Folk dances for every month

Helene Schulthess published as early as 2019 26 Swiss folk dances from 26 cantons from the collection of musicologist Hanny Christen, who traveled throughout Switzerland between 1940 and 1960 to record or transcribe melodies, and arranged them for two flutes and piano (Review). 12 Swiss-style folk dances is a chamber music cycle composed by Schulthess himself for the same instrumentation, drawing on characteristic features of Swiss folk music.

The focus is on clearly defined folk melodies that draw rhythmically on typical dance motifs, evoking traditional forms such as the Ländler or simple triple meters. Each of the twelve movements is assigned to a month, creating a musical annual cycle. Each movement is preceded by a haiku by Stefan Blankertz that reflects the respective atmosphere in a concise, linguistically reduced form. This creates an interplay between the sound of the alternating flutes and the word, making the cycle appear as a cohesive yet interpretatively open unit.

Month after month

January, titled «Allegro,» begins in a minor key and then shifts to a major key; it is paired with the haiku «winter without snow leaves mice chasing cats.» April, a pulsating Allegro with fast eighth-note triplets, is reminiscent of a tarantella. May is characterized by a yodel-like melody in the upper voice and is structured in three parts in classical song form, clearly marked with symbols such as A and A‘.

The piano primarily serves as a harmonic and rhythmic foundation, but at times enriches the musical texture with distinctive figurations and dense textures. The June movement is stylistically similar to the scherzo from Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night's Dream in G minor, the first two measures echo the original, and it is aptly titled: «Sleeping wide awake on a summer night without pretension.».

With these combinations of lyrics and music, these dances offer an interesting change of pace from the flute repertoire, which is relatively rare in folk music. They are well suited for advanced players.

Helene Schulthess: 12 Swiss-style folk dances for two flutes and piano, with haikus by Stefan Blankertz, CHF 30.00 + shipping, self-published, helene-schulthess.ch (Where to buy and all the dances to listen to)