Sunday morning music

 

I'm sure older readers, and those into progressive and synthetic rock from the 1970's, will remember the Dutch group Focus.  It was formed by flautist Thijs van Leer, and was known for its zany, way-out music, even in those days of intense competition to be the zaniest.  It's still going strong, albeit after a lengthy interruption.

Here's their breakout hit, "Hocus Pocus", in a live performance from 1973.  Thijs van Leer is on keyboards, flute and vocals.

However, many people don't know that despite his zaniness with Focus, van Leer was (and still is) also a very good classical flautist.  He composed and/or recorded many pieces for the instrument, producing several albums under the general title "Introspection" followed by a number:  1, 2, 3 and so on.  They've sold millions of copies in Europe, although they're less well known in the USA.  You'll find most of them on Amazon.

A collection of selections from the albums, totaling two and a half hours of music, was released in 2007 under the title "Introspection:  The Collection".

The collection has been uploaded to YouTube, a gift for all those who enjoy his music in general and classical-style flute in particular.  His own compositions and other modern works are interspersed with classical pieces.  The track listing and start time for each are as follows:

00:00 Pavanne (Op. 50) (Gabriel Fauré)
05:48 Rondo (Rogier van Otterloo)
08:50 Agnus Dei (from Mass in B minor) (Johann Sebastian Bach)
13:48 Focus I (Thijs van Leer)
17:47 Erbarme Dich (from St. Matthew Passion) (Bach)
25:13 Focus II (Van Leer)
29:30 Introspection (Van Otterloo)
35:44 Goyescas No. IV (Enrique Granados)
41:15 Rondo II (Rogier van Otterloo)
44:14 Introduction (Domenico Cimarosa)
48:40 Siciliano (Johann Sebastian Bach)
51:02 Focus III (Thijs van Leer)
55:48 Larghetto & Allegro (Georg Friedrich Händel)
1:00:09 Introspection II (Rogier van Otterloo)
1:03:34 Sheep May Safely Graze (Johann Sebastian Bach)
1:07:54 Mild Wild Rose (Thijs van Leer)
1:13:05 Reigen Seliger Geister (Christoph Willibald von Gluck)
1:20:52 Rondeau (Henry Purcell)
1:22:41 Adagio (Remo Giazotto, Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni)
1:28:39 Brother (Roselie van Ler, Thijs van Leer )
1:34:06 Sicilienne (Gabriel Fauré)
1:41:11 Rondo III (Rogier van Otterloo)
1:43:39 He Shall Feed His Flock (Georg Friedrich Händel)
1:49:29 Focus V (Thijs van Leer)
1:54:10 Arcangelo (Arcangelo Corelli)
1:56:34 Instrospection 4 (van Otterloo)
2:01:58 Rondeau des enfants (Van Leer) 
2:04:52 Grave, allegro, adagio, allegro uit Sonate in e (Georg Friedrich Händel)
2:12:32 Le tango (van Leer) 
2:15:58 Air (Georg Philipp Telemann)
2:20:04 Pastorale (Domenico Scarlatti)
2:22:32 Sicilian en allegro (Georg Friedrich Händel)

Enjoy!

Peter