Ancient Airs - Noten für Querflöte Carson P. Cooman

I. Beyond the Mountains
II. Forgotten Incantation

Ancient Airs (2004) for solo flute was written for and is dedicated to flutist Sandra Ragusa.
It is in two movements, each with a spirit of "ancient airs" re-imagined in a modern context.
The ancestry of the modern flute as a folk instrument is the inspiration for the work's concept.
They should always be played with a lyrical, singing approach.

Beyond the Mountain uses as its basic musical material a simple transformation of a modal
melody in D minor. Gradually tones are added borrowed from other modalities. The opening
section is slow and lyrical. The middle section is more active -- contrasting the D minor
chord tones with the added diminished tones of the first section. The final section recalls the
material of the opening with a wider transformation.

Forgotten Incantation uses a wider modal language than the first movement. Although still
generally slow and song-like, it is more energetic. Energetic gestures interrupt and drive the
song narrative forwards.