Edward German: Suite for flute and piano (1889)

Edward German is a composer who is usually remembered - where he is remembered at all - for one work - the opera Merrie England. However, he was a prolific composer, who wrote in several genres including symphonies, tone poems, incidental music, piano pieces and chamber works. German composed in a style that was fashionable at that time (late Victorian/Edwardian) – he was not a mould-breaker or musical prophet. Yet, he was a first-rate craftsman and had an uncanny ability to write good melodies – even if they tended to be a little sentimental. 

The Suite for flute and piano is a good example of Victorian English music at its best. It is clear that there are definite touches of Sir Arthur Sullivan about this music. Yet German is not content simply to replicate the older man’s successes. This is a short, but beautifully constructed piece that well deserves its place in the flute repertoire. Furthermore, and I know this may seem rather perverse, there are one or two phrases from the opening Valse gracieuse (and elsewhere) that seem to anticipate none other than Malcolm Arnold! The middle movement, a Souvenir, is quite a considerable piece. It certainly challenges any suggestion that German is simply a ‘light music’ composer. This is a reflective and often introverted meditation. We do not know what it was a ‘souvenir’ of, but it is certainly an attractive and thoughtful piece. The final Gypsy Dance is a tour-de-force, which seems to nod more to a theatrical presentation of what imagined life was like in a Romany community, rather than any genuine quotation of folk tunes or pastiche. Nonetheless, like the rest of the piece it is thoroughly enjoyable.

The work was composed in 1889 and dedicated “For my friend Frederic Griffith.” Frederic Griffith (1867-1917) at that time was Principal flute in the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden.

The entire suite can currently be heard on YouTube (just search under title and for separate movements). It is splendidly played by Kenneth Smith, flute and Paul Rhodes, piano.