Eileen Gilligan Flute and Daniel Le Piano – La Sensible

La Sensible is a beautiful, delicate little piece. The translation of La Sensible is The Sensitive. Written in Rondeau form which originated in the Baroque period, it consists of a central theme A which returns after theme B and C. The general layout of a rondeau is ABA ,ABACA or ABACABA.

Joseph Nicolas Pancrace Royer was born in Turin but went to Paris in 1725. In 1734 he became maître de musique des enfants de France , responsible for the musical education of the King Louis XV children. In 1753 he was named director of the Royal Opera Orchestra. Amongst his compositions are six operas and the First Book of Harpsichord Pieces which La Sensible is number 13 of the 14 little pieces listed below.

Premier livre de pièces de clavecin (1746) First book of harpsichord pieces.

• La Majestueuse, courante
• La Zaïde, rondeau (Tendrement)
• Les Matelots (Modérément)
• Premier et deuxième tambourins, suite des Matelots
• L’Incertaine (Marqué)
• L’Aimable (Gracieux)
• La Bagatelle
• Suitte de la Bagatelle
• La Remouleuse, rondeau (Modérément)
• Les tendre Sentiments, rondeau
• Le Vertigo, rondeau (Modérément)
• Allemande
• La Sensible, rondeau
• La marche des Scythes (Fièrement)

Like most music there are many different interpretations and approaches to performance. Here are some examples of the differences.

Different interpretations on keyboard of La Sensible.

Royers most famous one of these pieces is La Marche des Scythes, which I must say is an awesome piece.

Two different interpretations of the same piece:

It is clear from the above recordings, there are many musical ideas on how this piece goes and mine is no different. It is all about thinking about the piece and what it says musically. The player’s job is to be convinced about what story they want to tell and then effectively doing so.

What I would like to talk about is playing this beautiful little piece on a Boehm system flute. It is a keyboard piece so a totally different outcome for the listener on flute. If you notice it is quite fiddly and constrained almost with ornaments and trills. The player needs to know where their air stream is going on every note in this little piece otherwise some notes will be accentuated that shouldn’t be.
There are Melodious Studies that deal with this “love you”  (appoggiatura)  down up air direction really well. Number 9 variation1 and 2 and Number 11 variation 1 and of course number 1.

 I can’t stress enough how important the Foundation Tools on the website are for everything in playing. Every one of the tools needs to be under control. This is where my tone comes from and enables be to continually improve and change my tone. Every one of them is designed to control the air stream and maintain flexibility in the lips. I recorded this straight after Flowers so I had to change hats and styles quickly, that requires having a clear picture and understanding of what one would like to say musically with each piece they play. So much playing is a thought-out mathematical exercise of where one’s air is going and what notes do and say what. Of course, the musicality and expression have to be there , that is a given but it is enhanced when every little aspect of the performance is under control and well thought out musically. I have attached my sound file of Study No.9 Variation 2 which is an example of this as there is control of the air direction with cross slurring so it will test air stream control. It is one of the more difficult studies and very useful everywhere in playing. The first beat of the bar is the most important so the airstream is down and then air is up for the cross slurs. Foundation Tools and Melodious Studies are all on the website with video guides in detail of how to do them. Concentrating on the” Love you Love you ” appoggiatura pattern will be immensely helpful with this little piece. I picked it because it is really an extension exercise to the Foundation Tools and Melodious Studies so is a great way to incorporate your practice actually into a piece.

I also wanted to capture the contrast between themes which the keyboard does so well and incorporate a deep tone colour in some sections. Tip for the high E’s practice with harmonic fingerings, ie A blown to E and up and over the back of the head approach to intervals. I talk about this a lot on the website.

I played from the Trevor Wye 18th Century flute music book as it seemed more in line with playing on a Bohem system rather than the keyboard music which I have attached. I am not a fan of clipping appoggiaturas so I kept this very much in mind and trying to dance to this. The Moyse Melodious Study No 1. is all about appoggiaturas and expression. It really should be on hand and from memory for all players. 

Searching for a video of a Rondeau there was nothing that appealed to me so there is no dance example for you to see. Watching other dances will give you an idea of the period costume and the steps that go with the dance of the era. I have a blog page on Baroque performance which has dance videos. It is on the homepage.

Playing soft scales and tonal work is really beneficial for keeping the resonance and speaking point of the flute. For La Sensible this is crucial as the feeling needs to be tender but the tone still has to have quality and resonance. Playing softly on the flute with quality and musicailty is a big focus for me as I hear so many young players getting the dynamic level without the resonance and musical quality. It doesn’t have to be that way. Harmonics and the speaking point of the flute which requires the air speed to be under control is the key to quality soft playing. It just takes work and time.

So, this is another melody that appealed to me to find my voice and diversify my playing. I hope you enjoy it.