Song for the Flute

Serbian composer Ljubica Marić composed this work for solo flute in 1976, and after being premiered in London by flautist Anna Pope, the piece was subsequently lost until after the composer’s death in 2009. The piece has an improvisatory quality and was also influenced by the composer’s work on Byzantine church music around the time of composition, containing some short fragments of ancient melodies.

This piece is brief, barely a few minutes long, and its rhapsodic structure is characteristic of an improvisation. In spite of its brevity, the piece contains a wide expressive range; the melody has a chant-like, vocal, quality throughout, at times declamatory and intense, while at others being stiller and more gentle. Often these contrasts can occur within the same phrase, although more broadly there is the sense of the music building in intensity and dynamic throughout, before a final morendo phrase.

Technically speaking, the slow tempo and fairly limited range makes this suitable for intermediate to more advanced players, but the most successful performances would require a wide dynamic range for the greatest expressive effect. Although there is no call for any contemporary techniques, players unaccustomed to playing later 20th century music might find this takes them a while to get into, but the end result is worth it. This is an interesting piece and well worth a go for anyone looking to broaden their playing into more modern styles, as well as more experienced players.