The Versailles Baroque Music Center offers in this collection of educational collections an anthology of the French transverse flute repertoire. The modern edition, respectful of the historical characteristics of the works, is suitable for learning the “traverso” as well as modern instruments.

The Découvertes collection is aimed at students at the end of cycle 1 and cycle 2 of music schools and conservatories. Each collection offers a broad panorama of the French baroque repertoire adapted to a level, from the easiest to the highest. The volumes contain between fifteen and twenty pieces selected by recognized professors, and published in a modern edition. In addition to these musical pages, there is an ornamental table, some illustrations (period iconography) and critical apparatus to raise awareness of the history of the instrument and the editorial quality of the musical texts. The three volumes will constitute a precious reservoir of pieces from which teachers will be able to draw and through which students will discover the richness of the French baroque repertoire, from the court of Louis XIV to the Age of Enlightenment.

The third volume, aimed at students at the end of cycle 2, offers 16 pieces by different composers. These were chosen and ordered so as to illustrate the two instrumental forms in rivalry at the beginning of the 18th century: a large French suite (13 movements) and a sonata in the Italian style (3 movements). The great masters (Couperin, Rameau, Leclair, etc.) rub shoulders with lesser-known composers (Dornel, Le Sacq, Taillart, etc.). Some gems to discover!

The volume contains a separate performed basso continuo part.