, (especially through the descending scales) since it is very obvious when the flute joins if the pitch has strayed. Once the piano settles in, the ensemble can be more stable, and the accompaniment is beautiful, creating a rocking motion, similar to the lapping of water, and the flute is playing in the lower register for a longer period of time, creating a good contrast to the other songs.

Some reviews have described these songs as “fabulous” and I would agree. There is a wealth of subtlety and nuance to be discovered. The clarity of musical line and texture creates a sense of simplicity which can be deceptive, but which, on the other hand allow for these songs to be performed at many levels. If you don’t already know them, then I would recommend them as a fine addition to your chamber music library. They may give you or your students the opportunity to experience this different aspect of chamber music of working with voice.

Ingrid Culliford

Ingrid Culliford spent many years in London as a free- lance flautist and teacher, and was professor of flute at Trinity College of Music and the Junior Royal Academy of Music. She currently tutors in flute at Waikato University and the NZ School of Music, adjudicates at many festivals and competitions, is an examiner for the NZMEB and a Senior Examiner for the International Baccalaureate Organisation.