 In the eighteenth century it was the fashion to ornament a melody and many players were highly proficient at improvising embellishments, as Jazz players are today. National styles varied greatly and whilst the French generally added grace notes, trills and mordants and the Italians preferred to conjure up long, winding melismas linking notes of the melody together, the Germans cultivated their own distinctive style...
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In the eighteenth century there was a great trend for decorating the melody, particularly in slow movements, and some music was written deliberately plain, with the expectation that the performer would embellish it in his own way. And yet, ornamentation is of little use if it does not reflect and enhance the character of the music...
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Part 2 of the series to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death. Here in London we have already celebrated with a very intensive London Handel Festival, and there are many other Handel performances throughout the year, including chamber music at Handel House, his home in Brook Street near Oxford Circus.
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 We live in a wonderfully broadminded age where cultural diversity has never been wider - a flute recital these days might contain anything from baroque to beat boxing, and exciting departures in new techniques means the flute is finding new voices. However, we can still cherish our rich heritage. The first half of the eighteenth century saw an explosion of interest in the newly developed one-keyed flute throughout Europe, but especially in France and Germany, and there followed a blossoming of newly composed pieces, including some of the greatest masterpieces in the flute’s repertoire.
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2009 is the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death. Here in London we have already celebrated with a very intensive London Handel Festival, and there are many other Handel performances throughout the year, including chamber music at Handel House, his home in Brook Street near Oxford Circus.
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